Queen Elizabeth II dies at age 96
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said. “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 palace said in a statement. Flags across the U.K. were lowered to half-mast ahead of a national minute’s silence and the start of an official period of mourning Her eldest son Charles is expected to soon address the nation as king for the first time, with a coronation ceremony taking place at a later date. As a young princess she first took on public duties during the Second World War, appearing on the radio and being appointed one of her father’s effective deputies as counsellor of state. She married Philip Mountbatten in 1947, a marriage which lasted until his death in 2021 and produced four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward. She became queen in 1952 after the premature death of her father George VI, and went on to b...