The opening ceremony marked the culmination of six years of work to build the structure, involving more than 15,000 people, at a cost of £1.35bn - £245m under the original budget.
Following a ribbon cutting ceremony on the south side of the bridge, HM The Queen was accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to an event on the north side where she unveiled a plaque officially declaring the Queensferry Crossing open.
This was followed by musical performances by Karine Polwart, KT Tunstall and King Creosote, among others, and the recital of a specially commissioned poem by Scotland’s Makar, Jackie Kay.
There was also a Red Arrows flypast while a flotilla of around 90 ninety craft sailed below.
Speaking at the event, first minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “This crossing is the tallest bridge in the UK. It has required 150,000 tonnes of concrete, 23,000 miles of steel cabling and 19 million hours of labour.
“But, far more important than those statistics are the benefits this bridge will bring. It will improve journey times, and bring benefits to families and businesses – not just in Fife and the Lothians, but across Scotland.
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“It is already attracting global attention. Together, the three Forth bridges will bring people from around the world to admire their ingenuity and their beauty.
“It is an honour to have Her Majesty The Queen opening the new bridge for Scotland’s communities, just as she she opened the Forth Road Bridge, linking Fife and the Lothians.”
At the weekend thousands of local people walked over the bridge as part of the Queensferry Crossing Experience.
The Queensferry Crossing was built by Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC), a consortium of Hochtief, Dragados, American Bridge and Morrison Construction (Galliford Try).
The bridge opens to traffic on Thursday 7th September 2017.
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