Newsman: Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, has died at the age of 96, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday. Queen Elizabeth II was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a symbol of constancy in a turbulent era that saw the decline of the British Empire and disarray in her own family. The queen will be buried next to her father King George VI, her sister Princess Margaret, and Prince Philip, the queen’s beloved late-husband of 73 years.
U.S. President Joe Biden called her a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States.”
The Country began a 10-day mourning period Friday, with bells tolling around Britain and 96 gun salutes planned in London – one for each year of the queen’s long life. People around the globe gathered at British embassies to pay homage to the queen, who died Thursday in Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Members of the royal family had rushed to her side at the family’s summer residence in Balmoral after her health took a turn for the worse.
The moment Elizabeth II died, her eldest child, Prince Charles, automatically became monarch. As sovereign, he has chosen to take the name King Charles III.All rights and responsibilities of the Crown now rest with King Charles III.
King Charles called his mother’s death “a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” adding: “I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
Truss, appointed by the queen just 48 hours earlier, called Elizabeth “the rock on which modern Britain was built.”
The U.K. government and the royal family have been planning for years to ensure a smooth transition after the queen’s death, and to appropriately honor her history-making reign.
Britain’s new king prepared to meet with the prime minister Friday and address a nation mourning Queen Elizabeth II, the only British monarch most of the world had known and a force of stability in a volatile age.
On his first full day of duties Friday, he is expected to return to London, meet Prime Minister Liz Truss, appointed just days earlier, and deliver a speech to the nation.
King Charles, becomes head of state not just in the UK but in 14 other Commonwealth realms including Australia and Canada. He will become head of the 56-member Commonwealth, although that is not a hereditary position, after his succession to the role was agreed by Commonwealth leaders at a meeting in London in 2018.
He has become head of the British Armed Forces, the judiciary and the civil service, and he is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. He is the Fount of Honour, which means all honors, such as knighthoods, will now be given in his name.
Today Friday, Truss and other senior ministers are expected to attend a remembrance service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Charles, who became the monarch immediately upon his mother’s death, will then be formally proclaimed king at a special ceremony Saturday.
After a vigil in Edinburgh, the queen’s coffin will be brought to London, and she will lie in state for several days before her funeral in Westminster Abbey.
Since Feb. 6, 1952, Elizabeth had reigned over a Britain that rebuilt from a destructive and financially exhausting war and lost its empire; joined the European Union and then left it; and made the painful transition into the 21st century.
She endured through 15 prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to Truss, becoming an institution and an icon – a reassuring presence even for those who ignored or loathed the monarchy.
When and where will Elizabeth’s funeral take place?
The queen’s funeral will take place 10 days after her death, following the traditional observance of a national period of mourning.
Elizabeth’s funeral is expected to be held at Westminster Abbey, which would make her the first sovereign to have a funeral there since 1760.
The queen’s funeral is expected to be attended by dignitaries and heads of states from around the world.
Westminster Abbey normally holds 2,200 congregants, but extra seating can be arranged to accommodate more than 8,000 people, as it did at the queen’s coronation.
