London, Sep 9: Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died at Balmoral in Scotland, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday night. She was 96.
“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,” Official account of the Royal Family said in a tweet.
The Queen came to the throne in 1952. In 2015, Elizabeth became the UK’s longest-serving monarch, surpassing the record of Queen Victoria, who had ruled between 1837 and 1901.
Her husband Prince Philip had died in April 2021 at the age 99. She described Philip as “her strength’.
With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms, BBC reported.
“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,” Charles said in a statement.
I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world, he added.
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held,” the statement reads.
A statement from His Majesty The King: pic.twitter.com/AnBiyZCher
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 8, 2022
Her reign saw 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill and including current PM Liz Truss, appointed by the Queen earlier this week.
The Union flag on top of the palace was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 (Britain Standard Time), according to the broadcaster.
She was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, in Mayfair, London, on 21 April 1926.
