Queen Elizabeth II lived her life in the spotlight. We look back at her reign, from baby to heir to Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

 

 

 



Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on 21 April 1926, in a house off Berkeley Square in London. She was the first child of Albert, Duke of York - the second son of George V - and his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

In her early years, the throne was not her destiny

In her early years, the throne was not her destiny

 

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

 

 

She died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate, where she had spent much of the summer.

 

 

The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

 

 

Her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a "moment of great sadness" for him and his family and that her loss would be "deeply felt" around the world.

 

 

He said: "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 the coming period, he said he and his family would be "comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held".

 

 

The King and his wife, Camilla, now Queen Consort, will return to London on Friday, Buckingham Palace said.

 

 

Senior royals had gathered at Balmoral after the Queen's doctors became concerned about her health earlier in the day.

 

 

All the Queen's children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision.

 

 

Her grandson and now heir to the throne, Prince William, and his brother, Prince Harry, also gathered there.

 

 

 

 

Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch was the rock on which modern Britain was built, who had "provided us with the stability and strength that we needed".

 

 

Speaking about the new King, she said: "We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much, to so many, for so long.

 

 

"And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have wished, by saying the words 'God save the King'."