Queen Elizabeth II has died, according to Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace announced the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96, at Balmoral Palace in Scotland.
“Queen Elizabeth II departed peacefully at Balmoral Castle this afternoon, and the King and Queen will remain at Balmoral tonight and return to London tomorrow,” the statement said.
Buckingham Palace doctors had earlier expressed their “concern for the health of Her Majesty”, after he announced yesterday, Wednesday, the cancellation of a hypothetical meeting with ministers, following the doctors’ recommendation to the Queen to rest.
Her eldest son, Charles, 73, automatically succeeds her, in accordance with centuries-old protocol, to start a new chapter for the royal family, after the reign of the queen, who broke the record by ascending the throne for seventy years.
And Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that the Queen was placed under medical supervision after her doctors expressed concern about her health and recommended that she “remain under medical observation” at Balmoral Palace in Scotland, where she is staying.
Elizabeth II ruled for more than 70 years, and is the longest-reigning British monarch and the oldest in the world.
Queen Elizabeth II has died
Queen Elizabeth II dies after 70 years on British throne
Queen Elizabeth II has suffered from what Buckingham Palace described as “episodic mobility issues” since the end of last year, having had to cut back on her public engagements since then.
Earlier in the day, members of the British royal family, including Prince William, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, and her two sons, Princes Andrew and Edward, arrived at Balmoral Palace, where the Queen is staying.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, will also travel to Scotland on Thursday.
Harry and Meghan, who live in the United States, were supposed to attend a charity gala in London on Thursday evening, but they decided to cancel their participation to go to Scotland, where the Queen is.
On Wednesday, the Queen was forced to cancel a hypothetical meeting with senior ministers, after her doctors advised her to rest.
The day before (Tuesday), she was photographed appointing Liz Terrass as the country’s new Prime Minister at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Nearly seventy years after her accession to the British throne, Queen Elizabeth has always appeared in good health in public.
She has always participated in official events, while her hospitalization was rarely announced.
But in May, Prince Charles, for the first time, delivered the Throne Address to Parliament, one of her most important constitutional duties.
The last time she was hospitalized was in 2013 when she spent 24 hours in hospital with a gastroenteritis.
And last year, a few days before turning 95, Queen Elizabeth II lost her husband Prince Philip, who would have turned 100 on June 10, 2021.
As she put it, Queen Elizabeth II , lost her “strength” and “support”, which since her coronation in 1952 has been her successor and steadfast supporter.
The departure of Prince Philip left a “big void” in his wife’s life, according to what their son Andrew said during a memorial service for his father’s soul.
In early June, the British celebrated for four days the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne.
No British monarch has ever held the throne for this long.
It is unlikely that any other king will achieve this, as Prince Charles, the heir to the throne is 73 years old, and his son William will soon celebrate his 40th birthday.