BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96

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Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history and an icon instantly recognised by billions of people around the world, died on Thursday at the age of 96, Buckingham Palace announced.

According to centuries of protocol, her eldest son, Charles, 73, takes over as king immediately, ushering in a new, less certain chapter for the royal family after the queen’s record-breaking 70-year reign.