Locals in the Deeside village of Ballater have spoken fondly of their "neighbour" the Queen following her death at 96.
Elizabeth II held a deep fondness for the Aberdeenshire village, a few miles from her summer residence at Balmoral Castle - a fondness that has been passed from royal to royal since the days of Queen Victoria. It is a tradition she has passed onto her children, including the former Duke of Rothesay, King Charles III.
Residents in Ballater say the mood in the village has been solemn since the Queen died on Thursday, with many having personal recollections of encountering the monarch in the hills around the Balmoral estate and meeting her children and grandchildren in the streets and shops.
Alastair Cassie, the proprietor of the A. Cassie hardware store, had many exchanges with the Queen, including showing her the Diamond Jubilee Cairn that sits outside the local church, made up of 60 stones from 30 hills around the region. He was granted a Royal Warrant when he began repairing the TV sets at Balmoral, and recalled her renowned sense of humour.
"I knew the Queen when I was at Balmoral - you would hear the corgis coming and I tended to keep out of the way," said Alastair, who has run his shop for 42 years and is known locally as "Mr Ballater".
"But the biggest conversation I had with her was when we unveiled the Jubilee Cairn. I was invited to show the Queen around it and I was trying my best to be polite, referring to one of the hills we took stones from a hill called the Brown Cow - but I'm a Ballater lad and I told her that we call it the Broon Coo.
"Then she turned to me and went straight into: 'Broon Coo.' It was a surprise. I would be nervous before speaking to her but I overcame it because she was so good at putting you at ease. I wasn't surprised when I heard that she had died. I knew it was on the cards, but it was very sudden."
The 77-year-old added: "Prince Charles, the King now, visits the village quite a lot. They don't come shopping and that but the Queen Mother would come here to shop and buy toys. Camilla, the Queen Consort, goes to the toy shop a lot, buying things for the grandchildren.
"We also had a lot of time for the Duke of Edinburgh, who was known for his barbeques. Around here, people don't chase after the royals and mollycoddle them. They're here for a rest and we respect that."
Quantity surveyor David Cobban, 56, grew up in Ballater and returned to the village 15 years ago after spells elsewhere in Scotland. He says those who live and work around the estate are "protective" and deeply respective of the royals, whom they perceive as neighbours and friends rather than figures far removed from society.
David, who also runs the Brakeley Gift Room shop with wife Wendy, said: "The Queen has seen this place resurge back to being one of the royals' favourite places of all. I feel she had an affinity here that is different from that of other monarchs.
"My wife and I went to Balmoral last October, while the Queen was there, and saw her in the corner of a field as we took a walk. She was driving around in one of her Range Rovers, and she waved, and we waved back. That's just how it was when she was there.
"I think once she was at Balmoral that part of life was available to her - she didn't sit in the castle all day, and seeing her was a fairly regular occurrence. For a lot of people who lived and worked in the estate, that affinity was personal. We have a closer association with the Queen and her family."
David, who chaired the committee for Ballater's Platinum Jubilee events, believes that the royals' ability to blend in amongst the townspeople is built on a mutual understanding with locals, who treat them no differently from other guests and customers.
"If Camilla or Kate come here for a coffee we leave them alone, maybe say hello in passing, and leave it at that. There are people here that know them really well and are quite protective of them.
"Everyone here has their stories of the royals, but I doubt many will share them all. They want to keep them for themselves, and for the family's sake.
"I think we've lost something more akin to a friend or a neighbour, not just a monarch. The Queen has been the one thing that has been fairly constant for a lot of people - she was there no matter what. People will take time to process that we are in a world without her.
"I think that this is the beginning of a new era, albeit with a King who has the same love for this place as his mother. And I would like to think that it was good the last few weeks of the Queen's life were in a place she held in high regard, and that those were good weeks for her.
"I'm glad, from that perspective, that if there was a place she had to be, this isn't a bad one to be in. I think the local people will feel that way too."
In the window of the Ballater Gallery art studio on the high street, proprietor David Reid has placed prints of the Queen dressed in a green hat and coat waving. Opposite her, he has placed a print of her son, King Charles III, in full royal regalia.
He said: "The people of Deeside have the most enormous respect for the royal family, but you could see it went both ways - not in a sycophantic way.
"We see the new King and the Queen Consort a lot, popping into the shops, Princess Anne, and the Cambridges. People here, they aren't bothered about it. They go about their business in a dignified way, with no pomp and circumstance.
"I think they were drawn here because of what this place does to you. When you reach Dinnet [a nearby village on the way to Balmoral] something in the air changes, and you feel yourself relax. You can have all the troubles in the world but when you get here something happens and they just slip away.
"The Queen was never able to visit my gallery, which for me is a huge shame. It saddens me that never came about.
"But I think we are entering an interesting time for the monarchy, and I think that there will still be a fascination with the royals."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
