Queen Elizabeth II Has Died

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Politics | September 8, 2022 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Politics | September 8, 2022 |

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died at her residence in Balmoral at the age of 96.

Following hours of speculation and wall-to-wall news coverage across Britain, Buckingham Palace released a statement confirming that the Queen ‘died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.’ After celebrating her platinum jubilee this year, she officially became the longest-reigning monarch in British history. All of the Queen’s children traveled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision. Prince William, is also there, with his brother, Prince Harry, on his way, according to the BBC.

The Palace statement also said that the new King and Queen Consort, Charles and Camilla, will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow. It is assumed that he will take the title of Charles III, and will usher in a new generation of kings with William and Prince George. He is 73 years old and significantly less popular than his late mother. He released a statement:

A statement from His Majesty The King: pic.twitter.com/AnBiyZCher

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 8, 2022

Various world leaders and monarchs have begun sharing their condolences.

For most people in the UK, the Queen is the only monarch we’ve known, and she’s consistently been held up as the nation’s stabilizing force amid immense political turmoil. She enjoyed strong popularity over the seven decades, more or less. That isn’t the case for Charles, the new king, or his siblings, including Andrew, who was regularly described as the Queen’s favorite child. He’s faced questions over his own meddling in political issues and potential bribery scandals. Republican sentiments have grown in popularity across the Commonwealth. The Windsors faced immense backlash following the racist treatment of Meghan Markle. Younger generations don’t feel a massive amount of fondness for the concept of the monarchy. If our new King wishes to continue the legacy of his mother and position himself as that safe port in a storm, all while ‘modernizing’ an intrinsically archaic system, he’ll certainly have a tough journey ahead of him.