Queen Elizabeth passes away at 96 after 70-year reign [Video]

• Queen Elizabeth’s final public appearance was made on Tuesday when she appointed Liz Truss as the U.K.’s new prime minister.
• The Queen has recently had episodic mobility issues that required her to use a walking cane since October.
• The Queen passed away peacefully on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth II conducted her last official royal duty just days before her passing on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth formally appointed Liz Truss as the new British Prime Minister after accepting the resignation of outgoing PM Boris Johnson.

Johnson traveled to Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where the Queen traditionally spends her summers, to formally tender his resignation. Truss also traveled to Scotland to meet with the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth’s meeting with Truss marked the first time that the Queen appointed a new prime minister in Scotland. The pair were photographed as they shook hands.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the audiences were set to take place at Balmoral to allow for both the schedules of Johnson and Truss. In consideration of the Queen’s mobility issues, the palace also wanted to avoid last-minute arrangements that would require the Queen to travel to London or Windsor Castle.

In recent months, the Queen scaled back her commitments due to episodic mobility issues that required her to use a walking cane since October. Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, took more roles on her behalf.

The appointment of the prime minister is one of the Queen’s key duties. She met her first prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, in 1952, when she stepped off the plane that brought her back from Kenya to Britain. All prime ministers who served under her reign had met her at the palace except for Truss, who is the 15th prime minister appointed by the Queen.

There was a Privy Council meeting scheduled for the next day, but doctors advised the Queen to rest after Tuesday’s audiences. The palace later announced that the Queen would no longer preside over the meeting, which has been rearranged.

The palace announced on Thursday, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.” They added that Prince Charles, now King Charles III, and Camilla, now Queen Consort, “will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”

Queen Elizabeth II served a record 70-year reign and was Britain’s oldest monarch at age 96. Her late husband, Prince Philip, passed away on April 9, 2021, at age 99. The Queen is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

Source: People