Buckingham Palace has just confirmed the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch in British history, at her Balmoral estate at age 96. BBC reports that she was comfortable and surrounded by family in her last moments. In a public statement Buckingham Palace said: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

With her death, the United Kingdom, as well as fourteen other commonwealth countries, enter a period of mourning. Charles, Prince of Wales, assumes the throne as heir-apparent, and is expected to begin the traditional Royal tour before coronation in the coming weeks.

According to tradition, the Queen’s body will lie in rest at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh, guarded by the Royal Company of Archers. The coffin will be carried up the Royal Mile to St Giles’s cathedral for reception service, before being put on the Royal Train at Waverley station for procession down the east coast mainline to be returned to the throne room in Buckingham Palace.

Succeeding her father at the age of 25, Queen Elizabeth II was coronated in 1953 and oversaw the United Kingdom through the nation’s recovery from the Second World War, the entry and exit from the European Union, the Troubles and subsequent reconciliation in Northern Ireland, and the commonwealth through the decolonization of Africa and the Cold War.