Posted on 09/08/2022 11:41:56 AM PDT by lightman
Queen Elizabeth II — the longest-serving monarch in the United Kingdom's history and the second longest-serving in world history — died Thursday afternoon at age 96 while at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
A tweet from the Royal Family broke the news to the UK and admirers of the Queen around the world:
Born in 1926, the Queen's storied life included serving in the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II, repairing and driving vehicles to aid the war effort while tending to her fellow citizens as the Nazis laid siege to her country.
Ascending to the throne in February 1952, the Queen appointed 15 UK prime ministers during her reign beginning with Winston Churchill, and was one of the world's most well-traveled heads of state in her visits to other nations to meet with their leaders.
The Queen met with 13 U.S. presidents stretching back to Dwight Eisenhower — including Ronald Reagan with whom she shared a love of horses — every German chancellor since the end of World War II and leaders from every continent.
As the Queen for 70 years, she was a driving force behind the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. In one notable example, on September 12, 2001, the Queen requested that the Star Spangled Banner be played during the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in a show of solidarity with the U.S. after terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 innocent people on American soil.
After the Queen's passing on Thursday, the U.S. Capitol announced it would lower its flags to half-staff to honor her life and legacy.
BBC, which had suspended its regular programming on Thursday to cover the Queen's ailing health, shared the news with viewers in the U.K., Commonwealth countries, and the rest of the world:
Doctors attending to Queen Elizabeth II issued a statement earlier on Thursday — in apparent preparation for the Queen's passing — saying they were "concerned" for Queen Elizabeth II's health and that she was comfortable under their supervision as her children and other members of the royal family rushed to Balmoral.
The Queen's family will remain at Balmoral on Thursday evening before returning to London this weekend. Her oldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales, will lead the United Kingdom in mourning as the new King and head of state.
In his first statement as King Charles III, the Queen's son released a statement on Thursday afternoon:
The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.
We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.
During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.
Tributes from around the world began pouring in as soon as the news of the Queen's passing broke:
Sad day for the world. She was a Classy lady.
In before all of the rude, nasty, needless, and inappropriate remarks that have been posted on other threads about this.
Rest in the bosom of our Lord, dearest lady.
Leni/MinuteGal
She was a class act, perhaps the last we will see in the monarchy.
Hopefully she is enjoying tea with Ronald Reagan as we speak.
RIP/MEMORY ETERNAL.
And she must also be sharing tea time with Saint Pope John Paul II and with Margaret Thatcher as well.
She hung on as long as she could so Charles would be old
Long Lived The Queen! Her Majesty of the Greatest Generation.
Today is a sad end to the last bit of cultural consistency most of us have had all of our lives. She even outlived western “democracy”.
Queen Elizabeth was a great monarch, steering her country through some very difficult times, all the while never crossing the line from acting as ruler in a democratically elected government.
Her son is not very bright and will bring a lot of issues with him as King Charles. God save England
so sad, now that hag will become queen. And the rest of the family are a bunch of environmental nuts.
Prayers for the family and Great Britain.
I imagine it will be done slowly, but I think the family has a few things to sort out or to make clear. It will be interesting to see how Charles III handles various issues.
God bless Queen Elizabeth and protect her in the next portion of her journey. I cannot see fit to judge her harshly as many will, because in my heart I do not know that I’d have done as well as she.
My sincerest condolences to our English brethren. I lived over there for 2 1/2 years as a child, and to the end of my days will maintain that it enriched me to do so. Rest in peace.
I have such respect for her and her service during ww2,,God save the king!
May she rest in peace - she’s with Prince Philip now.
BTTT
May the King of Kings welcome you home, and with a great big hug.
May she rest in peace. She will be missed.
Absolutely!!!!
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