Queen Elizabeth II, who spent seven decades on the throne of the United Kingdom with a longer reign than any other British monarch, has died at the age of 96.
According to royal family sources, the queen “died peacefully” on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle, her home in the Scottish Highlands. Charles, her 73-year-old son, will take the throne as King Charles III. He is still in Balmoral, according to officials, and will go back to London on Friday.
The National Cathedral in Washington, DC, rang its funeral bell 96 times in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty met with all 14 American Presidents who held office during the late Queen Elizabeth II 70-year reign, with the exception of President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Her first meeting with an American President as Queen, was with President Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower who invited her and Prince Phillip to stay at The White House in 1957. They had known each other from their time together in World War II.
While serving as vice president and president, President Richard Nixon frequently saw the queen. It is also said that he tried to arrange a match between his daughter Tricia and Prince Charles, the queen’s eldest son.
President Ronald Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II was known to have a close friendship as well as a shared love of horseback riding. In 983 she traveled to the Reagan California ranch for a visit that her press secretary said the Queen found it delightful and terrible exciting.
The queen had never gone to a baseball game before President George H.W. Bush, a lifelong fan, brought her and Prince Philip to a Baltimore Orioles vs. Oakland Athletics game in 1991. In a statement following President Bush’s passing in December 2018, the queen praised him as “a wonderful friend and ally of the United Kingdom” and a “patriot.” Prince Charles was also dispatched by her to attend his burial to represent the Royal Family.
In 2007, when President George W. Bush said inadvertently that she had to come to the United States to commemorate the country’s bicentennial in 1776 rather than 1976, Queen Elizabeth made light-hearted fun of him.
President Barack H Obama and Queen Elizabeth II met shortly after he took office in 2009. The queen received an iPod from President Barack Obama that was loaded with old videos of her trips to the US, which date back to the 1950s, as well as his 2009 inaugural address and 2008 DNC speech. First Lady Michelle Obama accidentally committed a royal faux pas by placing her arm around the Queen’s shoulder. The queen did not seem to mind as she precipitated by pacing her gloved hand on the first ladies back.
The Queen’s strangest encounter with a US President was with Donald Trump. President Donald Trump was accused of making several royal faux pas during his summer 2018 visit to England, including being late to meet the queen at Windsor Castle, while inspecting the Guard of Honor he was walking in front of her, shaking her hand instead of bowing, and turning his back to her. The Queen’s most peculiar encounter with a US President was with Trump.
In June 2021, when they visited the UK for the G7 summit in Cornwall, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met with The Queen. This was her final encounter with a US president. Biden, who had first met The Queen in 1982 while serving as a US Senator, was gushing with praise for her. During a visit to Connor Downs Academy in Hayle, West Cornwall, during the G7 summit in England, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, of the United Kingdom, and Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States, were spotted bringing carrots for the school rabbit, Storm.
Out of “respect” for her memory and seven decades as the formal head of the British state, Biden has ordered that flags be lowered at the White House and other federal buildings, including foreign embassies, as well as military bases and naval vessels. The queen “was more than a monarch,” he said. “She defined an era.”
The United Kingdom has entered a period of national mourning and at least ten days of solemn ceremonial following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled for more than 70 years. Few people alive today have ever seen anything like the meticulously planned and executed event, which will include gun salutes, bells ringing all around the country, and millions of people assembling to pay respects. Until the queen’s funeral, Britain will be in an official state of mourning.
RIP Queen Elizabeth II
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