The soft rain blanketing Edinburgh’s Holyrood Palace did little to deter stunned mourners gathered outside Thursday evening, as one constant of British life appeared to pay its own solemn tribute to the ultimate: Queen Elizabeth II, who died earlier in the afternoon at her Scottish country estate of Balmoral aged 96, drawing the curtain on a remarkable reign that lasted seven decades.
“I feel numb. She was amazing, so selfless, and such a servant to her people,” says Wendy Green, 45, who came to Holyrood—the Queen’s official residence in the Scottish capital, over which the national flag flew at half-mast—to pay her respects. “We will never have another quite like her.”
The passing of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch has left a nation stunned. The BBC suspended all programming for breaking news updates in the lead up to the announcement at 6:30 pm of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, which was received across the U.K. with tears and hushed tones in homes and pubs thronged with after-office drinkers. Parish churches, chapels and cathedrals are being encouraged to toll their bells in remembrance and open for prayer or special services. Meanwhile, a flood of tributes have poured in from around the globe.
“She represents the whole history of the Europe that is our common home with our British friends, she has always given us stability and confidence, she has shown an immense amount of courage, and is a legend in my eyes,” said E.U. Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.
“She seemed so timeless and so wonderful that I am afraid that we have come to believe, like children, she would just go on and on,” tweeted former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who last saw the Queen on Tuesday to tender his resignation.
The Queen’s health has been monitored increasingly intensively as her age advanced. The royal household has its own dedicated team of medics on call 24 hours a day. She had ongoing mobility issues that led her to cancel attending the Braemar Highland Gathering on Saturday with Prince Charles—now King Charles III—stepping in instead.
'The Queen used a walking stick during her last official engagement on Tuesday to receive new British Prime Minister Liz Truss, a duty that would normally have taken place at Buckingham Palace in London but instead took place in Scotland. Still, the Queen looked bright but frail at the time and few expected the hurried gathering of senior royals at Balmoral just two days later—including Prince Harry and Prince William, although Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton stayed behind—that signaled the worst.
Her death in Scotland has triggered a meticulously prearranged plan codenamed Operation Unicorn. (Had she passed south of the border, it would have been Operation London Bridge.) The Queen’s remains are expected to be taken to Holyrood to rest before her coffin is carried to St Giles’ Cathedral on the city’s Royal Mile and later to London by Royal Train.