Queen Elizabeth II: US senators praise, mourn 'extraordinary woman' after seven decades as monarch

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United States senators praised Queen Elizabeth II for her influence on world history and the deep U.S.-U.K. relationship, and mourned her loss after the monarch passed away Thursday at the age of 96. 

"I think she was a woman of goodwill and class," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. He was in Congress when the queen delivered an address to a joint session in 1991. 

"The U.K. will miss her, we'll all miss her," Shelby said. 

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., meanwhile, recalled the queen's connection to his state and his personal interactions with her from his time as governor. 

"In Virginia we have a very personal feeling about the queen because she came to Virginia as a young monarch in 1957 to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement," Kaine told Fox News Digital. "She came back with Prince Philip in 2007 when I was governor, so my wife and I hosted her at the governor's mansion, traveled with her and Prince Philip to Jamestown."

QUEEN ELIZABETH II, LONGEST REIGNING BRITISH MONARCH, DEAD AT 96

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II passed away Thursday, and U.S. senators reflected on her legacy and its effect on the U.S.-U.K. relationship. (Steve Parsons-Pool)

Other senators reflected on Elizabeth's tenure, which spanned seven decades, including both party leaders. 

"It is a marvel to think that on the day of Queen Elizabeth's coronation, Harry Truman was in the White House," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor. "The world was still coming out of the shadow of the second world war, entering a bold, uncertain, unchartered future."

"Thanks to her the special relationship between the United States and the U.K. gained even more special significance," Schumer added. "Her reign saw the dawn of the atomic age, the age of the internet, the fall of the Soviet Union, an unprecedented global pandemic."

 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Elizabeth "guided venerable institutions through modern times using timeless virtues like duty, dignity, and sacrifice. She offered our contemporary world a living master class it needed badly."

A couple place flowers in between the gates outside Buckingham Palace following the news that Queen Elizabeth II had died on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022.  (Fox News Digital)

"Our deepest sympathies are with the royal family, and the many millions of people across the United Kingdom and the commonwealth and the entire world who have drawn reassurance and inspiration from her historic reign, sterling character, and shining example," McConnell added. 

"Yesterday's meeting with the new prime minister was her 15th prime minister, and there have also been 14 presidents of the United States since she was queen," Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital. "Her time as the queen of England spans a third of our presidential history. It's an amazing life."

PHOTOS: QUEEN ELIZABETH THROUGH THE YEARS

"She lived just long enough to pick the new prime minister," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. "She's very much beloved and it's a sad time. We will keep our British colleagues in our thoughts and prayers."

"For most Britons this will be the first change in monarch they've seen, I know this will be a major, major moment for them," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. "I was just thinking, I saw the pictures of her with Winston Churchill – her first prime minister… The legacy that she represented, the link to Britain's past that she represented, I think is very significant." 

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain is pictured with President Ronald Reagan, first lady Nancy Reagan and Billy Graham in 1983. (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

Sen. Chris Coons. D-Del., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., meanwhile, praised Elizabeth's influence on world events, including international relationships with the U.S. and others. 

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"She's been an absolute stalwart supporter of the special relationship with the United States and the United Kingdom," Coons said. "She's been one of the greatest monarchs in British history, and has contributed to dramatic transitions from Great Britain being an empire to being a modern nation."

"What an extraordinary woman who to me symbolizes the kind of positive relationship our country can have with others," Wyden added. 

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.