Queen Elizabeth II has died, Buckingham Palace announces
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Source: The BBC
Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.
Her family gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health earlier on Thursday.
The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.
With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886
This is going to hit a hard hit nation very hard
This is not a shock of course, but even for those who are not monarchists she has been a steady head of state for decades.
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The Queen's passing matters to enough people here on DU that it warrants a little respect. I don't know why there are some who insist on behaving this way. 
now gone more than 20 years. My grandmother was a simple woman, but her tiny stature after years of osteoporosis reminded me of the Queen's own frailty in her last year. And like the Queen, my own grandmother was the ultimate matriarch, who likewise suffered no fools.
I don't care how anyone feels about the monarchy. The Queen deserves respect. She devoted herself to the duty she was born into, not chosen. And she did it well.
I never knew her, will never know her or any of that family, but my thoughts are with the British people.
We listened on the radio and read about it in the newspapers. The world is a poorer place without her.
What does the royalty seeker say next?
that time.
RIP.
She was human and, therefore, imperfect. Still, I saw her as a grand lady, someone who connected past great societies, of kings and queens with the present day dreams of a little girl who saw no promise for her life in her own, allegedly free, country. It made story book tales we were told at bedtime a possibility in the real world somehow.
I will always remember that for most of my lifetime, there was a Queen of England. sole female ruler of an important country. That she was more than a mere throne ornament, though not much more, was something to be a woman representing a western nation during our time.
I will just add my heart felt +1.
Once when she was visiting where we lived and as an 8 yr old standing beside my twin she came over to say hello. And once I was at the Buckingham Palace Tea Party and I met her back in the distance 
