Newspaper headlines: 'A life in service' and 'we loved you ma'am'

By BBC News
Staff

  • Published

The UK's newspapers have published their first editions since the Queen's death. Here are their historic front pages.

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The Times marks the moment with a striking photo of the Queen from her coronation in 1953, alongside the words: "A life in service." The paper's back page carries a quotation from her Christmas broadcast in 1957, the first to be televised: "I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else: I can give you my heart and my devotion to all these old islands, and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations."
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"Our hearts are broken," says the Daily Mail with a portrait of the Queen from 1952, while she was Princess Elizabeth. "How to find the words?" the paper's columnist Sarah Vine asks. "Our grief is a hundred different emotions, all of them hard to grasp."
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The Daily Telegraph reprints the Queen's own message of condolence to the families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks: "Grief is the price we pay for love." US President Joe Biden referenced the comment in his tribute and recalled how she stood in solidary with the US in its "darkest days".
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Several papers, including the Guardian, opt for a picture of the Queen from the start of her reign. The powerful portrait, captured by Sir Cecil Beaton, shows the Queen wearing her crown and carrying her sceptre at her coronation.
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The Mirror chooses a more recent photo of the Queen, showing her famous profile. The paper decides against a headline, instead simply saying: "Thank you."
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Many papers, including the Sun, pick the same black and white portrait of the Queen in her later years with a thoughtful, soft smile. "The Sun and our readers loved you," the paper says. "We are proud you were our Queen."
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The i also uses a photo from the coronation, as it says the country will now enter 10 days of mourning for the longest-reigning sovereign.
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With an entirely monochrome front page, the Daily Express says: "Our beloved Queen is dead." The paper says the world is mourning "the loss of a truly great and inspirational monarch".
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"You did your duty, Ma'am" says the Daily Star. The red top turns its masthead a solemn black and chooses the same coronation photo as many other papers.