Elizabeth the Second was a great leader of all time, reigning for 65 years and ruling over 32 sovereign states. At the time of her death, she served a monarach of 15 of them.
Elizabeth was born at 02:40 on April 21, 1926,[1] during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King George V. Her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), was the second son of the King. On May 29, she was baptised in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace by the Anglican Archbishop of York, Cosmo Gordon Lang, and named Elizabeth after her mother; Alexandra after her paternal great-grandmother, who had died six months earlier; and Mary after her paternal grandmother. She was cherished by her grandfather, George V, whom she affectionately called “Grandpa.”
She died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate, where she had spent much of the summer.
The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.
Her son, King Charles III, said the death of his beloved mother was a “moment of great sadness” for him and his family and that her loss would be “deeply felt” around the world.
Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch was the rock on which modern Britain was built and had “provided us with the stability and strength that we needed”.
Speaking about the new king, she said: “We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much, to so many, for so long.”
And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have wished, by saying the words “God save the King.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, expressed his “profound sadness” as spiritual leader of the Church of England, over which the monarch is supreme governor.
He said his “prayers are with the King and the Royal Family”.
A less certain chapter for the royal family after the queen’s record-breaking 70-year reign
“The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” King Charles said in a statement.
The Royal Family has now entered a period of mourning. Much of national life will be put on hold in the coming days.
Official engagements will be cancelled and union flags will be flown at half-mast on royal residences, government buildings, across the Armed Forces and on UK posts overseas.
Members of Parliament will pay tribute to the Queen and take an oath to King Charles.
There will be church bells tolling and gun salutes as local and national organisations and charities organise ways to pay their respects, with commemorative events and books of condolence.
A state funeral for the Queen is expected in the next two weeks.
Foreign leaders have paid tribute to the Queen, with US President Joe Biden recalling how she stood in solidarity with the US in their “darkest days” after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
To France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, she was a “kind-hearted queen” and a “friend of France.”
For Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, the Queen was a constant in Canadians’ lives and one of his “favourite people in the world.”
