THE SQUIZ
There was a hum of concern last night after a statement was issued by Buckingham Palace that 96yo Queen Elizabeth II had been placed under “medical supervision” at Balmoral in Scotland. And at 3.30am our time, it was confirmed that she had died peacefully. Prince Charles, now King Charles III, issued a statement on behalf of the Royal family saying that it’s “a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family…. During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held,” he said. UK PM Liz Truss, who was sworn in by the Queen just 48 hours earlier, said the country was “devastated” and said Elizabeth was “the rock on which modern Britain was built.”

TELL ME ABOUT HER…
Geez where do you start? We will hear a lot about her in the coming days, so here’s enough to get you started… To sum it up, hers was a life of duty. Born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor on 21 April 1926, she was the first child of Albert, Duke of York and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She was never meant to be Queen, but everything changed when her uncle Edward VIII abdicated, and her dad became King George VI. The work then started to maintain public faith in the monarchy. She married Prince Philip of Greece in 1947, and a son Charles was born soon after in 1948, followed by Anne (1950), Andrew (1960) and Edward (1964). Her coronation in 1953 followed her father’s death in 1952 – so with 70 years on the throne, she was the longest reigning monarch in British history. The BBC sums it up nicely: “She became for many the one constant point in a rapidly changing world as British influence declined, society changed beyond recognition and the role of the monarchy itself came into question.” Despite all that, she was successful in maintaining the monarchy.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
London Bridge is down – that is the code used overnight by Buckingham Palace to inform the government that the Queen has died. Charles and PM Truss will meet today, and tomorrow, the Accession Council (a group of high-ranking public servants) will meet to proclaim King Charles the new sovereign. Because the Queen died in Scotland, a special protocol called Operation Unicorn will come into effect to move her body by train to her official Scottish residence, Holyroodhouse. A ceremonial procession is expected along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh to St Giles’ Cathedral, attended by her family before a 24-hour period of lying at rest, which will be open to the public. She will then return to London and there will be a big ceremonial procession before lying in state for 3 days at the Palace of Westminster. On day 10, her funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey. And on Day 11, she will be laid to rest at Windsor Castle in the King George VI Memorial Chapel alongside her father and her husband. Pace yourself – there’s a long way to go…