'We won't see her like again': Manitobans react to the death of Queen Elizabeth

Manitobans who had the opportunity to meet Queen Elizabeth during her more than 70-year reign are mourning her death.

Queen Elizabeth, Canada's head of state and the longest-reigning British monarch, died on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Buckingham Palace said in a short statement. She was 96.

"It's a very sad day for not just the Commonwealth ... but I really think it's a sad day for the world," said Dwight MacAulay, a retired chief of protocol for the Manitoba government who oversaw the monarch's visits to the province in 2002 and 2010.

WATCH | Manitobans who met Queen mourn her death:

Manitobans react to the death of Queen Elizabeth

2 years ago

Duration 3:03

Manitobans who had the opportunity to meet Queen Elizabeth during her more than 70-year reign are mourning her death.

"The Queen was the personification, if you will, of class, dignity and grace."

MacAulay was honoured himself by the Queen by being invested in the Royal Victorian Order — an order that recognizes distinguished personal service to the monarch.

"I think I'm safe in saying we won't see her like again," said MacAulay. "She was absolutely amazing."

Elizabeth visited Manitoba six times — first in 1951 as a princess, and then as Queen in 1959, 1970, 1984, 2002 and 2010. Those visits were marked by crowds of excited Canadians, flowers and fireworks.

"When she met people, they literally lit up. It was such a monumental moment in their life, really," MacAulay said.

Manitoba Lt.-Gov. Janice Filmon — the monarch's official representative in Manitoba — said in a statement that the Queen was "respected and revered," and made numerous lasting connections with people in communities large and small across the province.

That was the case for Brian Bailey, who met the Queen and the Royal Family at a garden party hosted at his family's home near Carberry, Man., during the 1970 royal visit, when he was 25 years old.

"It was a fun time, a very special time and something we'll never forget," he told CBC News in an interview on Thursday.

Bailey says he remembers the Queen being "very normal" and easy to speak to, which he found surprising.

But there were also some less-than-perfect moments for Queen Elizabeth in the province.

On her golden jubilee tour of Canada in 2002, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made a stop in Winnipeg and got into some trouble on the water on a chilly October day.

They were crossing the Red River in a water taxi when its engine failed. Another water taxi, which was travelling behind the royal boat, had to tow the stalled vessel to safety.

The British newspaper the Guardian reported the Queen, then 76 and visibly chilled, climbed out of the boat with her husband and said: "That was interesting."

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, who met the monarch on one of her trips to Manitoba, wrote on Thursday that the Queen's "dignity and grace is a memory I will cherish forever."

The news of the Queen's death is "deeply saddening," Stefanson said on Twitter, calling her "a stoic but reassuring source of stability in an ever-changing world" who "was connected to the people of Manitoba."

MacAulay noted that the majority of people alive in the province now have only known one monarch.

"I think we couldn't have been more fortunate to have such a wonderful, wonderful head of state in Queen Elizabeth II," he said.

WATCH | Queen Elizabeth's last visit to Manitoba in 2010:

RAW: Queen Elizabeth's visit in 2010

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Duration 0:58