Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has died at the age of 96 in Balmoral Castle, Scotland on Thursday afternoon, Buckingham Palace said in a press release.
The British national flag has been lowered at the Buckingham Palace and a mourning note about the Queen’s demise was hanged at the Palace gate.
“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” the statement read.
Her state funeral, expected to cost billions of pounds, will take place at the King George VI Memorial Chapel on the 10th day after her passing.
A committal service will take place before the funeral in the St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son Prince Charles became Britain’s new king on Thursday after her death. Charles Philip Arthur George was born in 1948 and was the longest-serving Prince of Wales, an heir to the British throne.
Although the new king can choose a regal name different from the one at birth, Charles decided to be addressed as King Charles III.
Upon him becoming the king, his eldest son Prince William became the Duke of Cornwall, a title held by the first in line to the throne.
