Britain's Queen Elizabeth has died at the age of 96
A tribute to Queen Elizabeth II is displayed on a big screen in Piccadilly Circus in central London. Picture: James Manning/PA Wire
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has died, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Queen Elizabeth, 96, was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, serving as head of state for more than 70 years.
Prince Charles is now king, having acceded to the throne immediately on the death of his mother.
In a statement, 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.”
Queen Elizabeth dedicated her life to her royal duty.
She was the first British monarch in history to reach her platinum jubilee, and has died just three months after the celebrations in June marking her 70 years on the throne.
Queen Elizabeth was also the longest-reigning still-serving monarch in the world.
She mourned the loss of her beloved husband of 73 years, Philip, who died aged 99 in April 2021.
A figure of stability in national life, Queen Elizabeth was head of state, the armed forces, the commonwealth and the Church of England.
The majority of the population has known no other monarch.
Britain will enter a period of national mourning, as tributes flood in from around the globe, hailing Queen Elizabeth’s unwavering commitment to serving her country and the Commonwealth.
The long-held so-called London Bridge plans for the coming days and the state funeral will now be put in place, as will the contingency element Operation Unicorn for a death in Scotland.
Queen Elizabeth is expected to lie in state in a few days’ time, with her funeral held in Westminster Abbey in central London in about 10 days.
Alongside her public duties, Queen Elizabeth was also a mother of four, grandmother to eight and great-grandmother of 12 great-grandchildren, and the British royal family is now grieving for its matriarch.
One of the most famous women in the world, Queen Elizabeth, recognisable for her colourful hats and distinctive wave, was known for her love of horses, racing and corgis.
She also had a deep Christian faith, and as a long-reigning constitutional monarch, her knowledge and professionalism were unparalleled.
The new British king — Charles — described the death of Queen Elizabeth, who he called his “beloved mother”, as the “greatest sadness” for his family.
Camilla is now queen, and as a queen consort, will be crowned at Charles’ side at his eventual coronation.
Fears dramatically escalated for Queen Elizabeth’s health on Thursday when Buckingham Palace announced she was under medical supervision at Balmoral.
The royal family including all of the monarch’s four children and Prince William made the urgent dash to be by her bedside.
Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of York was born at 2.40am on April 21, 1926, at the home of her maternal grandparents in Mayfair.
She was never expected to be Britain's queen, but the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, in 1936, changed everything, leaving her father as King George VI and making his eldest daughter Elizabeth the heiress presumptive.
On her 21st birthday, the princess vowed in a radio broadcast that “my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service”.
Elizabeth and her distant cousin Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten had been married for less than five years when their lives were altered irrevocably by the death of George on February 6 1952.
The princess was just 25 when she became queen.
Away from her public duties, Queen Elizabeth’s successful marriage to Philip produced four children — Charles, born in 1948, Princess Anne, born in 1950, followed by Prince Andrew, in 1960, and Prince Edward in 1964.
In 1977, record crowds greeted the monarch during her silver jubilee celebrations and thousands held street parties in her honour.
Queen Elizabeth dubbed 1992 her “annus horribilis” as during that year Anne divorced, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson separated, Charles and Princess Diana were splitting up and Windsor Castle went up in flames.
Five years later, Queen Elizabeth and the British monarchy faced one of its gravest crises when Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997.
Queen Elizabeth was perceived as being out-of-step with the feelings of mourners, with the public left wondering why the monarch, who was at Balmoral with princes William and Harry, took so long to speak publicly about the tragedy.
In 2002, Queen Elizabeth suffered the tragic double blow of losing both her mother and her sister, Margaret, within just weeks of one another.
It was her golden jubilee year, but the celebrations continued and were a resounding success with 1m people turning out in June to party on the streets of London, much like during her diamond jubilee 10 years later.
The dawn of the new millennium was a much happier period for Queen Elizabeth, with Charles settled after marrying his long-term love Camilla Parker Bowles, who became the duchess of Cornwall, in 2005.
There was delight in 2011 with the wedding of William and Kate Middleton, followed by the births of the Cambridge children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
In September 2015, Queen Elizabeth passed the record set by her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria to become the country’s longest-ever reigning monarch, but saw the achievement simply as a consequence of a long life.
Philip retired in August 2017 after decades of royal service, but Queen Elizabeth continued on, just as she pledged when she was 21.
Younger royals had already taken over the monarch’s overseas duties and Queen Elizabeth passed many of her patronages to her children and grandchildren.
A star-studded wedding for Harry and former US actress Meghan Markle in 2018 brought a new royal woman into the fold — the first mixed-race person to marry a senior British royal in centuries, and Harry and Meghan committed themselves to working with the commonwealth, alongside their charity work.
Within a year, the couple had welcomed a son — Archie Mountbatten-Windsor — but within two Harry and Meghan had quit as senior working royals for a life of personal and financial freedom in the US.
The couple went on to accuse the British royal family of being racist and the institution of failing to help a suicidal Meghan in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Just weeks later, Philip died at Windsor Castle after spending a month in hospital, and the grieving monarch sat socially distanced and alone for a time at his funeral because of the restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
But Queen Elizabeth returned quickly to public duties and was also seen out and about at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and Ascot looking in good health in the months that followed.
In October 2021, following a busy autumn programme of engagements after her return from Balmoral, Queen Elizabeth was ordered by her doctors to rest and cancel an official visit to Northern Ireland.
The same day, she was secretly admitted for preliminary tests, spending her first overnight stay in hospital in eight years, before returning to Windsor the next day.
She spent more than three months carrying out only light duties on the recommendation of her physicians, and reached her platinum jubilee on February 6, 2022.
Queen Elizabeth tested positive for Covid on February 20, with Buckingham Palace saying she had mild symptoms.
The start of her jubilee year saw a number of royal troubles — with Andrew, cast adrift from the institution, settling a civil sexual assault case to pay millions to a woman he claimed he had never met.
Her platinum milestone was celebrated with millions taking to the streets during a bumper four-day weekend of national commemorations in June 2022.
Queen Elizabeth, who was facing ongoing mobility issues, appeared briefly just four times over the weekend.
She brought the jubilee festivities to a close by greeting crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony, and issuing a message renewing her commitment to serve as monarch “to the best of my ability, supported by my family”.
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