Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch has died at her Scottish estate, Balmoral, where she spent most of the summer, 70 years after coming to the throne.
All of the Queen’s children, including now King Charles III, traveled to the royal residence near Aberdeen after her doctors raised concerns about her health and announced they had placed her under medical supervision.
His grandsons Prince William, now heir to the throne, and Prince Harry also joined the royals at the Scottish castle.
The Queen’s eldest son, King Carlos III, described the death of his beloved mother as “a moment of great sadness” for the whole family.
“We deeply mourn 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.
King Carlos III stated that he and the rest of the family would feel “comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held.”
Buckingham Palace also announced that His Majesty the King and his wife Camilla, now the Queen Consort, would return to London on Friday.
New British Prime Minister Liz Truss declared that Queen Elizabeth was the rock where modern Britain was built.
The monarch “provided us with the stability and strength that we needed,” said Mrs. Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday.
The prime minister also addressed the new King, saying officials were offering him their “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’,” Mrs. Truss went on.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the Church of England that the monarch rules as supreme governor, sent his condolences to the royal family and expressed his “profound” sadness at the Queen’s passing.
Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1952, with a seven-decade reign that spanned the postwar period, the British Empire’s transition to the Commonwealth of Nations, and the end of the Cold War. She also witnessed the UK’s entry and exit into the European Union.
During the monarch’s term, 15 prime ministers led the country’s politics, beginning with Winston Churchill, who was born in 1874. Her Majesty the Queen had weekly audiences with each of them.
As of now, the Royal Family and the United Kingdom have entered a period of mourning. Much of national life, official commitments, and celebrations will be put on hold in the coming days.
The state funeral for the late Queen Elizabeth is expected to take place in the next two weeks.
Foreign leaders have paid tribute to the monarch and sent condolences to the royal family, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
