Queen Elizabeth II’s death is being mourned in the United Kingdom and around the world. The country’s longest-reigning monarch passed away on Thursday at the age of 96.
Large crowds are expected to gather outside Buckingham Palace in central London, while tributes from across the country and around the world pour in. The royal family rushed to Scotland to be by the queen’s side after Buckingham Palace announced she had been placed under medical supervision.
Few Britons have known another monarch, so the end of Elizabeth’s reign after more than 70 years will usher in days of mourning and an uncertain new era for the royal family and Britain.
When Charles succeeds his mother as monarch, he may not be known as King Charles III, as it is common for royals to take another name when ascending the throne.
He is free to select his own regnal title and may choose another from his full given name — Charles Philip Arthur George — or a completely different name. When the queen’s father, Albert, assumed the throne in 1936, he chose to be crowned King George VI.