Queen Elizabeth II Dies at 96, Palace Announces
Photo by CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, passed away on Thursday at the age of 96. “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
Heir to the throne Prince Charles immediately becomes King Charles III, retaining his birth name as his regnal name just as his mother did.
The Queen was reported to have been placed “under medical supervision” on Thursday with the palace releasing an official statement saying that her doctors were “concerned for her Majesty’s health” and that she “remains comfortable” at Balmoral Castle, the royal estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Balmoral was originally purchased by Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who commissioned the construction of the castle, and it has long been a beloved summer retreat for Elizabeth and her family.
Members of the royal family had rushed to Balmoral to be by the Queen’s side Thursday, including Charles; his wife Camilla, Queen Consort; Princess Anne; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; Prince Edward and Sophie, the Earl and Duchess of Wessex; and Prince William, who was photographed (below) driving Andrew, Edward, and Sophie.
Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images.
Prince Harry is traveling to Balmoral alone, without his wife Meghan Markle, his spokesperson told the BBC. The BBC also reported that Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, was remaining in Windsor “as her and William’s children have had their first full day at a new school.”
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in 1926 to the second son of King George V. She suddenly found herself thrown into the direct line of succession when her uncle, King Edward VIII abdicated to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson, putting her father King George VI on the throne.
The Queen and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, were a key part of the royal family’s efforts to support the nation during World War II, with Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, famously rejecting suggestions that they evacuate London by declaring, “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave without the King. And the King will never leave.” In 1940, Elizabeth made her first radio broadcast at the age of 14, on a BBC program to encourage British children. As the war progressed, she trained as a driver and auto mechanic.
She married Prince Philip in 1947, with Philip renouncing his Greek and Danish titles and converting to the Church of England before the wedding. BBC Radio broadcast the ceremony to more than 200 million people around the world. The young married couple was on tour in Kenya when King George VI died in February 1952 after several years in ill health, making her the new queen at the age of only 25 years old. Her official coronation on June 2, 1953 in Westminster Abbey was televised for the first time in British history.
Philip passed away in April 2021 at the age of 99 and after 73 years of marriage.
The Queen celebrated her Platinum Jubilee this past June, marking a historic seven decades on the throne, as pictured above in one of her many trademark matching brightly-hued hat-and-dress ensembles. She reigned over the terms of fourteen U.S. presidents and fifteen British prime ministers, meeting newly-elected Tory leader, Liz Truss, just this past Tuesday at Balmoral to officially invite her to be Prime Minister and to form a new government in her name.
Photo by Jane Barlow – WPA Pool/Getty Images
The flag at Windsor Castle was lowered to half staff to mark the Queen’s passing as a rainbow spanned the sky.
Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The British monarchy’s official website, www.royal.uk, was draped in black and posted the palace’s statement memorializing the queen’s passing, along with a note that the website would be “temporarily unavailable while appropriate changes are made.”
Screenshot via royal.uk.
This is a breaking story and has been updated.
