‘Thank you for your selfless life': Thousands of heartfelt messages to the late Queen fill books of condolences for the Royal Family across Portsmouth and Hampshire

The messages represent an outpouring of grief and support for the Royal Family following the death of the Queen, who died at her country estate in Balmoral last Thursday.

Books of condolences and message boxes have been placed around the city in libraries and major thoroughfares across the city, including Portsmouth Guildhall and the Portsmouth International Port terminal building.

Civic leaders report that thousands of people have already taken the opportunity to share their heart-felt messages to the Royal Family.

Among them is Lesley Knight, 77, who attended the Guildhall to pay tribute to the woman whose coronation remains a vivid memory even seven decades later.

The 77-year-old Milton resident said: ‘I have admired her all my life, and she’s been my Queen.

‘She came to the throne when I was seven. I remember seeing her coronation on a grainy black and white television in a small house with a load of other neighbours.

‘And I saw her once when when was down at the Guildhall at the Silver Jubilee.

‘I was very lucky – as she was leaving on the train she was waving and she looked right at me and waved. That was lovely.’

St John's Catholic Cathedral saw queues for a condolence book form just hours after the news of the Queen’s death, while Portsmouth Cathedral, in Old Portsmouth, has seen almost a thousand people fill two books of condolences in just three full days.

The Dean of the Cathedral, Dr Anthony Cane, said: ‘‘Thank you for being an inspiration’, ‘a wonderful Queen – an inspiration to us all’, ‘thank you for your selfless life’ – there’s a real sense of inspiration and wish to express gratitude, and a real sense of loss.

‘A visitor said her daughter was planning to send a card to the Queen she turned 100 – she can’t do that now. I thought that was quite poignant. It’s a reminder to give thanks for people while they are here.’

Offering advice for people looking to write a message of condolence, Dr Cane encouraged residents to be honest and heartfelt.

He said: ‘I wrote the very first message in the condolence books and it took me ages. What do you say? I think you should say what’s on your heart. It doesn’t have to be clever, or a piece of poetry – just be honest about how you’re feeling.’

Fareham Borough Council leader Sean Woodward said that hundreds of people had left ‘very lovely’ messages in the book of condolences at the council’s Civic Offices.

Cllr Woodward said: ‘Everyone feels they have been close to the Queen in some way, and there have been some absolutely lovely messages being left.

‘Between all the condolence books, we are talking hundreds of messages.

‘Everyone seems to be very happy with what has been going on. We had about a thousand people in West Street for the proclamation.

‘There’s a nice collection of flowers outside the Civic Offices and a few churches as well.

‘It’s been very intense and emotional.’

In Fareham, residents have the opportunity to leave messages in the Civic Offices in the town centre, as well as the nearby library and those those in Portchester and Stubbington.

Cllr Woodward added: ‘They are proving very popular indeed.’

The boxes in civic offices will be available until Tuesday, September 20, after which all the messages will be compiled into a book of condolences.

The News is also giving people the chance to submit their own online tribute to the Queen and her lifetime of service to the country.

The online book can be signed by visiting tinyurl.com/2dkvppt3, in advance of Monday’s state funeral, which is expected to see the country pause to pay their respects to our longest-reigning monarch.