'SHELL SHOCKED'
NICOLE Appleton broke down in tears as she discussed Queen Elizabeth II's death age 96 and paid tribute to Her Majesty on the red carpet of the People's Pet Awards.
The former All Saints singer was overcome with emotion spoke of the Queen's poor health shortly before her passing was announced on Thursday.
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Nicole, 47, told The Mirror as she stopped to speak to press on the red carpet: "I'm a bit nervous because there's impending news so we're a bit shell shocked.
"It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster on the way here."
When asked if she wanted to pay tribute to the Queen, Nicole's face crumbled and she was left speechless.
It was announced yesterday that the Queen had tragically died - marking an end to her historic reign and sparking an outpouring of grief around the world.
READ MORE ON THE QUEEN'S DEATH
TalkTV presenter Piers Morgan was one of the first celebrities to react after Buckingham Palace confirmed she had passed away.
The statement said: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
"The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
Charles, 73 - who revealed his "great sadness" at the loss of his mother - is now King of England, with his wife Camilla as Queen Consort.
Expressing his admiration for the monarchy, Piers, 57, gave a heartfelt tribute on TalkTV, saying: “Well, this is one of the saddest and most momentous turning points in the history of the United Kingdom.
“I struggle even to imagine a Britain without this Queen. But with great sadness, we now have to imagine it, because the moment we’ve all been dreading has finally come and tonight, everything changes. Her death is an enormous blow not just to the British people but to our national psyche.”
He continued: “To people around the world who don’t fully understand our deep affinity with the Queen, it’s as simple as this: our monarchy and Her Majesty are the very essence of being British. As Abraham Lincoln, apple pie and the Constitution are to being American, so The Royal Family is to Great Britain.
READ MORE ON THE QUEEN
“More than an institution, it’s an identity, it’s who we are. It's the Magna Carta; The Palace of Westminster; The Battle of Waterloo. It’s Austen, Dickens, Shakespeare, and the Beatles; it’s crushing the Nazis; it's Churchill and the Blitz Spirit; it’s Royal Ascot and the Chelsea Flower Show, it's cricket at Lord’s, Wimbledon tennis, football at Wembley.
“Nothing and nobody has symbolised what it means to be British better than Queen Elizabeth. She’s always been there. She had an aura of invincibility that’s sadly today been shattered. And now we have to learn, as a country, to live without her. Whatever your views of the Royal Family, and wherever you live in the world, you will remember this day. Because it’s history, unfolding before our eyes.”
The broadcaster concluded: “This remarkable little lady was not just our longest-serving Monarch, she was the second longest-reigning monarch in all of history. She appointed 15 British Prime Ministers. She hosted 13 of the last 14 American Presidents. She was our Queen for 30% of America’s entire history! Think about that.
“She held more than 100 state visits for the world’s leaders. She was the head of state herself in 17 countries. She was the head of the Commonwealth of Nations. And she guided us all through the best of times and the worst of times.
“Through wars, terrorism, pandemics, natural disasters, financial crisis. Whatever it was she was there with dignity, duty, stoicism, and that famous stiff upper lip. Her last act this week was to appoint our new Prime Minister. Remarkably, staggeringly, she was dutiful until the very, very end.”
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