Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world, has died
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognisable to billions of people around the world, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday.
Her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales who is 73 succeeds as king immediately, according to centuries of protocol, beginning a new, less certain chapter for the royal family after the queen’s record-breaking 66-year reign.
As the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay since 1952, he is both the oldest and the longest-serving heir apparent in British history.