Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral at the age of 96, after reigning for 70 years.
Buckingham Palace said the queen, who was 96, died peacefully at Balmoral Castle, her estate in the Scottish Highlands. Her son became Britain’s new monarch, King Charles III.
King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a “moment of great sadness” for him and his family and that her loss would be “deeply felt” around the world.
Senior royals had gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health earlier on Thursday.
The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and led and witnessed enormous social change.
According to his Majesty the King, “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
He said he and his family would be “comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held”.
A statement at 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.”
Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch was the rock on which modern Britain was built, who had “provided us with the stability and strength that we needed”.
Speaking about the new King, she said: “We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much, to so many, for so long.
“And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have wished, by saying the words ‘God save the King’.”
Queen Elizabeth II lived well. RIP to the longest reigning queen.
