Queen Elizabeth's death is announced by Buckingham Palace

Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-ruling queen of the United Kingdom.

Queen Elizabeth II, who was the longest-ruling queen of the UK, died at her Scottish estate, Balmoral, at the age of 96. On Thursday, her family gathered at her Scottish estate because they were worried about her health. Since she became Queen in 1952, a lot has changed in the world.

The Prime Minister, Liz Truss, said that the Queen was the foundation of modern Britain and that the new King would be called King Charles III. His Majesty the King, who will also be the leader of 14 Commonwealth realms, said in a statement, "The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty the Queen, is a very sad time for me and my whole family." We are very sad about the death of a much-loved queen and mother. I know that her death will hurt many people in the country, the realms, the Commonwealth, and all over the world.

He said that during the time of sadness and change, he and his family would be "comforted and sustained by the fact that the Queen was held in such high regard and deep affection by so many." In a statement, Buckingham Palace said, "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon." The King and Queen Consort will stay at Balmoral this evening. They will go back to London tomorrow. After doctors put the Queen in the hospital, all of her children went to Balmoral, which is near Aberdeen. Prince William, who is her grandson, is also there, and Prince Harry, who is his brother, is on his way. Ms. Truss, who was named by the Queen on Tuesday, said that the monarch "gave us the stability and strength we needed" and that the country would back the new king. "We'll be loyal to him, just like how his mother was loyal to so many people for so long," she said.

Queen Elizabeth II was in charge of the government after World War II, during the transition from empire to Commonwealth, at the end of the Cold War, and when the UK joined and left the European Union. From 1874, when Winston Churchill was born, to 1975, when Ms. Truss was born, she was in charge of 15 prime ministers. During her rule, she met once a week with her prime minister. People in London who were waiting outside Buckingham Palace to hear how the Queen was doing started to cry when they heard she had died. The Union flag on top of the palace was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 BST. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in the Mayfair neighbourhood of London on April 21, 1926. Few people thought she would become queen, but in December 1936, her uncle, Edward VIII, gave up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, an American who had already been married twice. Elizabeth's father, George V, became King George VI, and when she was 10, she became the heir to the throne. "Lilibet" was the name her family gave her. Nazi Germany and Britain went to war in just three years.

During World War II, Elizabeth and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, spent a lot of time at Windsor Castle because their parents didn't want to send them to Canada. Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service for five months after she turned 18. There, she learned to drive and fix cars in simple ways. "When things went wrong, I started to understand how team spirit grows," she said later. During the war, she wrote letters to her third cousin, Philip, Prince of Greece, who was serving in the Royal Navy. As their love grew, they got married at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947. He was given the title of Duke of Edinburgh. After 74 years of marriage, she would say that he was "my strength and stay." He died in 2021, when he was 99 years old.
Charles, their first son, was born in 1948. After that, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward all arrived. Between the two of them, they gave their parents eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. In 1952, Princess Elizabeth was taking care of a sick king in Kenya. Prince Philip told her there that her father had passed away. As soon as she was crowned, she went back to London. She said later, "It all happened very quickly, and all you can do is the best you can." Elizabeth was crowned on June 2, 1953, at Westminster Abbey. She was 27 years old at the time. At the time, it was a record that more than 20 million people watched the event on TV.

There will be a lot of change in the next few decades. Overseas, the British Empire would end, and in the United States, the swinging '60s would change how people behaved. Elizabeth changed the monarchy because people were less polite at the time. She did this by walking around, going to royal homes, and attending public events. She cared a lot about the Commonwealth, and she visited every country at least once. But sometimes the pain was private and public at the same time. The "year from hell" for the Queen was 1992, when a fire destroyed her home and working palace, Windsor Castle, and three of her children's marriages fell apart. People said the Queen didn't want to talk about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car accident in Paris in 1997. People wondered how important the monarchy was in today's world. "No institution... should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who are loyal to it and support it, let alone those who aren't," she said.