King Charles will address a mourning nation on Friday after the death of his mother and iconic figure of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 96.
Charles, who rushed to the queen’s side before she passed away at her home in Scotland on Thursday, was due to travel back to London with his wife Camilla, now the queen consort, before meeting the prime minister and making a televised statement.
The death of the Queen, Britain’s longest-serving monarch and a commanding presence on the world stage for seven decades, has drawn condolences from around the world.
In London, thousands of people gathered outside Buckingham Palace, where the news was greeted with stunned silence as the flag was lowered to half-staff. Many described a feeling of shock at the death of the only monarch most Britons have ever known.
“She is the person we have always looked up to,” a tearful retiree told GLM outside the queen’s home at Windsor Castle, west London. “It’s a sad day for all of us.”
Charles, who automatically became the monarch of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, said the death was a time of great sadness for him and his family.
“We deeply mourn the passing of a esteemed Sovereign and a much loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt across the country, the kingdoms and the Commonwealth and by countless people around the world,” he said. the 73-year-old monarch in a statement.
They scheduled to meet Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday before heading to the country later. There will also be honor salutes.
News that the queen’s health was deteriorating emerged shortly after noon on Thursday, when her doctors said in a statement that she was under medical supervision, prompting her family to flee to Scotland.
The queen has been suffering from what Buckingham Palace has called “episodic mobility problems” since late last year, forcing her to pull out of almost all of her public engagements. Her 73-year-old husband, Prince Philip, died in 2021.
Her last public engagement did not come until Tuesday, when she named Truss prime minister, the 15th of her reign.
“The Queen’s death is a huge shock to the nation and to the world,” Truss said as she left her Downing Street office, where the flag was lowered, like those at royal palaces and government buildings around the world. United Kingdom.
“Through thick and thin, Queen Elizabeth II provided us with the stability and strength we needed. She was the very spirit of Britain and that spirit will live on.”
SEVEN DECADES OF REIGN
The news has not only surprised the British, but condolences have poured in from leaders around the world.
“His legacy of hers will feature prominently in the pages of British history and in the history of our world,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Queen Elizabeth II, who was also the oldest and oldest head of state in the world, came to the throne after the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952, when she was only 25 years old.
She was crowned in June of the following year. The first televised coronation was a foretaste of a new world in which royal life was to be increasingly scrutinized by the media.
“I have sincerely pledged myself to your service, as many of you have pledged to mine. Throughout my life and with all my heart I will strive to be worthy of your trust,” she said in a speech to her subjects on the day of his coronation.
Elizabeth became monarch at a time when Britain still held much of its former empire with Winston Churchill as British Prime Minister, while Josef Stalin ran the Soviet Union and the Korean War raged.
Devoid of its symbol of continuity and resistance, the United Kingdom begins its new era in a serious economic crisis, marked by disagreements with Europe and a population disaffected by years of political struggles and scandals.