More than 50,000 letters and messages expressing the public's condolences following the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II have flooded into Buckingham Palace.
The royal family has received sack loads of mail from mourners who felt moved to write and convey their sympathy.
On September 19 — the day of the queen's funeral —tens of thousands of people filled the streets of London and Windsor to pay their respects as the coffin, King Charles III and members of the royal family passed by.
The day after the funeral, the daily amount of correspondence peaked at 6,500, out of a total of more than 50,000 letters, Buckingham Palace said.
Pictures were taken at Buckingham Palace earlier this week showing some of the thousands of letters being opened by members of the royal household's correspondence team.
One card was printed with the words “we are thinking of you” above a crown, and many letters were addressed personally to the new monarch, “His Majesty King Charles III”.
Before the queen's death, Buckingham Palace would have expected to receive up to 1,000 letters a week from members of the public with various queries or goodwill messages.
The palace said all letters are carefully read and responses will be sent, as the small correspondence team processes the thousands of items being sent to the king, the queen consort and other members of the royal family.
The queen died of old age, her official death certificate shows.
Anne, the Princess Royal, has already disclosed she was with her mother during her last moments but the document confirmed what was suspected on the day — some of the queen's children and grandchildren tried in vain to be at her bedside.
The certificate released by National Records of Scotland noted the time of the queen's death on Thursday, September 8, as 3.10pm at Balmoral.
Queen Elizabeth II's 70-year reign — in pictures
