Buckingham Palace statement in full as Her Majesty the Queen 'dies peacefully'
ok.co.ukThe Queen has died at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne, marking the end of an era and leaving the nation in mourning.The news was announced by Buckingham Palace in a statement: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. "The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow." The royal family’s official website now carries the message: “Queen Elizabeth II 1926 – 2022”.
A statement on the site says: “The official website of the Royal Family is temporarily unavailable while appropriate changes are made.” The Queen has been such an institution reigning over Great Britain and the Commonwealth realms that it's easy to forget she was never meant to rule.
Elizabeth, who was born in 1926, was the daughter of King George V's second son and was not set to take over the throne until her uncle King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936.
His decision to marry divorced American Wallis Simpson, left his brother George VI to take over unexpectedly and once he passed away from a coronary thrombosis at the age of 56 in 1952, his daughter took the throne.The Queen was just 25 when she stepped into a role she was never meant to undertake and she's since become the longest reigning monarch in British history.
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