Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, has died at the age of 96. Prince Charles is now king. Tributes are flowing in from Australia and around the world and Anthony Albanese says this is a “loss we all feel”.
Great Britain has a new king after the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96. Prince Charles, 73, heir to the throne since the age of three, is now king, and has paid tribute to his mother. Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, is now Queen Consort.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “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.”
Flags on landmark buildings in Britain and Australia were lowered to half mast as a period of official mourning was announced. British PM Liz Truss addressed the UK from outside Downing Street, saying: “It’s an extraordinary achievement to have presided with such dignity and grace for 70 years. Her life of service stretched beyond most of our living memories.” She went on to say: “God save the King.”
Here is a timeline of an eventful life, and an obituary. Here is an analysis of the big job that awaits King Charles III. What kind of king will he be?
And here’s what will happen over the next 10 days leading up to her state funeral.
As Australia wakes to the news that we have a new monarch and have lost the woman who ruled our country for longer than almost anyone alive can remember, tributes have flooded in. It is a “loss we feel deeply”, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says. Read our live blog as reactions and analysis pours in.
Australia
Men would be banned from getting a driver’s licence until they are 21 under a “controversial” proposal being made to the NSW government.
About half of voters – and more than two-thirds of young people – are considering backing independents at the upcoming Victorian and NSW state elections, in a trend described as the “Uberisation” of politics.
The government’s new chair of the intelligence and security committee, Peter Khalil, says he is “absolutely concerned” about what appear to be leaks from the national security committee of cabinet contained in a recently published book. The book details comments made by Scott Morrison at a meeting of the NSC in April 2020, in which tensions with China were discussed.
The deaths of five teenagers triggered painful memories for people in Buxton and Picton, a NSW hamlet shaken by another devastating crash.
Australia’s first climate change legislation in a decade has passed federal parliament with support from the government, the Greens and key crossbench senators.
Two Russian pranksters posed as representatives of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny to successfully dupe an Australian Senate committee into taking their evidence on a sanctions bill.
Australia Post chief executive, Paul Graham, has urged people to order their presents now if they want them delivered by Christmas, as the postal service struggles to recruit enough people for the holiday peak.
The world
The climate crisis has driven the world to the brink of multiple “disastrous” tipping points, according to a major study.
Ukraine has retaken more than 1,000 sq km of territory and over 20 villages, a top general has announced, as its troops wage a counteroffensive in the south and the east of the country.
A multimillionaire dentist in France has been jailed for deliberately mutilating patients from low-income neighbourhoods of Marseille, in a money-making scheme in which he performed thousands of unnecessary procedures.
Top former Trump strategist Steve Bannon has been charged in New York with money laundering, conspiracy and scheme to defraud in connection with his role in a fundraising effort to privately underwrite the construction of the US-Mexico border wall, according to the indictment unsealed on Thursday.
Recommended reads
In this week’s diary, Brigid Delaney ponders whether or not she would have to give her kitchen sink a colonic after discovering a “putrid fatberg”, triggering memories of when she underwent the procedure herself.
Tom Conroy is wowing audiences as Jonathan Blain, the son who had schizophrenia and died at 24 at the heart of Anne Deveson’s bestselling memoir Tell Me I’m Here. In an interview with Kelly Burke, he discusses the weighty responsibility of portraying such a character.
Listen
The Reserve Bank has raised interest rates for five months in a row, in its most aggressive move since 1994. In the middle of a cost of living crisis, many Australians are struggling. Real wages have fallen, household savings are dwindling, and now home owners are feeling the crunch as their mortgage payments skyrocket. In today’s Full Story, Gabrielle Jackson talks to Patrick Keneally and Bonnie Malkin about what central banks and governments can do to battle inflation and ease cost of living pressures.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
After a barnstorming opening round of AFL finals a ridiculously high bar has been set for this week’s two matches, writes Craig Little. “To see three of the game’s very best young players tested in the heat of a semi-final is an enticing prospect regardless of the outcome.”
Media roundup
One of Australia’s chief public health advisers has backed the eventual rollback of all Covid restrictions, the Australian reports. And the Sydney Morning Herald says Australia’s first uterus transplants will start next year.
Coming up
The principal proclamation of the new king will read out in public from a balcony at St James’s Palace at 10am GMT.
And if you’ve read this far …
Relive nearly two decades of great music with the 20 best Arctic Monkeys songs, ranked.
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