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THE DEATH OF Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was announced yesterday evening.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the 96-year-old monarch died “peacefully” yesterday afternoon at Balmoral.
The flag at Buckingham Palace was lowered to half mast at 6.30pm. BBC One played the British national anthem following the announcement, showing a photograph of Elizabeth Windsor, followed by a royal crest on a black background and the words Queen Elizabeth II.
Let’s take a look at how the UK’s newspapers have reacted to the news:
The Times carries a striking image of the queen at her coronation on 2 June 1953.
In its obituary, The Times described the the queen as “the woman who saved the monarchy in this country”.
A Life in Service
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) September 8, 2022
Queen Elizabeth II: April 21 1926 - September 8 2022
🗞 Read the full Times obituary here: https://t.co/22lRgce0sC pic.twitter.com/KyraQY4EHS
The Guardian opts to let the queen’s coronation image stand alone, bar some simple text on the left-hand side which reads: “Queen Elizabeth II 1926 – 2022”.
The Guardian front page, Friday 9 September 2022; Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022 pic.twitter.com/5ROqSmVqE1
— The Guardian (@guardian) September 8, 2022
The Independent also lets the queen’s coronation image speak for itself.
Friday’s Independent #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/wRmYXKnJkp
— Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) September 8, 2022
Metro takes a similar vein, but dedicates its front page to a portrait from her younger years.
Tomorrow's Paper Today 📰
— Metro (@MetroUK) September 8, 2022
ELIZABETH II
1926-2022#tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/DzONeztJo1
The Sun‘s tribute to the queen runs across both front and back pages, with a statement from Charles – who automatically became king upon her death – running on the back.
On the front, the paper says: “We loved you Ma’am.”
On tomorrow's front page: 'We loved you, Ma'am' https://t.co/0omqhOXoZY pic.twitter.com/4RQIFr19tm
— The Sun (@TheSun) September 8, 2022
The Daily Telegraph strips the colour from its front, juxtaposing a picture of the queen in her later years with a message she gave to New York after the 11 September attacks: “Grief is the price we pay for love.”
The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) September 8, 2022
'Grief is the price we pay for love' - HM Queen Elizabeth IIhttps://t.co/GvXEEFpNkR pic.twitter.com/QdFt2H9pHe
“Thank you”, is the message on the front of the Daily Mirror.
Friday's front page: Thank you https://t.co/RpX4DCvQ5l #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/0MxuaXtiDh
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) September 8, 2022
The Financial Times carries tributes to the queen from at home and abroad, including British Prime Minister Liz Truss and US President Joe Biden.
Below an image of the monarch attending the state opening of Parliament in 1971, the paper calls her death a “II in the life of the nation”.
Just published: front page of the Financial Times UK edition Friday September 9 https://t.co/tbknisJcrB pic.twitter.com/RxmEadxJOH
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) September 8, 2022
The i reports on what comes next, with the queen’s son and successor King Charles III set to address the British nation as the country enters 10 days of mourning.
Friday's special edition marks the death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96. pic.twitter.com/XbFCKuJWRn
— i newspaper (@theipaper) September 8, 2022
Inside, the paper says “more than half a million” Britons are expected to visit the Queen’s coffin as it lies in state at Westminster Hall before a state funeral is held at Westminster Abbey.
Includes reporting by Press Association
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May she rest in peace. Inherited a throne from an early age, death of her father, who was in today’s terms a young man. Such royal duties thrust on such young shoulders. Carried it well and reigned for 70 years. Not only lived through wars but ruled her nation who fought them. We can never forget the political strife, personal issues, torrents of personal and public life
What 25 year old could take that on these days?
Remarkable woman. Lived many lives and saw so much that we cannot even imagine, at long last she can rest and may she rest evermore.
RIP
@Rafa Condron: she did not rule , she smiled and toed the line and led a life of absolute luxury. For god sake , stop been so naive
@Mike Kelly: Shh.. the grown-ups are talking.
@Rafa Condron: Lol .. No , an uneducated person is talking .. you are what they term a “ useful id..t” . It quite sad actually
At the end of the day, you have shown your ignorance already. Please desist from embarrassing yourself any further.
@Rafa Condron: stick to comics , they don’t require any critical analysis ability
@François Pignon: fine we get it your anti royal. A lot of people are including myself however I can separate that dislike for an institution to see that she was a very Special lady who dedicated her life to her nation and in particular in her later years she tried to bring the uk and island or Ireland closer which I personally think was great.
RIP.
@Peter: indeed, much to the enjoyment of those who tried to derail it.
@François Pignon: comments like this show a big lack of understanding and empathy.
You don’t have to like the monarchy to understand that a huge portion of our neighbouring country does. There’s been plenty of folks in Ireland that do too.
@Paolo Fandango: comments like this also show a lack of understanding that an even larger proportion of our population doesn’t have much love for our neighbours monarchy
@michael walsh: I never said anything to the contrary so your comment makes no sense.
I fully understand that there are plenty of folks that have little to no love for the monarchy. But Francois comment of ‘why should any one care’ is clearly nonsensical because millions of people have very good reason to care.
@Peter: are you for real . She spent a weekend here and was told what to say .. read up on it . She did as she was told.
Surprised the Telegraph didn’t have something like “Meghan murders Queen”. They seem to blame everything else on her
@Jonathan Nolan: wasn’t Liz Truss the last visitor to see her ? Suspicious….very suspicious.
@Jonathan Nolan: NO NO,it was charlie!
@Skipper Mac: Think she met Truss realised what the UK was in for and decided to tap out.
A great Queen May She Rest in Peace
Ireland am on TV 3 has nothing but wall to wall coverage of it, but I would expect nothing less from this tacky show!
@Liam O Connor: It is an international news event! Wall to Wall coverage all over the world!
The daily mail’s looks like something that was knocked out on Canva, by the intern.
have your say