Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and the nation’s figurehead for seven decades, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
Her eldest son Charles, 73, automatically becomes king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
A photograph taken in the 1970s showing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth standing on a beach at an unknown location, is seen in this undated handout photograph, received in London on November 21, 2008. The photograph is being sold by a private collector, along with other informal photographs of members of the royal family, from a variety of sources. REUTERS/Reeman Dansie/Handout (BRITAIN).Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh view the restored bed-chamber at the Maritime Museum in London, in this May 1, 1990 file photo. The Queen reopened the Queen’s house at the Museum which has recently been refurbished at a cost of five million pounds sterling. REUTERS/Mike ParssonQueen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip pose for a portrait at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain in 1952. Picture taken in 1952. Library and Archives Canada/National Film Board of Canada fonds/e010975988/Handout via REUTERSBritain’s Queen Elizabeth leaves the Palace of Westminster following the State Opening of Parliament, in London December 3, 2008. REUTERS/Richarl Pohle/Pool (BRITAIN)A picture showing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (C) with her daughter Princess Anne (R) and her granddaughter Zara Phillips riding at Windsor Castle during Easter, has been released by Buckingham Palace to mark the monarch’s 78th birthday April 21, 2004. REUTERS/HO-Buckingham Palace JBQueen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip pose with U.S. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, June 5, 1961. Picture taken June 5, 1961. U. S. Department of State/John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/Handout via REUTERS.South African President Nelson Mandela is accompanied by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in a carriage ride to a Buckingham Palace lunch on the first day of his state visit to Britain July 9.Britain’s Queen Elizabeth (L) smiles as she was welcomed by Pope John Paul II before their private audience in Vatican October 17,2000. The Queen, head of the Church of England, returned to the Vatican after 20 years to meet the Pope. The Queen and Prince Philip are on Italy for a four-day visit. VP/WSThe Princess of Wales chats to Queen Elizabeth II at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster October 8Britain’s Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Anne stand on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as they watch a fly past to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force in central London, Britain July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Radburn TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYBritain’s Prince William and his bride Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (C), pose for an official photograph, with their families, on the day of their wedding, in the throne room at Buckingham Palace, in central London April 29, 2011. (Front row L-R) Grace van Cutsem, Eliza Lopes, Prince Philip, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Louise Windsor, William Lowther-Pinkerton. (Back Row L-R) Tom Pettifer, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Michael Middleton, Carole Middleton, James Middleton, Pippa Middleton. Photograph taken on April 29, 2011. (ROYAL WEDDING) REUTERS/Hugo Burnand/Clarence House/Handout (BRITAIN)Prince Charles kisses the hand of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, after she presented him with a Royal Horticultural Society Victoria Medal of Honour, during a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show in London May 18, 2009. REUTERS/Sang Tan/PoolBritain’s Queen Elizabeth attends a military ceremony in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle to mark her official birthday, in Windsor, Britain June 12, 2021. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTER TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYBritain’s Queen Elizabeth and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, visit the Storyhouse in Chester, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYBritain’s Queen Elizabeth reads the Queen’s Speech during the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords in London, Britain May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Alastair Grant/Pool
