A schoolgirl was left shocked after receiving a thank-you note from the Queen a day after she died.

Lois Hanson, nine, had sent Her Majesty a poem in June to celebrate her platinum Jubilee and forgotten all about it.

But on Friday, a cream-coloured envelope dropped through her letterbox from the monarch, the day after she had passed away peacefully, aged 96.

The note sent to her home in West End, near Southampton, was thought to be one of the Queen’s final pieces of correspondence.

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The letter was signed "Elizabeth R" and included two photographs of the Queen alongside a Royal coat of arms.

The monarch's message gave "grateful thanks for your kind message on the occasion of the Seventieth Anniversary of my Accession to the Throne".

Lois' mum, Zoe Hanson, checked the postmark of the reply - which was 7 September 2022 - the day before The Queen had died.

She said: "Lois wanted to send [the poem] to The Queen and so we put it in an envelope to Buckingham Palace, never ever expecting a reply.

"It had completely disappeared from our minds over the last four months, until the postman came on Friday, the day after the Queen had died.”

Ms Hanson, 47, then had to wait for Lois to return home from school.

She added: "I said to her 'there's something really, really important for you to open'. And she got very excited to see her name on there and that it had come from Buckingham Palace.

"It's just a lovely, lovely piece of history."

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Lois said: "She was a wonderful Queen and her Jubilee showed us all the wonderful things she has done for us and I wanted to do something for her.

"I was in shock. I felt happy that I had a card from her, but sad because she had died the day before."

Ms Hanson revealed that she has had to stop Lois from taking the original into school - in fear of yoghurt spilling on it - and given her a photocopy to show her school friends.

Finding a frame worthy of such a reply from the Queen is now the task for Lois and her mother - who revealed it would take pride of place.

Lois' poem to the Queen read:

You shine oh so bright, like stars in the night

Happy jubilee, I know you’ll have a cup of tea

The jubilee will be history and it’s you they will see

Happy Jubilee.