The Queen actor Helen Mirren pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth

The Queen actor Helen Mirren has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II following the news of her passing today (8 September).

Mirren took on the role of Her Majesty for the 2006 film The Queen, which follows the royal family and their response following the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

The actor took to social media to comment on Queen Elizabeth II's passing after it was announced by Buckingham Palace this evening, with a statement from the palace reading: "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."

As politicians, members of the royal family and members of the public shared their thoughts and tributes on her passing, Mirren shared a black and white picture alongside the words: "I am proud to be an Elizabethan. We mourn a woman, who, with or without the crown, was the epitome of nobility."

The Queen ascended to the throne in 1952 and went on to become the UK's longest-ruling monarch, celebrating her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year to mark 70 years in the role.

Her life has been fictionalised multiple times throughout the years, including in Mirren's film and in the long-running drama series The Crown.

Prior to taking on the role of Her Majesty, Mirren wrote to the Queen to discuss the plot of the film as she acknowledged it addressed 'a profoundly painful part of her life'.

In an interview with the Radio Times earlier this year, Mirren recalled: "I said, 'We are doing this film. We are investigating a very difficult time in your life. I hope it’s not too awful for you'. I can’t remember how I put it. I just said that in my research I found myself with a growing respect for her, and I just wanted to say that."

Mirren said the Queen didn't personally acknowledge her letter, but she did receive a response from the Queen's secretary.

"She didn’t write back, of course, but her secretary did," Mirren explained. "You know, 'Yours sincerely, da di da di da', on behalf of the Queen. I was very relieved subsequently that I had written that letter."

Mirren's tribute is just one of many flooding in for the Queen in the wake of her passing, with the Queen's eldest son, King Charles III, releasing a statement to say the country mourns the passing of a 'cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother'.