Judges, barristers and court staff gathered this morning to hold a two-minute silence following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Court users gathered in Court 2 of Swindon Crown Court on Friday morning at 10am to pay their respects, led by the court’s resident judge, His Honour Judge James Townsend.

Also present was His Honour Judge Jason Taylor King’s Counsel.

Her Majesty passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday afternoon, aged 96.

Her eldest son, King Charles III, has succeeded her to the throne.

Following the two-minute silence, HHJ Townsend gave a short reading to the courtroom, referencing the George Eliot character Dorothea Brooke.

“The Dorothea Brookes of this world, dutiful, kind, and determined to do the right things, stand for the values it seems to me that Queen Elizabeth II seems to exemplify.

“She valued and celebrated the ordinary.

“She wore the Crown Jewels and tiaras, but certainly didn’t do bling.

“She was celebrated, but certainly wasn’t a celebrity.”

Judge Townsend continued: “When she sat in that famous photograph in St George’s Chapel in Windsor at the funeral of her husband of her husband of [73] years, there was a good sense she was not just setting a pointed example, she was doing her bit.

“She talked repeatedly about service.

“It was a word she used a lot, and signed messages to her subjects, ‘Yours, Elizabeth R.’.

“As we sit beneath what was her coat of arms, with the sense we have lost someone who has always been in our lives, we echo the gospel writer’s words, ‘well done, thou good and faithful servant’.”

Since the news of the Queen’s passing broke at 6.30pm on Thursday, tributes to Her Majesty have flooded in.

South Swindon MP and Welsh Secretary, Sir Robert Buckland, said: “Queen Elizabeth II dedicated her long and remarkable life to public service.

"She was loved and admired across my South Swindon constituency, Wales, the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the World.

"Our deepest condolences to His Majesty The King and to the Royal Family."

North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has described the announcement as "dreadfully sad news" and said that "the nation's heart is broken".

He tweeted: "Thank you for everything Her Majesty. Such dreadfully sad news."

Mr Tomlinson added that the Queen was a “constant, dedicated and dutiful example for us all”.

“We all feel a very personal loss and this is very sad news. RIP Ma’am.”