The Queen has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace has announced.
“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,” Buckingham Palace said.
Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in British history and the world’s oldest head of state.
On her death, the Queen’s eldest son and heir, Charles, the former Prince of Wales, has become King of the United Kingdom and 14 Commonwealth realms.
It was learnt that the Queen, who was 96 years old, died in the presence of her family members.
She will be succeeded by her son Charles, Prince of Wales. He was named successor in 2018 by the Queen at the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
She also marked her 70th year as Queen of Britain, during which she asked that Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, be addressed as Queen Consort when Prince Charles becomes king.
“And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service,” she said.
On 6 September, she confirmed Liz Truss as prime minister in Balmoral, Scotland and invited her to form a government. The ceremony was performed in Balmoral due to the Queen’s health.
In June, her platinum jubilee was celebrated all over the Commonwealth by the UK and other member states.
Queen Elizabeth will be remembered among many things for the leadership she provided even as a young teenager.
In 1940, as a 14-year-old, she made her first radio broadcast during the BBC’s Children’s Hour, addressing other children who had been evacuated from the cities because of the war.
She stated, “we are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers, and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well.”
Queen Elizabeth II was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor on 21 April, 1926.
She was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). She was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfather’s London house, Bruton Street, Mayfair.
She was baptised by the Anglican Archbishop of York, Cosmo Gordon Lang, in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace on 29 May.
She was named Elizabeth after her mother, Alexandra after her paternal grandfather’s mother, who had died six months before she was born, and Mary after her paternal grandmother.
She was called “Lilibet” by her close family, which was what she called herself at first. She shared a special bond with her grandfather, George V, which was credited for helping his recovery in 1929 when he was ill. Elizabeth called him “Grandpa England.
Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret, were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford.
Elizabeth received private tuition in constitutional history from Henry Marten, Vice-Provost of Eton College, and learned French from a succession of native-speaking governesses. A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company, was formed specifically so she could socialise with girls her own age. Later, she was enrolled as a Sea Ranger.
Her father ascended the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.
Elizabeth ascended the throne at a relatively early age of 25 when her father died in February 1952. She became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon, as well as Head of the Commonwealth.
