Buckingham Palace has announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said that she “died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”
Charles becomes king immediately upon Elizabeth’s death, and Camilla, the queen consort, will remain at Balmoral on Thursday evening, the palace said.
Charles, as the queen’s eldest son, at the time of her death will inherit the sovereign title and job as head of the Commonwealth, along with other assets such as land and property. Here’s what to know.
Her last public appearance was on Tuesday, when the queen, smiling and holding a walking stick, greeted Liz Truss, Britain’s new prime minister, in the drawing room at Balmoral. Ms. Truss was the 15th British prime minister to have an audience with the queen upon taking office, a testament to the longevity of Elizabeth, who served for many Britons as a beacon of stability amid political instability, economic crisis, social unrest and war.
The queen’s declining condition had been a source of concern for years, forcing her to cancel many public appearances.
A bout of Covid-19 in February left her exhausted, she said, and during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June that marked her 70 years on the throne, she appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a parade but skipped most of the other festivities
