Queen Elizabeth dies at 96

 

London: Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world, has died. She was 96.

Buckingham Palace announced her death in a short statement yesterday, triggering 10 days of national mourning and an outpouring of tributes to her long life and record-breaking reign.

“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement at 6.30pm (1730 GMT).

“The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

The eldest of her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, who at 73 is the oldest heir apparent in British history, becomes king immediately.

End of an era: Mourners gathering with flowers outside Buckingham Palace in London. — AFP

The queen’s death came after the palace announced earlier yesterday that doctors were “concerned” for her health and recommended she stayed under medical supervision.

All her children – Charles, Princess Anne, 72, Prince Andrew, 62, and Prince Edward, 58 – flocked to her Scottish Highland retreat, Balmoral.

They were joined by Charles’s sons, Prince William, and his estranged brother Prince Harry.

Two days earlier, the queen appointed Liz Truss as the 15th prime minister of her reign and was seen smiling in photographs but looking frail and using a walking stick.

One photograph of the meeting sparked alarm, showing a deep purple bruise on the monarch’s right hand.

Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne aged just 25 in 1952 in the aftermath of World War II, joining a world stage dominated by political figures from China’s Mao Zedong to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and US president Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Her 70-year reign straddled two centuries of seismic social, political and technological upheaval.

The last vestiges of Britain’s vast empire crumbled. At home, Brexit shook the foundations of her kingdom, and her family endured a series of scandals.

But throughout, she remained consistently popular and was queen and head of state not just of the United Kingdom but 14 former British colonies, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

She was also head of the 56-nation Commonwealth, which takes in a quarter of humanity, and supreme governor of the Church of England, the mother church of the worldwide Anglican communion.

In memory: A pub displaying flags in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee after the palace’s announcement. — Reuters

But questions will be asked about whether the golden age of the British monarchy has now passed, how an ancient institution can remain viable in the modern era and whether Charles will command the same respect or reign in his mother’s shadow.

Television and radio stations interrupted regular programming to broadcast the news, with long- rehearsed special schedules set in place to remember her long life and reign.

The national anthem, God Save the Queen, was played. Flags were lowered and church bells tolled to remember a woman once described as the “last global monarch”.

The national mourning period will culminate in a final public farewell at Westminster Abbey in central London.

Charles’ coronation, an elaborate ritual steeped in tradition and history, will take place in the same historic surroundings, as it has for centuries, on a date to be fixed.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was for most of her subjects the only monarch they have ever known – an immutable figurehead on stamps, banknotes and coins.

Diminutive in stature yet an icon of popular culture, she was instantly recognisable in her brightly coloured suits and matching hat, with pearls, gloves and a handbag.

During her reign, the royals went from stiff, remote figures to tabloid fodder and were then popularised anew in television dramas such as The Crown, watched by tens of millions worldwide.

Her time on the throne spanned an era of remarkable change, from the Cold War to the 9/11 attacks, from climate change to coronavirus, “snail mail” and steam ships to email and space exploration.

She became seen as the living embodiment of post-war Britain and a link between the modern era and a bygone age.

The mother of one of the most famous families in the world, she retained huge public support throughout, surviving even a backlash in the wake of the death of Charles’ first wife, Diana, in 1997.

More recently, the royal family was rocked by claims from Prince Harry and his mixed-race wife Meghan of racism in the royal family.

She also endured a scandal involving her second son Prince Andrew, whose friendship with convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell saw him settle a civil claim for sexual assault in the United States.

Britons were jolted into recognising the beginning of the end of her reign when in April 2021 Elizabeth lost her beloved husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Yet the palace had long recognised her mortality and the transition to Charles was already well under way.

He, his eldest son Prince William, who now becomes heir, and his wife, Catherine, began to assume more of the queen’s official roles.

The coronavirus pandemic and her advanced years forced her into the splendid isolation of Windsor Castle, west of London.

But from behind its stately walls, the queen remained a constant and reassuring presence, popping up on video calls with members of the public.

In a rare, televised address during the first lockdown, she recalled the “Blitz spirit” of Britain under siege during World War II that defined her generation.

“We will meet again,” she said.

She cast off the shroud of Philip’s death and her enforced confinement to resume public duties, but age and ill-health forced her slow down.

After a unscheduled night in hospital in October 2021 following undisclosed health tests, her appearances became rarer.

“None of us will live forever,” she told world leaders attending a UN climate change summit soon afterwards, urging them to leave a legacy for generations to come.

One of her last decisive acts was to settle an unanswered question for the succession, giving her blessing for Charles’ second wife, Camilla, to be called “queen consort”.

Charles succeeds to the throne immediately on the death of the monarch.

An Accession Council is convened as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours and held at St James’s Palace, the official residence of the sovereign, to proclaim the successor.

The council is formed of Privy Counsellors who have advised the monarch since the Norman era. They now comprise of about 670 senior politicians, including Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Also present are the Lords Spiritual and Temporal – bishops of the Church of England who sit in the House of Lords including the Archbishop of Canterbury, together with the secular peers of the realm.

The Lord Mayor of London, senior civil servants and High Commissioners from the 14 other realms which have the monarch as their head of state also sit on the Council, the Lord President of which is currently lawmaker Penny Mordaunt.

All Privy Counsellors will be invited but not all will be able to attend at short notice.

In 1952, following the death of George VI, 191 members attended Elizabeth’s Accession Council. — Agencies