RIP, Queen Elizabeth II

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, died at 2:37 PM on Wednesday the 8th of September, 2022, at Balmoral Castle on the outskirts of the Cairngorms National Park, in Aberdeenshire, in Scotland. She had bone cancer.

She became queen on the death of her father George VI when she was 25 years old, and was crowned more than a year later when she was 27.

Coronation of HM Elizabeth II on 2nd June, 1953.

She already had two children, born two years apart, when she ascended to the throne: the current King Charles III and the Princess Royal, Princess Anne. Ten years later, as queen, she had two more children: Prince Andrew and Prince Edward (born four years apart.) Altogether her children were born sixteen years apart: 1948 through 1964.

Two days before she died she accepted the resignation of Boris Johnson as Prime Minster and appointed Liz Truss as the next one. She was performing her duties normally, although she showed signs of just being taken off a drip. She took a turn for the worse immediately after her official duties and was reported as giving doctors cause for concern.

After she was pronounced dead, the Prime Minister and the Heads of the Commonwealth governments were notified, and the press was notified with an embargo which prevented them from reporting until the official public announcement at 6:30 PM.

Since the press knew about two hours before the public announcement, they were well prepared for the evening news broadcasts, but were also leaking the news.

At the present time the queen's body is lying in state in Scotland. Early next week she will be flown to London (plans to use the Royal Train seem to have been scrapped, reasons unknown) and she will lie in state for about for about five days in Westminster Hall, where members of the public may visit.

Then on Monday, September 19th there will be a state funeral - not seen since the death of Winston Churchill. She will be processed through the streets of London on a gun carriage, followed on foot (weather permitting) by the senior members of the royal family, to a service in Westminster Abbey, followed by a private service which will inter her in St George's chapel, Windsor Castle, next to her late husband.

King Charles will probably be crowned next year.

Eventually the current adulation will come to an end and her faults will start to be reported.