Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96, Buckingham Palace announced in a statement just after 6.30pm (local time) on Thursday.
“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” it read.
“The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow,” the statement said.
Her eldest son, Charles, will now be known as King Charles III. Together with Queen Camilla he issued a statement saying the death of his “beloved mother” was 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. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.
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.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss, who the Queen appointed to the role on Tuesday, said the former monarch was “the rock on which modern Britain was built”.
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, also joined the avalanche of tributes to the Queen on Twitter saying that he was “deeply saddened” by her passing.
“The duty, service and dedication she demonstrated throughout her reign was not just exemplary but extraordinary,” Mitsotakis wrote.
Greece’s President, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, expressed her condolences regarding Queen Elizabeth on Twitter.
“Queen Elizabeth’s reign has marked the modern history of the United Kingdom. She has been a true pillar of her country and has been rewarded with love and respect,” Sakellaropoulou wrote.
“My heartfelt condolences to her family and the British people. She will be missed.”
The Greek Foreign Ministry also took to social media saying: “We express our sincere condolences for the passing of the longest serving Monarch of the United Kingdom, HM Queen Elisabeth II. She will remain in history for her dedication to duty and the protection of the image of the country she led for over seven decades.”
During her long reign, setting her apart as the longest standing British monarch in history, Queen Elizabeth visited 120 countries, among them Australia 16 times.
However, she never set foot in Greece, a reality that has been highlighted by the European and international leaders community as a “glaring omission”, given that Greece was the birthplace of her husband, late Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh who drew his first breath on the island of Corfu, at Mon Repos Palace, in 1921.
Prince Philip visited his birthplace several times, albeit always unofficially. His father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, was born at the Tatoi Palace, on the outskirts of Athens in 1882.
King Charles, has never hidden his love of Greece, and is a self proclaimed Philhellene in honour of his father’s heritage.
In a visit to Greece in 2018, during a speech at the Presidential Mansion in Athens, Charles paid tribute to the historical ties between the UK and Greece, but mainly Greece’s contribution to the rest of humanity, saying “We are all Greeks”.
He went on to say that he was “delighted” to be back in Greece, “which has long held the most special place in his heart”.
In his visit back in March 2021 he attended celebrations for the bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence.
The Queen’s body was taken from her estate at Balmoral, in north-east Scotland, to Edinburgh on Friday morning local time, to Buckingham Palace’s throne room before lying in state for four days in Westminster Hall.
The UK will then declare a period of national mourning ahead of the Queen’s funeral, which protocol says will be held at Westminster Abbey in London.
In the first 24 hours or so after his mother’s death, Charles will be officially proclaimed King. This happens at St James’s Palace in London, in front of a ceremonial body known as the Accession Council.