Queen Elizabeth II passes away at 96

Queen Elizabeth II of England has “died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon”, said the Royal Family Twitter page.

The Queen of the House of Windsor was the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, and was 96 at the time of her death.

She was struggling with several health issues since last October, which had made it difficult for her to walk, stand or perform simple activities for a prolonged period of time. 

While Prince William and Prince Harry will join the family at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire, King Charles and the Queen Consort will stay at Balmoral tonight and return to London tomorrow. Princess Meghan had earlier planned to accompany Prince Harry, but as per reports, Prince Harry is travelling alone. 

Born as Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor on 21 April 1926, the Queen’s reign commenced on 6 February 1952, and she was crowned a year later, on 2 June 1953 in a royal ceremony at the Westminster Abbey. Talks of her being the successor to King George VI started when she started attending events and tours on his behalf after his health started deteriorating in 1950.

Soon, she emerged a successful Queen capable of handling the inter and intra state relations of the United Kingdom who witnessed tremendous social change throughout her reign. 

With her death, King Charles,  the Queen’s eldest son, will become the Head of the state for 14 Commonwealth realms, and lead the nation through the mourning. 

After hearing the news of the Queen’s death, the crowd outside the Buckingham Palace in London began crying, as the nation mourned together. 

The Union Jack was lowered to half mast at BST 18:30 PM.