Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire. This was reported on the website of Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement: “The Queen passed away peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and Queen Consort will stay at Balmoral tonight and return to London tomorrow. Flags on iconic buildings across the UK were flown at half mast before a period of official mourning was declared.
The British throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth II will be taken by her eldest son Prince Charles, he is 74 years old. He took the name Charles III. The coronation ceremony will take place at St James's Palace in London as soon as possible. The Duchess of Cornwall Becomes Queen Consort
Elizabeth II, having ascended the throne at the age of 25 after the premature death of her father George VI in 1952, ruled Great Britain for 70 years. In 2016, Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning living monarch in the world. She also held the British throne longer than any of her predecessors. A year and a half ago, on April 9, 2021, the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, died at the age of 99. The royal couple, married for 73 years, spent the last months of their lives cooped up together at Windsor Castle during the peak of the pandemic due to their advanced age.
As Queen of Great Britain and 14 other kingdoms, and head of the Commonwealth of 54 countries, Elizabeth II was the most recognizable head of state in the world during an unusually long reign. Fifteen prime ministers have served her, from Sir Winston Churchill, who was already prime minister when she took the throne, to Liz Truss, who was appointed by the queen the day before, on 7 September.
The Queen was celebrated as a resilient figure despite the divorces of her three children and the crisis caused by the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in a car accident in Paris in 1997.
The Queen has had mobility issues in recent months and has been seen less and less at public events. In April 2022, she did not attend the State Opening of Parliament, instead she issued Letters Patent authorizing the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge to replace her as Councilors of State. It was the third time during the reign of Elizabeth II that she missed a state opening, the other two were due to her pregnancy in 1959 and 1963.