United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96 after a prolonged illness. Queen Elizabeth breathed her last at the Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The monarch was facing health problems since October 2021 that left her with difficulties walking and standing.
Her doctors grew concerned about her health on Thursday 8th September 2022, when she canceled her scheduled meeting with her Privy Council. The Queen’s reign started on 6 February 1952 and she ruled for longer than any other Monarch in British history.
In an official statement, the Royal Family’s website said, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.” With the death of the Queen, Prince Charles has become the King, and Camilla has become the Queen Consort. The same official statement announcing the queen’s death said, “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
In a statement issued after the death, King Charles said, “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. “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.”
He further added, “During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.”
Although he has become the king automatically according to the provisions of Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Act of Settlement of 1701, there must be a formal proclamation of him as the new monarch at an Accession Council in St James’s Palace in London as soon as possible. 73-year-old Charles III becomes the king after being the longest-serving heir apparent of the nation.
Elizabeth was born on 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in Mayfair, London. She was the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York – who later became King George VI – and Queen Elizabeth. Her grandfather King George V died in 1936. His eldest son came to the throne as King Edward VIII, but, before the end of the year, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne. Upon his abdication, Princess Elizabeth’s father acceded to the throne as King George VI.
Elizabeth married The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. The early years of their marriage saw them living a relatively normal life as a naval officer and wife. Prince Charles, now The Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the throne, was the firstborn child of the couple, born in 1948.
On 6 February 1952, King George VI died following a prolonged illness. Princess Elizabeth immediately acceded to the throne, becoming Queen Elizabeth II. Her Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. On 9th September 2015, the Queen became Britain’s longest reigning monarch.
Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, died last year at the age of 99.
