End of an era as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth dies at 96. Here’s what comes next

Multiple generations of people around the world have known Britain's reigning monarch to be Queen Elizabeth II. On September 8, 2022, Britain's Queen passed away at the age of 96 at the Balmoral castle in Scotland. She ruled over the Commonwealth countries for 70 years, the longest for any English monarch. 

#QueenElizabethII died peacefully at the Balmoral Castle this afternoon.
King Charles and Queen Consort, Camilla, will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/kfubkCPo64

— DailyO (@DailyO_) September 8, 2022

The Queen's family had been summoned to Balmoral castle as doctors feared for her health on Thursday. Shortly after, she passed away. In attendance were the Queen's four children - King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, along with her grandchildren - Prince Williams and Prince Harry among others. Camilla, Charles's wife and Sophie, Prince Edward's wife were also present. 

Prince Williams's wife Catherine and Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle were both absent from Balmoral castle. Catherine stayed at Windsor with her three children and Markle is also staying in England. 

In the case of Markle, there is a lot of speculation on why she remained absent. Reportedly, she had plans to accompany Prince Harry to Scotland, but changed the plans last minute. Daily Mirror quoting a BBC correspondent Nicholas Witchell claimed that Markle feared she wouldn't be welcomed at Balmoral. 

Buckingham Palace put out an official notice outside the gate announcing the monarch's death. The union flag on the palace top was also lowered to half-mast at 6.30 pm Britain time. 

Crowds of people gathered outside London's Buckingham Palace to mourn the Queen's death. 

VIDEO: From Gambia to Canada, people react to Queen Elizabeth II's death pic.twitter.com/jaiNOqT53Q

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 9, 2022

Operation Unicorn: Following the death of the Queen, Britain activated Operation Unicorn. Earlier Buckingham Palace had a plan for the Queen's funeral in case of her death in London called, 'London Bridge'. But because she passed away in Scotland, the plan was named after Scotland's national animal. The Queen had spent most of the summer at Balmoral castle in Scotland. 

The funeral: Already, the Royal Family's website has been changed to black, along with a black banner across several other government websites. BBC news anchors were wearing black outfits. The British Parliament is preparing to mourn the death of the Queen and pledge allegiance to the next monarch. 

A statement from His Majesty The King: pic.twitter.com/AnBiyZCher

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 8, 2022

The Guardian reported that on the first day of mourning, ceremonial gun salutes are likely to take place in Hyde Park and at Tower Hill. A minute of silence will be held nationally. The state funeral will be held in 10 days' time. The Queen's coffin is expected to leave Balmoral by road for the Palace of Holyroodhouse. 

The new monarch: King Charles III is now automatically the new monarch of Britain and head of the state of Commonwealth countries. His wife, Camilla, is now the Queen consort. Prince Williams and Princess Catherine, earlier Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Cornwall, inheriting King Charles III's title as Duke of Cornwall. 

It needs to be seen whether King Charles III bestows the title of Prince of Wales on Prince Williams. 

On his mother's death, King Charles III said, “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."

Charles is expected to be proclaimed the official King on Saturday, September 10, 2022. It is unknown when the coronation ceremony will be held and when the King will be symbolically crowned. The King's wife, Camilla, Queen Consort, will inherit the platinum crown with the famed Koh-i-Noor.

With the Queen's death, there will be several changes in the royal hierarchy. It also means that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle's children Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor will become prince and princess. 

However, according to Markle in interviews, the estranged member of the British Royal family had claimed that the family would change the rules to exclude their children from getting the titles and the police protection that comes with it allegedly because of their mixed race. 

The Queen's life: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on 21 April 1926 to the Duke and Duchess of York in London. She was not in line to the throne, but when her uncle, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry a thrice-divorced American woman, Wallis Simpson, Elizabeth's father, became the King. 

Elizabeth, as a Princess and later the Queen, saw the world through several crucial historic moments. From World War II, Britain's colonies gaining independence, Britain in and out of the European Union, the creation of the Commonwealth, 15 Prime Ministers, Princess Diana's death, and more. 

🤝 Later today, The Queen will receive Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle to formalise her new position as Prime Minister.

Ms. Truss is the 15th Prime Minister to serve during Her Majesty’s reign. The first was Winston Churchill in 1952.

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 6, 2022

She became the Queen of England at the age of 25 in 1952. She was the monarch of Britain when Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister, born in 1874, and she also officiated Liz Truss, born in 1975 (101 years after Churchill) as the Prime Minister only 2 days before her death. 

Her husband, then the Prince of Greece and later the Duke of Edinburgh, died in 2021 aged 91.  

World leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi are mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II. 

I had memorable meetings with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during my UK visits in 2015 and 2018. I will never forget her warmth and kindness. During one of the meetings she showed me the handkerchief Mahatma Gandhi gifted her on her wedding. I will always cherish that gesture. pic.twitter.com/3aACbxhLgC

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 8, 2022

On the other hand, netizens are also reminding the world of the British monarchy's not-so-great past, which they claim, the late Queen Elizabeth II actively tried to erase. 

From 8 years after Queen Elizabeth’s coronation until well into the 1970s, the British government engaged in Operation Legacy, destroying records of the British empire’s crimes. Now *is* the time to discuss this kind of detail because her death is used to push a sanitised history

— Mic Wright (@brokenbottleboy) September 8, 2022