Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday that Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the country's figurehead for seven decades, had died at the age of 96.
"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," the palace said in a statement.
"The King and Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and return to London tomorrow."
Elizabeth's eldest son, Charles, 73, automatically becomes King of the United Kingdom and King of 14 other realms, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Camilla, his wife, is crowned Queen Consort.
Her family had rushed to her Scottish home, Balmoral Castle, after doctors expressed concern about her health. She had been suffering from "episodic mobility problems" since the end of last year, forcing her to cancel nearly all of her public engagements.
Queen Elizabeth II, the world's oldest and longest-serving head of state, ascended to the throne at the age of 25 after her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952.
The following June, she was crowned. The first televised coronation was a foretaste of a new world in which the royals' lives would be increasingly scrutinized by the media.
"I have sincerely pledged myself to your service, as so many of you have pledged to mine, and I shall strive throughout my life and with all my heart to be worthy of your trust," she said in a speech to her subjects on her coronation day.
Elizabeth became monarch at a time when Britain still retained much of its former empire. It was emerging from the ravages of World War II, with food rationing still in effect and class and privilege still dominant in society.
Winston Churchill was Britain's prime minister at the time, Josef Stalin led the Soviet Union and the Korean War was raging.
Elizabeth witnessed massive political change and social upheaval at home and abroad in the decades that followed. Her own family's tribulations, most notably the divorce of Charles and his late first wife Diana, were played out in full public view.
While Elizabeth remained an enduring symbol of stability and continuity for Britons during a period of relative national economic decline, she also attempted to adapt the ancient institution of monarchy to the demands of the modern era.
"She has managed to modernize and evolve the monarchy like no other," her grandson Prince William, now heir to the throne, said in a 2012 documentary.
0 Comments