BALMORAL: Queen Elizabeth II, 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,” it said in a statement. “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
Elizabeth’s 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. His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.
“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” King Charles said in a statement.
On 6th February this year, the Queen became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service to the people of the United Kingdom, the Realms and the Commonwealth.
Thousands of people gathered outside Buckingham Palace, following the Queen’s death, they were all in tears over the sad demise of their beloved monarch.
Meanwhile, US President Biden called Queen Elizabeth a “steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons.” He said the queen’s “legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world,” and pledged to continue “a close friendship with the king and the queen consort.”
