Queen Elizabeth dead at 96

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#UnitedKingdom, September 9, 2022 – Queen Elizabeth II,  the second longest reigning monarch of all time and the longest reigning British Monarch ever has died.

Buckingham palace announced her death at 6:30 pm London time on Thursday in a simple 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.”

Prior to her death the entirety of the immediate Royal Family headed to Scotland to be with the Queen after she was put under medical supervision early Thursday Morning.

A brief release from Buckingham Palace had indicated that following evaluation the Queen’s doctors had been concerned for her health and indicated that she  remained ‘comfortable and at Balmoral’.

The update from Buckingham Palace was unprecedented and many feared the worst. Over the last year there had not been any overt comments on her health despite her increasingly apparent frailty and use of a cane.

The only thing the Palace would say was that the 96 year old monarch had been plagued with mobility issues. Those mobility issues had been affecting the Queen for  several months and forced her to sit out some of the celebrations of her historic Platinum Jubilee celebrating her 70 year long reign.

The Queen was last seen in public as she confirmed Liz Truss as UK Prime Minister on Tuesday morning. For the first time that ceremony was carried out at somewhere other than Buckingham Palace another sign that all was not well.

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) suspended all planned programming on Thursday to carry updates live from Balmoral and went black from its iconic branding to black in honor of the monarch after the announcement.

Balmoral was the Queen’s beloved summer home where she gathered with her family every year and the Royal Family rushed to gather at the Monarch’s side in an unusual show of concern hinting at the seriousness of what was happening inside the Palace.

At her bedside were the Queen’s four children, King Charles; Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Duke of York; Edward, Earl of Wessex and her grandson William. Her grandson Harry was on his way to her bedside when the Queen passed.