Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch, died at the age of 96 at Balmoral, after reigning for 70 years.
She passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate, where she had spent the majority of the summer. Since her accession to the throne in 1952, the Queen has witnessed enormous social change.
Her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a “moment of great sadness” for him and his family and that her loss would be “deeply felt” around the world.
He said: “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. “I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
During the coming period, he said he and his family would be “comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held”.
Buckingham Palace announced that the King and his wife, Camilla, now Queen Consort, will return to London on Friday.
Senior royals had gathered at Balmoral earlier in the day after the Queen’s doctors had expressed concern about her health.
After doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision, all of the Queen’s children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen. Prince William, her grandson and now heir to the throne, and his brother, Prince Harry, were also present.
Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch was the rock on which modern Britain was built, who had “provided us with the stability and strength that we needed”.
Speaking about the new King, she said: “We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much, to so many, for so long.
“And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have wished, by saying the words ‘God save the King’.”
Queen Elizabeth II’s reign as head of state spanned postwar austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War, and the United Kingdom’s entry into – and exit from – the European Union.
Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers, beginning with Winston Churchill in 1874 and ending with Ms Truss in 1975, 101 years later. Throughout her reign, she met with her prime minister on a weekly basis.
Crowds waiting for updates on the Queen’s condition at Buckingham Palace in London began crying as they learned of her death.
At 18:30 BST, the Union flag atop the palace was lowered to half-mast, and an official notice announcing the death was posted outside.
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