The BBC's Huw Edwards has paid special tribute to Queen Elizabeth II following her death after a 70-year reign. The news presenter has been presenting a BBC One news special throughout the day from lunchtime onwards and paid tribute to the Queen following her death this afternoon at Balmoral.
Wearing a black suit and tie, Mr Edwards announced the death of the Queen, saying: "This is BBC News from London. Buckingham Palace has announced the death of Queen Elizabeth." A statement from the Royal Family announced the death of Her Majesty. "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," the post on social media read.
It was announced around lunchtime today that the Queen was under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health. Buckingham Palace confirmed this in a statement as her children and grandchildren travelled to her bedside.
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Paying tribute to the Queen upon the announcement of her death at around 6.30pm, the journalist said: "Her Majesty was 96 years old and she became Queen on February 6, 1952 on the death of her father, King George VI. She heard the news while staying at a game lodge in Kenya at the age of 25 and her coronation at Westminster Abbey was watched by more than 20 million people.
"She was married to Prince Philip for 73 years until his death in April of 2021. Charles, their first child, was born in 1948. He now becomes the new King." The tribute added that the Queen had surpassed Queen Victoria in 2015 to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history, with her Platinum Jubilee being celebrated this year.
"She made more than 250 visits to Commonwealth countries and was Head of State in Australia and Canada and New Zealand," the tribute continued. "Winston Churchill was Prime Minister when she came to the throne and Liz Truss was her 15th Prime Minister."
The BBC pulled its usual programming earlier today in favour of a rolling news item on the Queen's health, presented by Huw Edwards and with Nicholas Witchell, the Royal Editor, speaking throughout. Mr Edwards continued: "The death of Her Majesty brings to an end the longest reign in British history spanning eight decades of immense change.
"Throughout that time, Her Majesty was the one constant presence in public life. A Head of State who personified stability and reassurance. Her life had been dedicated to the service of the people and her reign was characterised by a steadfast sense of duty."
The tribute said that the Queen was "sustained" by her 73-year marriage to Prince Philip, who she described as "her strength and stay". It added that she was the "most widely travelled Head of State in history," and that her death had brought the second Elizabethan age to a close and "a long and momentous chapter in British life, a reign marked, above all else by a sense of service to others. A reign unlike any other in the long history of Britain and the Commonwealth."
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