With yesterday's death of Queen Elizabeth II, various segments of the British publishing industry paid tribute to the monarch who reigned for 70 years.
Speaking on behalf of publishers, Dan Conway, CEO of the Publishers Association, said: "All of us at the Publishers Association are saddened to learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and send our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family. She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy that will inspire generations to come."
Meryl Halls, managing director of the Booksellers Association, said: "On behalf of all bookselling members of the BA and the association itself, we send our deepest condolences to the Royal Family on the death of Her Majesty. She has been the backdrop to all of our lives and her passing truly marks the end of an age."
The nation's biggest bookseller said: "Waterstones is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and extend our condolences to the Royal Family. We add our sincere appreciation to that expressed by so many for the steadfast leadership given to us all by Her Majesty over her long reign."
Elizabeth II was a genuine bibliophile, having been to the Hay Festival three times in the last decade, including opening the 2021 event, and attending LBF in 2014. She has been a patron of BookTrust since 2011 and is also Patron of the National Literacy Trust and the Royal Society for Literature, and has presented both the Booker Prize and the Women's Prize for Fiction. In 2018, she hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the Booker's 50th anniversary with 250 guests included 10 former winners of the prize.
The death of Elizabeth II sees her son take the throne as King Charles III, with his wife Camilla, becoming Queen Consort.
A version of this story first appeared in the U.K. publishing newsletter BookBrunch.
