Queen Elizabeth II died “peacefully” at the age of 96, surrounded by her family, on Thursday afternoon, after a few hours in which public figures and the population waited for confirmation of what seemed irremediable. At noon, a statement from Buckingham Palace reported that doctors were monitoring her “worrying state of health” at Balmoral, where the monarch regularly spent the months of August and September.
Shortly after half past seven, Spanish time, the British Royal House posted a brief statement on its social networks informing of the death, with a black and white image of the sovereign. “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and Queen consort will remain at Balmoral tonight and return to London tomorrow.”
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. pic.twitter.com/VfxpXro22W
The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 8, 2022
At the same time, the
Web page of the royal family was deactivated, only occupied by an image of the queen at her coronation on a black background and the death notice.
The new king, Carlos, and his wife and queen consort, Camila, were the first to go to the mansion after the medical report, and will return to London on Friday morning, so that the hitherto Prince of Wales is formally confirmed as king in a brief ceremony at St. James’s Palace, next to Buckingham. All of the queen’s children and Edward’s wife Sofia gathered at the family’s private residence.
The protocol that orders the steps to follow indicates that the queen’s coffin will be transported to Holyrood Palace, located in Edinburgh, opposite the Scottish Parliament, before being transported to London on the Royal Train. But it was also stated that he may be flown in from Aberdeen airport. The state funeral is scheduled for September 19.
The mobility problems that he had suffered in recent months prevented him from traveling this week to Buckingham Palace to officiate the change of heads of government. Both the dismissed, Boris Johnson, and the replacement, Liz Truss, had to travel to Scotland. The official photograph of the meeting with the new head of government showed a queen more fragile than usual, who had a bruise on her right hand. But there was no information about her life-threatening health problems.
“The death of my dear Mother, Her Majesty the Queen, is a moment of great sadness for me and for all the members of my family,” wrote the new king, Carlos, in his first statement as monarch. “We are in mourning for the death of a dear Sovereign and beloved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt across the country, the territories, the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
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Although the new king had not confirmed his name as monarch, Prime Minister Liz Truss expressed in her statement the country’s loyalty and devotion to ‘Charles III’. The head of government affirmed that the death causes a “great shock in the nation and in the world.” “The UK is a great country because of her,” she added. “In good times and bad, he provided the stability and strength we needed.” The fifteenth head of government of her reign recalled that Elizabeth II had visited a hundred countries.
Expressions of affection and respect came from the president of the French republic, Emmanuel Macron: “I remember her as a friend of France, a queen with a good heart who leaves a lasting impression on her country and her century.” Also from Micheal Martin, prime minister of a republic of Ireland that Elizabeth II was the first monarch to visit. For Martin, her deceased had “an evident dedication to duty and public service and truly unique wisdom and experience.”
Successive US presidents and stunned tourists in rainy London as they strolled through royal palaces expressed the universal impact of Britain’s longest-serving queen. The shock of her in the UK will be more intense because, just three months ago, her Platinum Jubilee led to a huge national holiday in which she was the protagonist of it. Her longevity was celebrated in a variety of spectacular events around Buckingham Palace and elsewhere in the UK.
Aches and pains
Difficulties in walking limited his presence, but he unexpectedly participated in the last day of celebrations of his reign. It was a huge show of affection for Elizabeth II, who had lost her husband Philip of Edinburgh a year earlier. five years older than her. But health problems of apparent lightness also seemed to affect him.
In 2003 he had to undergo surgery on a knee. In October 2021, she spent a night in a private hospital, to undergo “preliminary investigations”, from which she left “in good spirits”. She used canes in public ceremonies. In February, she joked with two military aides that she couldn’t move at an audience at Windsor Castle, where she has lived most of the time since the death of Philip of Edinburgh.
She later resigned from presiding over the official opening of Parliament, known as ‘The Queen’s Speech’ and was unable to participate fully in the Jubilee in June, although it was the great party organized in her honour. In July he attended public events, such as the opening of a hospice, but he was also unable to travel this week to Buckingham Palace for the change of prime ministers.
On Wednesday, he canceled a virtual meeting with the Privy Council, made up of politicians who have held ministerial posts and, among other functions, acts as a witness to the royal seal of laws passed by Parliament. According to the Palace statement, he had had the day before, after his meetings with Johnson and Truss, “a very busy day.”
Balmoral is probably the most loved by the queen among all the residences of the royal family. The mansion is accessed by road from Aberdeen, an hour’s drive to a sparsely populated part of the Scottish Highlands. The River Dee winds through the valley and although the castle-like mansion itself is not architecturally beautiful, the scenery is extraordinary.
The most relaxed images of the family are possibly those that portray the queen and her husband surrounded by their children at a barbecue, hunting or walking through the enormous estate. One of the rituals of his summer stay at Balmoral was the invitation to the Prime Minister and his partner. Others were attendance at the Scottish games competition in the neighboring town of Braemar.
It was purchased by Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, in the mid-19th century. After the early death of her husband, Victoria took refuge there to experience her long mourning. Parliament sent delegations to ask the monarch to return to London. There is a historical evocation in the death of Elizabeth II at Balmoral.
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