Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled the United Kingdom for 70 years and was a pillar of stability during much of a turbulent century, passed away on Thursday. She was 96.
She passed away at Balmoral Castle, her Scottish vacation home, where members of the royal family had hurried to her aid when her health started to deteriorate, according to the palace.
She was the only monarch that the majority of Britons have ever known, and her name marks an era: the modern Elizabethan Era. She serves as a link to the nearly extinct generation who fought in World War II.
Both for the country and the monarchy, an institution she helped modernize and stabilize through decades of significant societal change and family scandals, the impact of her loss will be enormous and unpredictable.
Although the coronation might not happen for months, her 73-year-old son Charles automatically becomes king upon the death of the queen. It is unknown if he will decide to use the name King Charles III or another name.
The conflict left an enduring impression on the queen’s life. She made her first public broadcast as Princess Elizabeth in 1940 when she was 14 years old, sending a message to kids who had been evacuated to the country or abroad during the war.
“We children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage,” she said with a blend of stoicism and hope that would echo throughout her reign. “We are trying to do all we can to help out gallant soldiers, sailors and airmen. And we are trying, too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war. We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well.”
Elizabeth has been in charge of a Britain that has recovered from war and lost its empire, entered the European Union and then left it, and changed from an industrial powerhouse to an unreliable 21st-century society since February 6, 1952. She survived 15 prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss, and developed into an institution and an icon. Even for those who despised or ignored the monarchy, she was a constant and reassuring presence.
As she grew older and more fragile, she made fewer public appearances and was less well-known during her later years. But even when Britain celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 with days of festivities and pageants, she remained firmly in charge of the monarchy and at the heart of public life.
