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Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Sep. 8 (EMN): Queen Elizabeth II passed away at her Balmoral Scottish estate after serving her country for more than 70 years. The Queen was 96.
“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon (Thursday). The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” the Buckingham Palace announced in a statement on Thursday night.
The flags in Downing Street were lowered to half mast following the death of the Queen, it was reported.
The Queen was under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became “concerned” for her health, Buckingham Palace had said on Thursday. She had been on a summer break at her Scottish home since July this year.
The members of the royal family had rushed to her bedside at the monarch's Scottish estate amidst worrying concerns around the Queen’s health.
Her son and heir, Prince Charles, his wife Camilla - Duchess of Cornwall, and grandson Prince William travelled to Balmoral to be with her, according to their Clarence House and Kensington Palace offices.
The Queen's daughter, Princess Anne, was already by her side at the Scottish castle and her other children Prince Andrew and Prince Edward are also on the way. Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were in Britain for a charity event, were also travelling to be with Harry's grandmother.
Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) was born on April 21, 1926, London, England.
She was the eldest daughter of Prince Albert, duke of York, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
After her uncle, Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 (subsequently becoming duke of Windsor), her father became King George VI, and she became heir presumptive. Elizabeth assumed the title of queen upon her father’s death in 1952.
Elizabeth II was married to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947.
On the eve of the wedding her father, the king, conferred upon the bridegroom the titles of duke of Edinburgh, earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. They took residence at Clarence House in London. Their first child, Prince Charles (Charles Philip Arthur George), was born November 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace.
Elizabeth and the duke set out in January 1952 for a tour of Australia and New Zealand, but en route, at Sagana, Kenya, news reached them of the king’s death on February 6, 1952.
Elizabeth, now queen at just 25 years, at once flew back to England. The first three months of her reign, the period of full mourning for her father, were passed in comparative seclusion.
She carried out her first state opening of Parliament on November 4, 1952. Her coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.
On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, her son Prince Charles became heir apparent; he was named Prince of Wales on July 26, 1958, and was so invested on July 1, 1969.
The queen’s other children were Princess Anne (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise), born August 15, 1950, and created princess royal in 1987; Prince Andrew (Andrew Albert Christian Edward), born February 19, 1960, and created duke of York in 1986; and Prince Edward (Edward Anthony Richard Louis), born March 10, 1964, and created earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn in 1999.
All these children have the surname “of Windsor,” but in 1960 Elizabeth decided to create the hyphenated name Mountbatten-Windsor for other descendants not styled prince or princess and royal highness.
Elizabeth’s first grandchild (Princess Anne’s son) was born on November 15, 1977.
In 2002, Elizabeth celebrated her 50th year on the throne.
In April 2011, Elizabeth led the family in celebrating the wedding of Prince William of Wales—the elder son of Charles and Diana—and Catherine Middleton. The following month, she surpassed George III to become the second longest-reigning monarch in British history, behind Victoria. Also in May, Elizabeth made a historic trip to Ireland, becoming both the first British monarch to visit the Irish republic and the first to set foot in Ireland since 1911.
In 2012, Elizabeth celebrated her “Diamond Jubilee,” marking 60 years on the throne. 2022 marked her Platinum Jubilee on the throne.
On September 9, 2015, she surpassed Victoria’s record reign of 63 years and 216 days.
In August 2017, Prince Philip officially retired from public life.
In the meantime, Elizabeth began to reduce her own official engagements, passing some duties on to Prince Charles and other senior members of the royal family, though the pool of stand-ins shrank when Charles’s younger son, Prince Harry, duke of Sussex, and his wife, Meghan, duchess of Sussex, controversially chose to give up their royal roles in March 2020.
Prince Philip, who had been Elizabeth’s husband for more than seven decades, died in April 2021.