Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest reigning monarch, passes away

Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has passed away at the age of 96, the Royal Family announced on Thursday.

The official Twitter handle of the Royal Family posted: “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”.

Her close family had rushed to her bedside at Balmoral in Scotland as doctors grew “concerned” about her health on Thursday, Buckingham Palace said. Her grandson and his wife, Harry and Meghan Markle flew in from Canada.

The Queen had appeared visibly frail lately and had a series of withdrawals from public engagements.

The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Liz Truss, born 101 years later in 1975, and appointed by the Queen earlier this week.

She held weekly audiences with her prime minister throughout her reign.

At Buckingham Palace in London, crowds awaiting updates on the Queen's condition began crying as they heard of her death. The Union flag on top of the palace was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 BST.

Her husband, Prince Phillip, died last year at the age of 99, two months before his 100th birthday.

With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.