Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch who had been Britain’s head of state for more than 70 years, has passed away on Thursday. She was 96.
In a statement, the 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.”
Queen Elizabeth II’s 73-year-old son Prince Charles automatically became king and will be known as King Charles III, it was announced. British monarchs in the past have selected new names upon taking the throne. Charles’ second wife, Camilla, will be known as the Queen Consort.
A funeral was to be held after 10 days of official mourning.
The monarch, whose husband Prince Philip died last year aged 99, was surrounded by her children and several of her grandchildren at her Scottish residence, Balmoral.
Her family had rushed to be at her side earlier in the day after she was placed under “medical supervision” amid concerns for her health.
In a statement, Charles called the death of his mother “a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” adding: “I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
British Prime Minister Liz Truss, appointed by the queen just 48 hours earlier, pronounced the country “devastated” and called Elizabeth “the rock on which modern Britain was built.”
In Canada, where the British monarch is the country’s head of state, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saluted her “wisdom, compassion and warmth.”
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter: “She provided inspiring leadership to her nation and people. She personified dignity and decency in public life. Pained by her demise.”
U.S. President Joe Biden called her a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States.”
Declining Health
The Queen’s health had been failing in the last 12 months.
Earlier this year she said she had been left “very tired and exhausted” after catching the COVID-19 virus in February 2022.
One of her final engagements was saying goodbye to outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and meeting his successor, Prime Minister Liz Truss, on Tuesday, and in a break from tradition, the ceremony was performed at her home at Balmoral, 40 miles from Aberdeen, rather than at Buckingham Palace, which indicated she was too unwell to travel.
Reign
Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne following the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, when she was just 25.
She was crowned in June the following year.
“I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust,” she said in a speech to her subjects on her coronation day.
Elizabeth became monarch at a time when Britain still retained much of its old empire. It was emerging from the ravages of World War Two.
Winston Churchill was Britain’s prime minister at the time, Josef Stalin led the Soviet Union, and the Korean War was raging.
In the decades that followed, Elizabeth witnessed massive political change and social upheaval at home and abroad.
She reigned over a country that rebuilt from war and lost its empire; joined the European Union and then left it; transformed from industrial powerhouse to uncertain 21st century society. She endured through 15 prime ministers, from Churchill to Truss.
Epoch Times reporter Chris Summers, PA Media, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
