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Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth and monarch of 15 countries, ruled longer than any other monarch in British history, guiding the nation through profound changes and leaving behind a vibrant legacy.

There will be many changes in the coming days now the Queen has sadly died - with major differences to how we shop and what we watch on TV

Queen Elizabeth II, who served as the head of the British monarchy and royal family for 70 years, died peacefully Thursday at Balmoral in Scotland. She was 96.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday aged 96, never gave an interview during her 70-year reign, but her regular public speeches sometimes gave an insight into her private thoughts.

When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, Britain was just seven years out of the second world war. Rebuilding work was still ongoing, and rationing key products such as sugar, eggs, cheese and meat would continue for another year or so.

Monarch led UK royal family through often-difficult times and greeted generations of kings, presidents and despots.

The crowning achievement of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday after 70 years on the throne, was to maintain the popularity of the monarchy across decades of seismic political, social and cultural change that threatened to make it an anachronism.

When the late historian Sir Ben Pimlott embarked on his 1996 biography, his colleagues expressed surprise that he should consider Queen Elizabeth II worthy of serious study at all. Yet Pimlott’s judgement proved sound and, if few academics have followed his lead, the political role of the monarchy has received…

From joining the army at age 18 to secretly getting engaged to Prince Philip

Charles automatically becomes king after his mother passes ‘peacefully’ at Balmoral

A look at some notable dates and events in the life and work of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II.