Tributes continue to pour in across the globe after death of the Queen

He noted that she was the first UK monarch to visit China, in 1986, saying: “Her death is a great loss to the British people.”

The statement added that China was willing to work with the King as an opportunity to promote bilateral relations and benefit the two countries and their people.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also sent a message of condolence to Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The Queen’s death comes amid tensions between Britain and China over human rights, trade and China’s relentless crackdown on free speech and political opposition in the former British colony of Hong Kong.

The Queen’s death was a top trending topic on Chinese social media, with many people saying her death marks the end of an era.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito expressed his “deep sorrow and heartfelt condolences” over the death of the Queen in a statement released through the Imperial Household Agency.

In the statement, in Japanese, Naruhito praised Queen Elizabeth for guiding and encouraging the people of Britain and its Commonwealth nations.

“Her constant prayers for global peace and safety impressed many people around the world,” Naruhito said.

“I express my sincere respect and appreciation to many achievements and contributions that Her Majesty the Queen left behind.”

Japanese imperial family members have developed friendly relations with the British royal family, and Naruhito studied at Oxford in the 1980s.

Naruhito noted that the Queen always warmly watched over relations between the two countries and paid attention to the relations between British and Japanese royal families.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed “deep sadness” and a sense of “emptiness” after the death of the Queen and praised her “great affection for France”.

Mr Macron said in a video message that she mastered “our language, loved our culture and touched our hearts”.

He described the Queen as a “great head of state”, and said that with her, Britain and France share “a warm, sincere and loyal partnership”.

Speaking in English, the French president said: “To you, she was your Queen. To us, she was the Queen.”

In Germany, the country’s president highlighted the Queen’s contribution to healing the wounds left by the Second World War during her long reign.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said “Britain held out the hand of reconciliation to Germany, and the hand of reconciliation was also the Queen’s hand”.

He said a state visit by the Queen to West Germany in 1965 was “one of the most important and powerful symbols” of post-war friendship.

“For the young Federal Republic of Germany, this trip was a pricelessly important signal of reconciliation after two disastrous world wars, after the great guilt that my country had heaped upon itself.”

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama expressed his deep sadness over the death of the Queen and offered his condolences to her family and the British people.

In a letter to King Charles III, the Dalai Lama said “I remember seeing photographs of her coronation in magazines when I was young in Tibet”.

He added that “your mother lived a meaningful life with dignity, grace, a strong sense of service and a warm heart, qualities we all should treasure”.

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, whose 50-year reign is now Europe’s longest, called Queen Elizabeth II “a towering figure among European monarchs and a great inspiration to us all”.

“We shall miss her terribly,” Margrethe said in a statement released by the Danish royal household.

In neighbouring Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf said the British monarch had “an outstanding devotion and sense of duty” and Norway’s King Harald said Elizabeth devotedly “accompanied the British people through joys and sorrows, in good times and bad times”.

Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto said Elizabeth “witnessed and shaped history like few others. Her sense of duty and devotion to service are an example to us all”.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at a joint news conference in Brussels with US secretary of state Antony Blinken, noted that all 30 Nato member flags are flying at half-mast to honour the Queen.

“She was a strong supporter of the transatlantic alliance, of our armed forces and our values,” Mr Stoltenberg said, adding that she knew and worked with every one of his predecessors since Nato was founded.

“I will always remember her wisdom, her warmth, and her strong personal interest in transatlantic unity.”

Mr Blinken, meanwhile, paid homage to the “truly extraordinary life of Her Majesty Elizabeth II”.

He said she had personified “a sense of stability and continuity during turbulent times” and among “unprecedented challenges” faced by both Britain and the world.

“She was a source of comfort and resilience to people from all walks of life,” Mr Blinken added.

In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mourned the Queen as the only only reigning monarch most Australians have known, and the only one to ever to visit their country.

“And over the course of a remarkable seven decades, Her Majesty was a rare and reassuring constant amidst rapid change,” he said.

“Through the noise and turbulence of the years, she embodied and exhibited a timeless decency and an enduring calm.”

The British monarch is Australia’s official head of state, although these days the role is considered primarily ceremonial.

Malcolm Turnbull, the leader of a failed campaign to have an Australian president replace the British monarch as Australia’s head of state and who later became prime minister, said: “It’s the end of an era and let’s hope that the future, after the Queen’s passing, is one where we will have leadership as dedicated and selfless as she has shown.”

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters she was awoken in the early hours of the morning by a police officer shining a torch into her bedroom to tell her the news of the Queen’s death.

Ms Ardern said: “The last days of the Queen’s life captures who she was in so many ways – working until the very end on behalf of the people she loved.”

She said the Queen was an extraordinary woman who she would remember for her laughter.

Ms Ardern said that like many other people, she was feeling not only deep sadness but also deep gratitude.

“Here is a woman who gave her life, utterly, to the service of others,” she said.

“And regardless of what anyone thinks of the role of monarchies around the world, there is undeniably, I think here, a display of someone who gave everything on behalf of her people, and her people included the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Ms Ardern said New Zealand had moved into a period of official mourning, and would hold a state memorial service after the official funeral in Britain.

The office of Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis said he sent a condolence message to King Charles III on Friday following the “painful loss” of the Queen.

“On behalf of the Romanian people and myself, I wish to convey to Your Majesty, the entire Royal Family and the British people my condolences and sympathy for the painful loss suffered,” he said.

Iohannis called the Queen an “exceptional leader who served her country with utmost devotion and responsibility, representing a symbol of stability and a true moral benchmark for the whole world”.

He added that her decades of service will “remain in the history of humanity as a landmark and inspiration” for future generations.

Gibraltar lowered the flags of official buildings, entered a period of national mourning and cancelled celebrations on Saturday of its National Day.

Fabian Picardo, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory bordering southern Spain, said: “May Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Second rest in eternal peace. Long live the King.”

In a statement sent to media and posted online, Mr Picardo added: “The People of Gibraltar will mourn Her Majesty as a monarch who has reigned wisely and with incomparable dedication throughout the period of our post-war emergence as a part of the British family of nations.”