The recently widowed wife of the Queen's former press secretary has described receiving a personal note of condolence from the monarch shortly before her death.
Journalist and author Ronald Allison, who died aged 90 in July, worked for the Queen between 1973 and 1978.
His wife Jennifer Allison said her husband, from Winchester, had helped to update the Royal Family's public image.
She said receiving the Queen's letter had helped with her own grieving.
The Queen wrote: "I was so very sorry to learn of Ron's death. I greatly valued his service to me and members of my family whilst he was press secretary and send you and members of his family my heartfelt condolences in your great loss."
Mrs Allison said her husband thought the Queen was "the most amazing woman".
"To then be able to work so closely with her for so long was the highlight of his career," she added.
BBC correspondent Mr Allison was appointed to his role at a time when the Royal Family was widely viewed as being old fashioned and increasingly out of touch.
He handled the first wedding of Princess Anne, the Silver Jubilee and constant speculation over the future King Charles III's choice of bride.
In his later career, which saw him write a series of books on the Queen and the royals, he described how he wanted to make the family more accessible.
He added, however, that it was important for them to retain a "balance between informality yet maintaining their dignity".
Mrs Allison said her husband used to talk about "pulling the curtain back just ever so slightly to allow people to see what life was like for them".
This resulted in the public seeing more of the Queen's personality in images released in the media, a trend which continued after the press secretary left his role.
The Queen was grateful for Mr Allison's work, staying in touch with him up until his death.
Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.
A day-by-day guide from now until the Queen's funeral
What will be open on the day of the Queen's funeral?
Lying-in-state: The symbolism and ceremony
How the Queen's funeral day will unfold
The Royal Family
Thousands brave cold night in queue to mourn Queen
Mass exhumations at Ukraine forest graves site
Counter-offensive won't change Russia's plans – Putin
Watch live: Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in-state
Who's invited to the Queen's funeral – and who's not?
Russian retreat exposes troop and kit weaknesses
Global drought: Is 2022 the driest year on record?
Abortion bans leave grey areas for complicated pregnancies
Queen's death stirs South Africa's colonial memories
Cheetahs make a return to India after 70 years
Blondie: I rocked with Cubans at 77
How long is the queue to see the Queen's coffin?
Four cities saying no to cars
The biggest myths of the teenage brain
The jobs employers can't fill
© 2022 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.