The Queen has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace confirms

Steve Hopkins

Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96, Buckingham Palace confirms

She had reigned for more than 70 years

The Queen has died at the age of 96, Buckingham Palace has confirmed in a statement.

Britain’s longest-serving monarch passed away at Balmoral on Thursday.

The palace announced the news shortly after 630pm, saying that the Queen died “peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon”.

The statement continued that the King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London on Friday.

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. pic.twitter.com/VfxpXro22W

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 8, 2022

Princess Elizabeth was born on 21 April 1926 and became the Queen in 1952 following the death of King George. She was coronated on 2 June 1953 at the age of just 25.

Earlier on Thursday, Buckingham Palace announced that Her Majesty was under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned.

The palace said in a statement: “Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision.

“The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”

This came after the Queen postponed an online meeting of the Privy Council on Wednesday evening after being advised to rest by doctors.

In a break in tradition she met outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his successor Liz Truss in Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, on Tuesday. Following the “dull day”, she accepted medics’ advice to rest.

Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Liz Truss, born 101 years later in 1975, and appointed by the Queen earlier this week.

The Queen had been due to hold the Privy Council virtually on Wednesday evening, during which Truss would have taken her oath as First Lord of the Treasury and her new cabinet ministers would have been sworn into their roles.

The Queen met Prince Philip of Greece in 1939 and their official engagement was announced eight years later on 9 July 1947. The couple married four months later at Westminster Abbey.

The couple had four children, Charles the Duke of York and Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

It is understood that all of her children are either at or travelling to Balmoral.

On 9 April last year, Prince Philip passed away at the age of 99, just two months before his 100th birthday.

In recent months, Her Majesty had suffered from mobility issues, and in February she tested positive for coronavirus.

This was followed by the Queen missing the Easter Sunday service in Windsor for the first time in 59 years.

A 10-day mourning period will now begin across the nation, with a national minute’s silence set to take place later today.

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