Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the nation's figurehead for seven decades, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
"The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
Her family had rushed to be by her side at her Scottish home, Balmoral Castle, after doctors expressed concern about her health.
The queen had been suffering from what Buckingham Palace has called "episodic mobility problems" since the end of last year.
"Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision," the palace said in a statement earlier Thursday.
The announcement by the palace came a day after the queen canceled a virtual meeting of her Privy Council.
Queen Elizabeth, who was also the world's oldest and longest-serving head of state, came to the throne following the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, when she was just 25.
She was crowned in June the following year.
The queen took steps to prepare for the transition to come. In February, she announced that she wanted Prince Charles’ wife Camilla to be known as “Queen Consort” when “in the fullness of time” her son became king. It removed a question mark over the role of the woman some blamed for the breakup of Charles’ marriage to Princess Diana in the 1990s.
May brought another symbolic moment, when she asked Charles to stand in for her and read the Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament, one of the monarch’s most central constitutional duties.
