Umamah Bakharia 

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has died this afternoon in Balmoral Castle at the age of 96 in the presence of her family.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday, 8 September.

“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,” says the statement.

Earlier in the day, the palace released a statement indicating concern for the Queens health, however, it read that Her Majesty was “comfortable”.

The Queen’s state had been fragile since she contracted Covid-19 again this year, thus cancelling various engagements recently as her health has been deteriorated since spending a night in hospital last year.

Reports suggest that she struggled as of late with “episodic mobility problems” and was been forced to use a walking stick.

This year, Her Majesty marked her Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70th year as Queen and the longest-reigning monarch in British history. However, due to health concerns, the queen has had few appearances as she passed many of her duties on to her son, Prince Charles.

The Prince of Wales is expected to take the throne as King, while his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, will be known as Queen Consort.