The Queen and wartime favourite Dame Vera Lynn had a long-lasting friendship that spanned decades until the singer's death last year.
Her Majesty was the first to learn of Dame Vera's death on June 18, 2020 at the age of 103, and was said to be "very, very sad" at the news.
Just months before the singer's death the Queen used Dame Vera’s most celebrated words as she spoke to the nation as coronavirus swept the UK.
The Queen ended her inspirational televised address, by saying: "We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again – we will meet again."
The singer and entertainer was famed for her 1939 song We’ll Meet Again that resonated with the soldiers off to fight in the Second World War.
Her songs The White Cliffs Of Dover , There'll Always Be An England , I'll Be Seeing You , Wishing and If Only I Had Wings , helped raise British spirits during the Blitz.
And they secured Dame Vera's place in the hearts of the nation.
She was made a Dame in 1975 and is said to have personally persuaded the Queen to let her duet with Sir Cliff Richard on the VE Day jubilee in 1995.
Royal favourite Vera received a letter from the Queen inviting her to perform and the singer insisted she needed to duet with a male voice.
John Ratcliff, the husband of Vera’s friend Marsha Rae, says: “Vera said to the Queen: ‘Obviously I would be thrilled to sing, but I think maybe we should have a male singer too.’ And the Queen asked who she had in mind – to which Vera replied: ‘Yes, Cliff Richard.’
“It was Vera’s recommendation that it should be Sir Cliff. She really had that personal connection with the royals."
Mr Ratcliff added that Dame Vera respected the Royal Family, having been in their company many times.
“If you go to Vera’s house now, the first thing you see as you open the front door is a framed letter from the Queen Mother to congratulate her on winning the Variety International Humanitarian Award in 1985," he said,
In her 2009 autobiography Some Sunny Day, Vera added: “I was very privileged to enjoy The Queen Mother’s company on many occasions.
"She was relaxed and informal – she would just sit down for a chat.”
When the Queen Mother died, in 2002, Dame Vera gave a heartfelt tribute, saying: ”She loved being with people and this meant a lot to her and she was such a friendly, warm personality.
“She treated everyone as an individual and not as a crowd.
"She spoke to you and she wasn’t interested in anybody else around, her. This warmth came out.”
Dame Vera regularly attended events commemorating World War Two alongside members of the Royal Family and worked with Princess Anne on a memorial for the women of that conflict.
She died at home in Ditchling, East Sussex and is survived by her daughter, Virginia Lewis-Jones.
