By Rogers Wanambwa 

KIU, Main Campus – Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, the United Kingdom's reigning monarch for the past 70 years, was announced dead on September 8th, 2022. 

The Queen, whose family had gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns about her health earlier on Thursday, came to the throne in 1952. 

Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will usher the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.

Buckingham Palace's statement indicated that: "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.”

According to the BBC, Queen's children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision.

Her grandson, Prince William, was present, with his brother, Prince Harry, on his way.

Queen Elizabeth II's reign as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War and the UK's entry into - and withdrawal from - the European Union.

During her tenure, 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Liz Truss, who was born 101 years later in 1975 and appointed by the Queen earlier this week, served. 

She held weekly audiences with all her prime ministers throughout her reign.

The Queen was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, in Mayfair, London, on 21 April 1926.