This is the moment the BBC announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen, who was 96, died at Balmoral on Thursday afternoon (September 8).
The tragic news came hours after Buckingham Palace issued a statement, at 12.32pm on Thursday, saying doctors were concerned for the Queen's health. The Queen’s four children – Prince Charles, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex – rushed to be by her bedside in Aberdeenshire and were joined by the Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Wessex.
The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex, despite his long-running troubles with the monarchy, also travelled to the Queen’s Scottish Highlands home. The Duchess of Cambridge remained in Windsor to take care of her and William's children, Princes Charles and Louis and Princess Charlotte, who had their first full day at their new school on Thursday.
READ MORE: BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth II, United Kingdom's longest ruling monarch, dies aged 96 - latest updates
BBC newsreader Huw Edwards made the historic announcement at around 6.30pm. Poignant images of the Queen were shown on screen, followed by the national anthem.
A statement from Buckingham Palace, announcing the news, said 'The King and The Queen Consort' - Charles and Camilla - would remain at Balmoral for the evening.
The statement read: "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."
As with Royal protocol, and set out in Operation Unicorn, a plan which sets out all the steps that must be followed following the Queen's death, the announcement was made by Buckingham Palace, which was first given to the Press Association and the BBC.
Her death comes 17 months after her beloved consort, the Duke of Edinburgh, to whom she was married for 73 years, died in April 2021.
Heir to the throne Charles was said to have been making regular morning visits to see his mother later in the summer as she continued to struggle with her mobility, with the unplanned visits considered highly unusual. The Queen missed the annual Braemar Gathering highland games, which she usually attends, last weekend.
During her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the Queen only travelled to Buckingham Palace twice, first for her Trooping the Colour balcony appearance and then for a finale after the pageant.
She secretly spent a night in hospital for tests in October and was ordered by doctors to rest for the next three months, missing the Remembrance Sunday Cenotaph service and Cop26 climate change talks. The Queen caught Covid in February. After experiencing mild cold-like symptoms, she said the virus left her "very tired and exhausted".
The Queen is the only British monarch to have celebrated a Platinum Jubilee. Her reign has stretched from the post-war years into a new millennium and a radically altered 21st century. She used her Jubilee message to endorse her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Cornwall, as a future queen to be crowned at the Prince of Wales' side when he becomes king.
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