This is the moment the BBC announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen died aged 96 died at Balmoral on Thursday afternoon, hours after Buckingham Palace had issued a statement saying doctors were concerned for her health. The Queen’s four children – Prince Charles, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex – travelled to be by her bedside in Aberdeenshire on Thursday and were joined by the Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Wessex.
The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex also travelled to the Queen’s Highlands home, where Buckingham Palace had said the longest reigning monarch in the UK's history was "comfortable". Her death means King Charles III is the new monarch. Just after 6.30pm, BBC presenter Huw Edwards, dressed in a black suit, made the historic announcement that the Queen had died aged 96, saying: "A few moments ago, Buckingham Palace announced the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 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."
Other BBC channels broadcasting at the time were interrupted, being cut to BBC News where Edwards confirmed the announcement. He said: "The BBC is interrupting its normal programmes to bring you an important announcement. This is BBC News from London. Buckingham Palace has announced the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."
Mr Edwards then read out the palace's statement before the programme cut to a montage of poignant images of the monarch, while the national anthem was played. All BBC radio radio programming was also suspended and united under a single broadcast, where her death was announced. BBC Three and Four did not broadcast on Thursday evening, with the channels instead displaying a message that "programmes have been suspended for a major news story."
Read more: The date the Queen's funeral is expected to take place
The death of Queen Elizabeth comes 17 months after her beloved consort, the Duke of Edinburgh, to whom she was married for 73 years, died in April 2021. The UK has entered 12 days of mourning and the Queen's coffin is set to lie in state to allow the public to pay their last respects.
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