Queen Elizabeth II died, the longest-serving queen in British history and an icon rapidly recognizable to billions of people around the world. She was 96.
Buckingham Palace publicized her death in a short statement, triggering 10 days of national mourning and an expression of tributes to her long life and record-breaking reign.
“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a declaration at 6:30 pm (1730 GMT).
“The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 is the oldest heir seeming in British history, becomes king directly.
The queen’s death came after the palace publicized on Thursday that doctors were “concerned” for her health and suggested she stayed under medical supervision.
The London bridge has fallen. The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
— Umer Farooque Samoo (@UmerFarooq390) September 8, 2022
Rest is peace your Majesty, Queen Elizabeth.
7 decades,15 prime ministers, 1 QUEEN ???? #QueenElizabeth pic.twitter.com/P7PVG5Gc6f
All her children — Charles, Princess Anne, 72, Prince Andrew, 62, and Prince Edward, 58, flocked to her Scottish Highland retreat, Balmoral.
They joined by Charles’s sons, Prince William, and his estranged brother Prince Harry.
Two days previous the queen appointed Liz Truss as the 15th prime minister of her reign and seen smiling in photographs but looking weak and using a walking stick.
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One photograph of the meeting sparked alarm, showing a deep purple bruise on the queen’s right hand.