British monarch Queen Elizabeth died at the age of 96.

Buckingham Palace confirmed that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday at the age of 96. "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon" - it said in an official statement. She has been the longest reigning British monarch.

The now King Charles said of his mother in a statement, “During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.

Dame Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of the monarch in The Queen, wrote that she was “a woman, who, with or without the crown, was the epitome of nobility.”

Gruppl.com pays tribute to the beloved queen.