Buckingham Palace confirms that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has died on Thursday at the age of 96.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow”.
The Queen leaves behind her four children, Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward, eight grand-children and 12 great-grandchildren.
Prince Charles will automatically become King
The Royal Family will now enter a period of mourning. Official engagements will be cancelled and union flags will be flown at half-mast on royal residences, government buildings, across the Armed Forces and UK Posts overseas.
The Queen’s death brings to an end the longest reign in the history of the United Kingdom, and one of the longest reigns by any head of state.
Elizabeth II became Queen on the death of her father King George VI on 6 February 1952. She held her coronation at Westminster Abbey the following year.
Her reign of 70 years was seven years longer than that of Queen Victoria.
Leading the monarchy from the final years of the British Empire into the age of social media, she became one of the world’s most recognised and respected figures of our time.
Prime Minister Liz Truss, speaking outside 10 Downing street, said that “We are all devastated” at the news of the Queen’s death and that “It’s an extraordinary achievement to have presided with such dignity and grace for 70 years.”
“In return she was loved and admired by the people in the UK and around the world”
She added that “Her life of service stretched beyond most of our living memories” and that “she had been a personal inspiration to me and other Britons.” Prime Minister Truss also recalled her meeting with The Queen, when she was made the Prime Minister of UK.
The Prime Minister said that the Queen “had visited over 100 countries and touched the lives around the world.”
“It is a day of great loss, that Queen Elizabeth II leaves behind a great legacy,” she concluded.
