Suffolk's senior bishop has said Queen Elizabeth was held in great affection by the county because she shared the values that you found in families across the area.

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, the Rt Rev Martin Seeley said: "I think it isn't the Suffolk way to rush into change for the sake of it and there is also the attitude that whatever is happening you just have to get on with things.

"They are qualities we have seen in The Queen over the decades and for that reason, I think there is a special bond."

Bishop Martin only welcomed The Queen once to an official visit to Suffolk - when she visited Newmarket.

But he met her several times - and like all Church of England bishops was invited to spend a weekend with her and Prince Philip at Sandringham.

He said: "She was always very keen to get to know her bishops personally and so I was invited to spend the weekend at Sandringham. Other members of the family were there as well - William and Catherine were about there with members of her family,

"But on the Sunday evening it was just The Queen and Prince Philip, a lady-in-waiting and me - and before dinner, we settled down to watch the news on television.

"The Queen and Duke had missed the Christmas service at Sandringham a few weeks earlier because of flu and that was the first time they had been seen out since recovering and that was a big report on the news.

"She found that very amusing - that people were speculating about their health when they were clearly very well."

And while her official visits to Suffolk had not been that frequent, she had often visited friends in the county - especially when the family were staying at Sandringham in Norfolk.

Lord and Lady Tollemache were friends of The Queen and Prince Philip and the royal couple occasionally visited them at Helmingham Hall.

And the Dowager Duchess of Grafton was a lifelong friend and was Mistress of the Robes from 1967 until her death last December at the age of 101.

Bishop Martin said: "There is a well-known story about the vicar of Euston going to discuss some parish matters with the duchess only to find The Queen sitting in her living room having a cup of tea!"

And she clearly knew her way around the county.

Bishop Martin said: "When I first met her, she asked how I was finding Suffolk. I said, 'Never trust a road sign! It will tell you the village you're heading for is two miles away and then when you get two miles down the road it's still two miles away!'

"She smiled and said: 'I know what you mean!'"

From his time with The Queen, he said it was clear she loved the country life - during her stays at Sandringham she and Prince Philip would often spend a few days at Wood Farm on the estate which was quieter.

And Bishop Martin said it was clear that her strong Christian faith was the bedrock of The Queen's life of service.

He said: "She was always very keen to talk about the church and its work all over the country through parishes. She understood why it was necessary for one vicar to have several churches and why parishioners may have to travel to one church one week and another church the next.

"The church and her faith were absolutely at the centre of her life."

Bishop Martin will be taking part in the Suffolk Proclamation of the accession of King Charles III, which will be read at Ipswich Cornhill in a ceremony led by Lord Lieutenant Clare, Countess of Euston, at 1pm on Sunday - and will then be taken to towns across the county by Deputy Lieutenants and mayors on Sunday afternoon.