Remembrances shared from "Wales Online"

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has paid tribute to The Queen. . As our longest reigning monarch, she firmly upheld the values and traditions of the British Monarchy. On behalf of the people of Wales I offer our deepest condolences to Her Majesty's family during this sad time."

Over her 70 years as monarch of the UK the Queen made many visits to Wales. As a young princess in June 1947 she attended the Royal Welsh Show – a group she later became patron of – to hand out prizes. She oversaw the official reopening of Llandaff Cathedral after repairs were made following World War Two bombing and visited rescuers of the Aberfan disaster.

It was her affinity with Aberfan that was one of her most profound and long-lasting connections to Wales which left a bond through the decades and was featured in TV series The Crown. She and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh visited the town following the deaths of 144 people, including 116 children, when a waste tip slid down the mountainside and engulfed the school and surrounding homes.

On the 50th anniversary of the tragedy she sent a personal message to people in Aberfan, telling people there they were "in my own and my family's thoughts as well as the thoughts of the nation". She added: "I well remember my own visit with Prince Philip after the disaster and the posy I was given by a young girl, which bore the heart-breaking inscription: 'From the remaining children of Aberfan'. Since then, we have returned on several occasions and have always been deeply impressed by the remarkable fortitude, dignity and indomitable spirit that characterises the people of this village and the surrounding valleys."

Her most recent visit was in October 2021 when she visited Cardiff to officially open the sixth Senedd. At that event she was seen with a walking stick for just the second time ever and she used a lift rather than stairs. Days afterwards a trip to Northern Ireland was cancelled on medical grounds.

She was patron of groups including Royal Welsh Officers' Association, St Davids Cathedral, and the Football Association of Wales. At the end of 2016 she announced her grandson, Prince William, would take over as patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, she became Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand on February 6, 1952.

She was also head of the Commonwealth and the Queen of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession: Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

On April 20, 2018, the government leaders of the Commonwealth of Nations announced that she would be succeeded by Prince Charles as head of the Commonwealth and the Queen had said it was her "sincere wish" that the Prince of Wales would follow her in the role.