Putin writes to King Charles offering ‘sincere sympathy’ over Queen’s death

Vladimir Putin has written to King Charles III paying tribute to Elizabeth II and offering “sincere sympathy” to Britain after her death.

Despite the tensions over the war in Ukraine, the Russian president reached out to monarch in telegram on Thursday.

He wrote: "The most important events in the recent history of the United Kingdom are inextricably linked with the name of Her Majesty. For many decades, Elizabeth II rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the world stage.

"I wish you courage and perseverance in the face of this heavy, irreparable loss. I ask you to convey the words of sincere sympathy and support to the members of the royal family and all the people of Great Britain."

Condolences have poured in from around the world after the death of the Queen at the age of 96.

Pope Francis also used a telegram to Charles to say that he is praying for "eternal rest" for his mother.

The pontiff offered "heartfelt condolences to Your Majesty, the Members of the Royal Family, the People of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth".

Francis, who met the Queen in 2014, said: "I willingly join all who mourn her loss in praying for the late Queen's eternal rest, and in paying tribute to her unstinting service to the good of the nation and the Commonwealth, her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and her firm hope in his promises."

Israeli president Isaac Herzog said: "She lived history, she made history. And with her passing, she leaves a magnificent, inspirational legacy."

France lowered flags at the presidential palace and public buildings to half mast in honour of the Queen.

President Emmanuel Macron said no other foreign sovereign had visited the Elysee Palace more than Elizabeth II, who knew all eight presidents of contemporary France.

He hailed her "immutable moral authority", her intimate knowledge of French and the stability she brought "across the fluctuations and upheavals of politics, a permanence with the scent of eternity".

"The woman who stood alongside the giants of the 20th century on the path of history has left to join them," he said in a statement, sharing condolences to Britain from "the French Republic and the French people".

In India, once a British colony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called her "a stalwart of our times".

"She personified dignity and decency in public life," Mr Modi tweeted.

She was mourned across the 54-nation Commonwealth, a group built around Britain and its former colonies.

"For most Canadians, we have known no other sovereign," Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said the Queen is the 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 Queen's death comes as a growing number of British territories in the Caribbean seek to replace the monarch with their own heads of state amid demands that Britain apologise for its colonial-era abuses and award its former colonies slavery reparations.

Still, Caribbean leaders from Bermuda to Dominica and beyond mourned her death.

"Her passing ends an iconic 70-year reign and is a profound loss for the commonwealth of nations and the world," tweeted Roosevelt Skerrit, Dominica's prime minister.

Minutes later, Bermuda premier David Burt noted that her reign "has spanned decades of such immense change for the United Kingdom and the world".

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness noted that since she was crowned in 1953, the Queen visited the island every decade until 2002.

"Undoubtedly, she formed a special bond with the people of Jamaica during her reign," he said. "We are saddened that we will not see her light again, but we will remember her historic reign."

In March, when William and Kate visited Jamaica as part of an official trip to the Caribbean, Mr Holness made an unexpected announcement in public that the island intended to become fully independent.

Since then, Jamaica has established a Constitution Reform Committee and is scheduled to hold a referendum in 2025. If approved, it would join other republics in the region including Barbados, Dominica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.