Queen Elizabeth, who reigned longer than any British monarch, dies at 96
LONDON — She was born a princess but never intended to be queen. When her father became king after his brother’s shocking abdication, she was asked if it meant that she too would be Britain’s sovereign one day, to which she replied thoughtfully, “Yes, I suppose it does” — then didn’t mention it again.
That unassuming air turned out to be a hallmark of the longest reign by a monarch this country has ever known, seven decades of steadfast service and stately splendor that saw postwar Britain transform from an outsize, if insular, imperial power into a modest, multicultural European nation. Queen Elizabeth II reigned so long that most of the U.K.’s 68 million people have known no other person on the British throne — or, indeed, most people on the planet.
Her death Thursday, at her summer home in Scotland, seemed to come suddenly, only two days after she was pictured smiling and ready to greet her 15th prime minister, a long line stretching back to Winston Churchill. It struck the United Kingdom with the force of a body blow, adding to the uncertainty that the country is facing amid an energy crisis, rampant inflation and a change in political leadership.
But what seemed unshakably secure to many Britons was the legacy the queen left as a beacon of unity, stability and continuity over the last 70 years.
“Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built,” said Prime Minister Liz Truss, who heads what until Thursday was formally known as “Her Majesty’s government” and is now “His Majesty’s government,” under new King Charles III.
As news of her death quickly swept the country, flags at Buckingham Palace were lowered to half-staff, church bells rang, BBC played “God Save the Queen” and thousands of people solemnly placed flowers outside Windsor Castle as the second Elizabethan age came to a close.
“I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world,” the new king said in a statement.
During Elizabeth’s time on the throne, Britain’s class system continued to thaw, manners and morals were revolutionized, the Beatles rocked a generation, a stolid British industry gave way to highflying finance, and Britons stunned the world by voting to leave the European Union. A once-homogeneous society became a cosmopolitan one, and extraordinary technological advances swept even an ancient monarchy into the television and the
