Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, and the nation’s figurehead for seven decades, died peacefully at her home in Scotland on Thursday aged 96.
“The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” the new king, her eldest son Charles, said.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world,” the 73-year-old said in a statement.
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News that the queen’s health was deteriorating emerged shortly after midday on Thursday when her doctors said she was under medical supervision, prompting her family to rush to Scotland to be by her side.
Thousands gathered outside Buckingham Palace, in central London, and there was a stunned silence when the flag was lowered to half-mast. The crowd surged to the gates as the notice announcing the death of the only monarch most Britons have ever known was attached to the black iron gates.
On the grand Mall boulevard leading to the palace, black London taxis lined up in tribute.
Buckingham Palace said King Charles 111 and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, would remain at Balmoral Castle, where the queen died, before returning to London on Friday, when he is expected to address the nation
The Queen’s children – Charles, Princess Anne, 72, Prince Andrew, 62, and Prince Edward, 58, had flocked to her Scottish Highland retreat, Balmoral.
They were joined by Charles’s sons, Prince William, and his estranged brother Prince Harry.
Two days earlier the queen had appointed Liz Truss as the 15th prime minister of her reign and was seen smiling in photographs but looking frail and using a walking stick.
One photograph of the meeting sparked alarm, showing a deep purple bruise on the monarch’s right hand.
Queen Elizabeth, the longest reigning monarch in the British history, emerged the Queen after the Second World War and reigned for 70 years.
On Elizabeth’s death, Charles automatically becomes monarch of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
