Giffey on the Queen's death: "Already a legend during her lifetime"

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  The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in the colors of the Union Jack to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

• Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to Pariser Platz near the Brandenburg Gate.

• Flowers were laid outside the British Embassy in Berlin following the Queen's death.

Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) has expressed her sadness over the death of the Queen.

"The Queen accompanied us throughout our lives, she was already a legend during her lifetime," Giffey said Thursday evening, according to a statement from the Berlin Senate Chancellery. "It was the power of her great personality that has always fascinated us Berliners." Giffey continued: "We mourn with the Windsor family, the British nation and especially with all British people living in our city." The Queen had died on Thursday at the age of 96.