Britain’s longest-serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday, September 8, NBC News reported. The late queen’s oldest son, Charles, is the king of the United Kingdom and its Commonwealth realms.
Video still shot courtesy of NBC News
The Queen has died.
Queen Elizabeth II, 96, passed away on Thursday, September 8, NBC News confirmed.
Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign covered everything from wars, a pandemic, 13 presidents and more. Her oldest son, Charles, is king, the article noted.
“The queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” the royal family said in a statement in the article. “The king and the queen consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
The longest-reigning British monarch was almost 100 years old.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor is survived by her children, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, and their spouses, according to the article.
Prince William and Prince Harry are among her eight grandchildren. She has a host of great-grandchildren.
Her death is “a really shocking and discombobulating moment for a lot of Brits,” NBC royal commentator Daisy McAndrew said before the queen’s death in the article. “Everybody realizes that when she dies, it’s going to be a very big deal. But I don’t think that we really know the shockwaves that it’s going to send.”
“It’s going to make us, as a nation, look at ourselves and think: Everything’s changed,” she added in the story.
Earlier today, Queen Elizabeth was reported ill before her death later in the afternoon.
“I have behind me not only the splendid traditions and the annals of more than a thousand years but the living strength and majesty of the Commonwealth and Empire; of societies old and new; of lands and races different in history and origins but all, by God’s Will, united in spirit and in aim,” she said in the article.
“She is an astonishing person and a real jewel to the world and not just to the United Kingdom,” then-President Barack Obama said in April 2016, the article added.
“She has a wicked sense of humor. She loves jokes, as Prince Philips did of course,” said McAndrew, the royal commentator in the story. “Philip came very unstuck with it,” she said, referring to a number of jokes made by him that were deemed in poor taste or even racist, but the queen has “always been much more careful.”
“There’s probably a lot of us born into Elizabeth II’s reign who didn’t grow up as red hot monarchists,” the historical author and royal commentator Sarah Gristwood said in the article. “But particularly in the past few years, when the world has been going through such turmoil, with Covid and uncertainty and mistrust in the political establishment, she has taken on even greater importance.”
“This is the end of an era and hugely significant.”
The Guardian also reported that Liz Truss was tapped as the next UK prime minister after meeting with Queen Elizabeth earlier this week.
Members of the Royal Family rushed to her side upon the unfortunate news including her son Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles, and Prince William. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who infamously stepped away from their senior royal positions in 2020, causing a rift in the family, also traveled to Balmoral as they happened to be in the UK for previous engagements.
Her Majesty was the longest-reigning British monarch in history, ruling for a record-breaking seventy years. In June, the city of London celebrated the milestone with a Platinum Jubilee, a long weekend of events that included a parade and star-studded live concert. The crown will now pass on to her oldest child, Prince Charles.
Queen Elizabeth’s passing comes after she began to undergo health struggles in the fall of 2021. Though the palace provided few details to the public, Her Majesty was forced to cancel multiple royal engagements and underwent a brief hospital stay. She also began stepping out with a cane around this time, as well. Eventually, it was announced that the Queen would no longer attend events on her own in public and would always be accompanied by a member of the royal family.
While the world knew her as Queen Elizabeth II, the late royal was born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, in London. She was the oldest child of Prince Albert, Duke of York, who later became known as King George VI after his older brother abdicated from the throne, and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
When she was just 27-years-old, Princess Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, in Westminster Abbey. Her coronation was the first to ever be broadcast on live television.
Six years prior to her coronation, Elizabeth wed Philip Mountbatten, also in Westminster Abbey, on November 20, 1947. They were married for nearly 74 years before the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing on April 9, 2021, after several months of illness. He was 99 and just weeks shy of celebrating his 100th birthday on June 10th.
Elizabeth and Philip shared three other children together: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward.
On Thursday, September 8, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, in accordance with a proclamation issued by President Biden, has ordered U.S. and Michigan flags within the State Capitol Complex and across all public buildings and grounds to be lowered to half-staff until sunset on the day of interment to honor and remember Queen Elizabeth II.
“Queen Elizabeth II lived through and shaped history during her nearly 70-year reign,” said Whitmer. “Today, in accordance with the president’s proclamation, we are lowering flags to honor her memory. My thoughts are with the royal family and the people of the United Kingdom.”
The State of Michigan, in accordance with the president’s directive, will lower flags to half-staff in recognition of the queen’s lifetime of service. Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments, and other organizations also are encouraged to display the flag at half-staff.
Black Information Network contributed to this report.
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