Former PM John Howard shares memories of Queen Elizabeth II

Former Australian prime minister John Howard has praised Queen Elizabeth II's dedication to serving the UK and the world.

Howard reminisced on his encounters with the Queen and also shared his thoughts on the new king.

Howard reflected on what he believes is one of the Queen's most memorable speeches when she visited South Africa in 1947 prior to her coronation.

LIVE UPDATES: Aussie politicians pay tribute to the Queen

"She said her whole life whether it be long or short would be devoted to the great as she described it then to the imperial family. How true that turned out to be," he said.

Howard said the Queen's last act in receiving Liz Truss as the new prime minister proved her dedication to duty.

"The fact that occurred just two days before she died was in many ways a metaphor for her whole life," he said.

"She saw service, commitment to duty, doing the right thing constitutionally and always understanding she was monarch by the free will and consent of her people not by any divine right."

'She had a great sense of humour'

Howard also affectionally reflected on his encounters with the Queen however said it was "impossible" to pick his favourite.

"My own dealings with her are ones I'll remember with great affection," he said.

"She had a great sense of humour, she had what seemed to me a great curiosity about Australia, she understood different features of Australian life."

Howard said although the Queen didn't share the same sporting passion for cricket they did share some happy moments at the Ashes.

READ MORE: The life and achievements of Queen Elizabeth II

He mentioned the referendum on whether Australia should maintain a monarch in 1999 and how gracious the Queen was.

"She always kept a proper constitutional difference. I can speculate what her feelings were after the result was announced but she did nothing but honour the democratic acceptance of her as the Queen of Australia," he said.

'She had that great capacity to put people at ease'

The former prime minister flagged one particular meeting with the Queen when Commonwealth heads of government dined in Edinburgh.

"Halfway through the dinner, the Queen and Jean Chretien broke into french for several minutes," he said.

"My schoolboy French wasn't much good but I don't think there was anything very controversial being said about the other guests.

"She had that great capacity to put people at ease."

READ MORE: What happens now the Queen has died?

Howard says Charles will be a different ruler to his mother

As Charles takes the throne as king, Howard said he expects him to do the job "conscientiously" and differently to his mother.

"His life has been all about preparing for it. People will form opinions and to use that great Australian expression, they'll pay on performance," Howard said.

"It can't be a re-run on his mother because she was 26 when she came to the throne and he's in his 70s so it's obviously very different."

Other Australian prime ministers have paid their respects to the Queen including Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull, and Tony Abbott.