Her Majesty The Queen has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace has announced.
In a statement, the 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.”
The announcement comes after Buckingham Palace issued a statement earlier on Thursday that the Queen was under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health.
All four of her children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, travelled to Balmoral to be with the Queen, along with her grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry.
The Duke of Sussex arrived at Balmoral on Thursday evening, after the announcement of his grandmother’s death.
In a statement, Charles, who became King upon the death of his mother, said: “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.
“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.
“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.”
Charles will be known as King Charles III, the King’s spokesperson confirmed.
Speaking outside No 10, Prime Minister Liz Truss said it was “the passing of the second Elizabethan age” and concluded her address by saying “God save the King”.
William and Kate’s Twitter account @KensingtonRoyal now refers to the couple as The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.
Ms Truss, who was appointed prime minister by the Queen just two days ago, referred to Charles, the new King, as King Charles III, saying: “Today the Crown passes, as it has done for more than a thousand years, to our new monarch, our new head of state, his majesty King Charles III.”
“It’s an extraordinary achievement to have presided with such dignity and grace for 70 years. Her life of service stretched beyond most of our living memories,” she said. “In return she was loved and admired by the people in the United Kingdom and all around the world. “She has been a personal inspiration to me and to many Britons – her devotion to duty is an example to us all.”
The House of Commons will sit at noon on Friday for MPs to pay tribute to the Queen in a session due to last until 10pm.
There will also be a rare Saturday sitting, where senior MPs will take the oath to King Charles III from 2pm, with tributes continuing again until 10pm.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson, who travelled to Balmoral on Tuesday, said the death of the Queen would leave a “void” and “this is our country’s saddest day”. “As is so natural with human beings, it is only when we face the reality of our loss that we truly understand what has gone,” he said. He added: “That is why we grieve for Elizabeth the Great, the longest serving and in many ways the finest monarch in our history.”
Officials brought a notice confirming the Queen’s death to the gates of Buckingham Palace as crowds gathered.
The notice read: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
“The King and Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
Major sporting events have been cancelled in the wake of the announcement of the Queen’s death.
The PGA Championship golf tour, the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Rugby Super League and the English Football League all suspended play in wake of the announcement.
The Premier League and Scottish Professional Football are expected to make an announcement on Friday regarding the cancellation of games.Lights were dimmed at UK theatres and landmarks as a sign of respect to the monarch.
The mayor of Paris also said lights on the Eiffel Tower would be turned off in tribute to the Queen.
The Queen dedicated her life to her royal duty.
She was the first British monarch in history to reach her Platinum Jubilee and died just three months after the national celebrations in June celebrating her 70 years on the throne.
The Queen was also the longest-reigning still-serving monarch in the world.Tributes to the Queen have poured in from around the world after the Queen’s death, describing her as “kind-hearted” and with a “wisdom, compassion, and warmth” to be cherished. World leaders remembered the monarch as “a beacon of calm and stability” spanning her record-breaking reign. US president Joe Biden and his wife Jill said in a statement that “Queen Elizabeth II was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy” who “helped make our relationship special”.
Britain will now enter a period of national mourning.
Long-held ‘London Bridge’ plans for the coming days and the Queen’s state funeral will now be put in place, as will the contingency element Operation Unicorn for a death in Scotland.The Queen is expected to lie in state in a few days’ time, with her funeral held in Westminster Abbey in central London in around ten days. The monarch’s death comes nearly a year and a half after her husband, consort and support, Prince Philip died.
The Duke of Edinburgh was by her side for most of her reign – her outspoken confidant who she fell in love as a teenager when he was a handsome naval cadet.Philip’s death in 2021 at the age of 99 was devastating for the Queen but she continued with her duties as a widowed head of state.
Source : ITV
