Elizabeth II, who died Sept. 8 at age 96, was the Queen of the United Kingdom for 70 years. She ruled the Commonwealth, 56 member states that are former territories of the British Empire, according to Wikipedia.com.

Elizabeth became first in line to the throne when she was 10 years old, was crowned Queen in 1953 when her father King George VI died, and lived to be the oldest monarch in British history.

According to the Royal Family Instagram page, Elizabeth II died “peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.” The page also stated that all four of her children traveled to the castle in Scotland for the last few hours of her life.

At 6:30 p.m. the Union Flag at the top of the royal palaces was lowered.  A 12-day mourning period will take place in the UK. Elizabeth’s funeral will be held on Sept. 17 .

Now that the Queen has passed, her oldest son and heir Prince Charles, 73, is now the king of the United Kingdom. The ceremony of his crowning will occur in several months after his accession, the event of a new sovereign taking the throne.