By Paris Maben-Hume and Jamie Bryson

(cover photo credit: The Royal Family)

Tens of thousands of people from Britain and all over the world have been paying tribute to Her Majesty The Queen who passed away aged 96.

The queen died on Thursday 8th September 2022 at Balmoral Castle. She ascended to the throne in 1952, making her the longest reigning British monarch.

Mourners laid flowers, messages, and left Paddington Bears at the gates of many of the royal estates. These included Buckingham Palace in London, Windsor Castle in Windsor, Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, and Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.

Above: Flowers and other tributes in Balmoral (photo credit: Adam Hume)

What tributes are there in Norwich?

Up until Tuesday 20th September 2022, a book of condolence will be available to sign in the Mancroft room at Norwich City Hall. It is advised that any flowers can be placed in front of City Hall along St Peter’s Street and any cellophane packaging should be removed where possible. Norwich Cathedral also has a book of condolence for signing, and flowers can be laid on the grass in front of the Cathedral entrance.

Flowers had already been laid outside of City Hall in the early hours of Friday 9th September, a tribute which had grown by midday.

(photo credits: Jack Maclean)

Some shops and charities in Norwich City centre were closed for the day out of respect for Queen Elizabeth. The British Heart Foundation had signs on the windows and doors saying they were closed “as a mark of respect for the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II”.

Norwich Theatre Royal continued with their evening performance of Les Misérables on Thursday 8th September. The next day they made a statement explaining the theatre would remain open and ” a period of silence and the national anthem will be played prior to each performance of Les Misérables at Theatre Royal until the state funeral takes place”.

Where can university students leave tributes?

As well as the tribute-spaces available in the city centre, a book of condolence is available in the Enterprise Centre and the Sainsbury Centre on the University of East Anglia campus. An online book of condolence is also available on the UEA website.

Her Majesty the Queen first visited the university in 1968, and returned in 1994 for the opening of The Queen’s Building, which was built to train therapists and physiotherapists.

The Queen’s final visit to UEA was in 2017. She visited the Sainsbury Centre to tour the ‘Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific’ exhibition.

Where can the funeral be watched?

The state funeral will take place on Monday 19th September 2022, and will be broadcast live on BBC One and BBC News. The day has been made a Bank Holiday.

The evening performance of Les Misérables has been cancelled at the Theatre Royal that day but the theatre will be showing the funeral for free “for those who would like to watch and mark the event alongside other people”.

At UEA, the bank holiday coincides with the start of Welcome Week and the arrival of new and returning students. In a statement to students from the university’s communications team, it explained that the events of Welcome Week would still take place, and the funeral will be shown in the Welcome Dome located behind the LCR. During the time of the funeral “all campus services will be paused to allow as many of our community as possible to watch the ceremony”.