NEW YORK (1O10 WINS) -- Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving British monarch, died Thursday Buckingham Palace announced. She was 96.
The palace says her son Charles, who is now king, and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, will stay at Balmoral overnight and travel to London on Friday.
"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," the Palace said in a statement. "The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
All four of her children and her grandson Prince William traveled to Balmoral to be at her side.
Although the Queen's health had been under scrutiny for several months, concern reached a fever pitch Thursday after Buckingham Palace released a statement around noon local time, indicating that her health remained cause for concern.
Crowned in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-serving British monarch in September 2015, surpassing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria.
The BBC played the national anthem over a portrait of the queen in full regalia as the queen's death was announced.
The flag over Buckingham Palace was lowered to half staff.
In 1947, almost five years before she ascended the throne, the 21-year-old Elizabeth promised the people of Britain and the Commonwealth that “my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.”
It was a promise she kept across more than seven decades.
The only monarch most Britons have ever known, Elizabeth reigned for 70 years over a country that rebuilt from war and lost its empire; joined the European Union and then left it; transformed from industrial powerhouse to uncertain 21st century society.
She endured through 15 prime ministers, from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss, becoming an institution and an icon -- a fixed point and a reassuring presence even for those who ignored or loathed the monarchy.
Throughout her reign, the queen visited New York City three times: in 1957, 1976 and in 2010.
The Empire State Building on Thursday night "will shine in purple and sparkle in silver to honor the life" of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2015, she overtook her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria’s reign of 63 years, seven months and two days to become the longest serving monarch in British history, and she kept working into her 10th decade. The loss of Philip at age 99 in 2021 was a heavy blow.
As the queen entered her mid-90s, she had what the palace called “mobility issues” and she appeared infrequently in public in 2022, the year of her Platinum Jubilee. In May, she asked Charles to stand in for her at the State Opening of Parliament, one of the monarch’s key constitutional duties.
Princess Margaret recalled asking her sister whether this meant that Elizabeth would one day be queen. ”‘Yes, I suppose it does,’” Margaret quoted Elizabeth as saying. “She didn’t mention it again.”
But she remained firmly in control of the monarchy as Britain celebrated her Platinum Jubilee with days of parties and pageants in June 2022. On Sept. 6, 2022, she presided at a ceremony at Balmoral Castle to accept the resignation of Boris Johnson as prime minister and appoint Liz Truss as his successor.
listen to 1010 wins
She remained at the center of public life to the end, not least during the coronavirus pandemic. As Britons endured loss, isolation and uncertainty, she made a rare video address in April 2020 that urged people to stick together.
She summoned the spirit of World War II, that vital time in her life, and the nation’s, and echoed Vera Lynn’s wartime anthem, “We’ll Meet Again.”
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.