Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96

Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96, it has been confirmed.

At 1.30pm, the Royal family's Twitter account posted a message saying: "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."

The BBC confirmed the news moments later, before the rolling news coverage cut to an image of the Queen, as the national anthem played.

Around 20 minutes later, footmen at Buckingham Palace emerged before throngs of onlookers to fix a sign to the railings, formally announcing the news.

A double-rainbow appeared above London - a poignant moment after a day of concern and worry across the nation and world.

Prince Charles becomes King, and he released a statement saying, in part: "The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family. We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother."

Prime Minister Liz Truss, dressed in black, addressed the nation outside No 10. She said: “We are all devastated by the news that we have just heard from Balmoral.

“The death of Her Majesty the Queen is a huge shock to the nation and to the world.’’

Concerns were first raised earlier in the day when a statement was released by the palace detailing the medical supervision she was now under.

It read: “Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”

The news of her death was then confirmed later in the day.

The Queen had been advised to rest by doctors yesterday, after postponing an online meeting of the Privy Council.

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

The Queen has died at the age of 96Kirsty O'Connor-WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall travelled to Balmoral to be alongside her earlier on Thursday, as did the Duke of Cambridge.

The Duke of Sussex, despite his long-running troubles with the monarchy, also traveled to Scotland after cancelling plans to attend the WellChild Awards on Thursday evening on the last day of their mini European tour.

The news comes just days after she invited Liz Truss to become the new Prime Minister on Tuesday.

Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne at the age of 25, when her father King George VI passed away, however she was not crowned until almost 18 months later on 2 June 1953.

More to follow.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.