'Our Hearts Are Broken': Historic Front Pages Mark The Queen's Death

The front pages from the Daily Mirror and The Times for Friday, Sept. 9. (Photo: Daily Mirror/The Times)

The death of Queen Elizabeth II leads every national newspaper in the U.K. on Friday morning.

The queen, who was the U.K.’s longest-serving monarch, is being remembered for her steadfast commitment to her role and her lifetime dedication to the crown.

Here’s a look at those historic front pages.

The Times is one of the outlets which uses a famous photo by Cecil Beaton that marked the monarch’s coronation back in 1953 — aged 27 — to honor her passing, alongside a caption: “A life in service.”

The Daily Star uses the same image, with the headline: ”‘You did your duty, ma’am.’”

The Independent and The Guardian splash with that famous photo too, although neither paper includes a quote, simply the date of the queen’s birth and death — 1926 to 2022.

The i also goes for the same photograph, but has a more informative front page with a breakdown of the four key details from the day. It explains that the monarch died in Balmoral in the afternoon, and that the country is likely to enter 10 days of mourning. The queen’s successor, King Charles III, will be making an address on Friday too.

The Daily Mail opts for an image of the queen from 1952, when she was still Princess Elizabeth, first in line to the throne. She’s pictured without the crown jewels, but with a smaller crown and ornate decorative jewellery. Its front page carries a quote from its columnist Sarah Vine: “Our hearts are broken.”

The Metro’s front page includes another photo from the same occasion, except in this one the queen is slightly smiling while looking over her shoulder. It carries the dates of her life, 1926 to 2022.

The Financial Times used a more candid image than its competitors, opting for a photo of the queen in her finery while leaning out of a carriage, smiling, with her full title in its headline — “Queen Elizabeth II, 1926-2022.”

The Sun uses a more modern, but still formal, portrait of the queen for its front page, displayed in black and white, with a purple masthead, while choosing another image of the late monarch in her youth for its back page. On the front, it goes with the headline: “We loved you Ma’am.”

Below, it has a caption remembering her as Britain’s longest-serving monarch, and concluding: “We are proud you were our Queen.”

The Daily Express uses the same photo of the queen from the modern era, accompanying the caption: “Our beloved Queen is dead.”

The Daily Record chooses an image of the monarch in profile, in her finery during a special occasion, while smiling. It foregoes a headline altogether, just writing: “Queen Elizabeth II: 1926 - 2022.”

The Mirror also uses an image of the queen in profile, but this time she has a more somber expression. This picture is just accompanied by the headline: “Thank you.”

The Daily Telegraph opts for the same black and white image of the queen that the royal family released to announce her death.

The paper attaches a quote from a speech the monarch shared when sending her condolences to the U.S. over 9/11: ”Grief is the price we pay for love.”

Regional newspapers across the country also acknowledged the historic occasion too, although some used less formal images to mark her death.

Scottish newspaper The Herald, however, did choose a formal image showing the queen in her finery while standing in the Highlands.

Away from the British press, newspapers all over the world honored the late monarch.

The New York Times, the New Yorker and TIME magazine all gave their front pages to the queen.

Italian Corriere della Sera honoured the queen too, as did the French newspapers Liberation and Le Temps, alongside German newspaper Bild.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.