Helen Mirren describes Queen Elizabeth II as 'the epitome of nobility' in heartfelt tribute

Helen Mirren has paid a heartfelt tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle on Thursday afternoon. 

• Helen Mirren honored Queen Elizabeth II's legacy on Instagram yesterday shortly after the death of the beloved monarch was confirmed. 
• The British actor hailed Her Majesty, who passed away 'peacefully' at the age of 96 on Thursday afternoon, as the 'epitome of nobility' in the heartfelt message. 
• In other royal news, the Queen's monumental life in pictures, from her Westminster wedding to her Platinum Jubilee, as she dies aged 96.
  

Dame Helen Mirren paid a touching tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, just hours after Buckingham Palace confirmed the death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch. 

The English actor, who won an Academy Award playing Her Majesty in the 2006 film, The Queen, honored the legacy of the 96-year-old with a short yet powerful message on Instagram. 

"I am proud to be an Elizabethan," Helen, 77, told her 1m followers. "We mourn a woman, who, with or without the crown, was the epitome of nobility." The poignant post, which included a black-and-white image of a young Queen Elizabeth II, has received hundreds of touching replies from fans of both the British actor and the beloved monarch. 

Helen's tribute came shortly after Buckingham Palace shared a statement from King Charles, in which he expressed the ‘greatest sadness’ over his 'cherished' mother's death.

As the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, the 74-year-old has automatically inherited the throne and will formally be crowned King at St. James's Palace in London in the next few months. 

Buckingham Palace confirmed that the Queen was under 'medical supervision' and 'comfortable' at Balmoral Castle yesterday after her personal doctors raised concerns for the royal matriarch's health. 

Fears only escalated after it was reported that her four children, Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward, and Princess Anne, had traveled to Balmoral to be by her side. Prince William, the Count and Countess of Wessex, and Prince Harry also fled to the Scottish estate in light of the worrying update. 

Just a few minutes after 7pm yesterday (September 8), Buckingham Palace issued an official statement that Queen Elizabeth II had "died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon." It also announced that King Charles, formerly the Prince of Wales, and the Queen Consort, formerly the Duchess of Cornwall, would remain at Balmoral for the evening and return to London on Friday.