Europe with AFP 06:18, September 09, 2022, modified at 06:22, September 09, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday at the age of 96, at her Scottish residence in Balmoral.

From Joe Biden to the Japanese Prime Minister, there have been many tributes in the press and on social networks.

At 73, his son, Prince Charles, officially becomes king and becomes Charles III.

THE ESSENTIAL

The most famous monarch on the planet, Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday at the age of 96 at her Scottish residence in Balmoral, ushering in a new era for the British crown to which she had dedicated her life.

The disappearance of the sovereign, whose state of health had deteriorated for a year, aroused immense emotion in the United Kingdom and in the world.

His son and heir acceded to the throne at the age of 73 with the name of Charles III.

What you must remember : 

  • Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 at her Scottish residence in Balmoral

  • His son, Charles, becomes king at the age of 73

  • Charles III will be officially proclaimed king this Saturday 

  • A period of national mourning of about ten days opens, until the funeral of the queen

Tributes from around the world

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday lamented a "great loss" for the international community following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, expressing his "deep sadness".

"The disappearance of the Queen, who led the UK through turbulent times around the world, is a great loss not only for the British people but also for the international community," said Fumio Kishida.

Joe Biden hailed "a stateswoman of incomparable dignity and steadfastness".

Elizabeth II was "more than a monarch. She embodied an era", added the American president, who signed in person the register of condolences opened in his honor by the British embassy in Washington.

His reign is defined by "grace, elegance and an unalterable sense of duty", added the former tenant of the White House Barack Obama.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also noted Elizabeth II's "grace, dignity and devotion".

"There are no words to pay homage, even partially, to the paramount importance of this queen, to her sense of duty, to her moral integrity, to her devotion and to her dignity", according to the former chancellor German Angela Merkel.

Prince Charles becomes king

The United Kingdom is entering a new era: the new King Charles III must address his subjects on Friday, in mourning after the death of Elizabeth II which caused an immense wave of emotion in the world.

The disappearance of the 96-year-old sovereign, who died Thursday at her Scottish residence of Balmoral after 70 years of reign, has opened a period of mourning for the country.

The challenges are considerable for Charles who becomes king at 73, with a popularity much lower than his mother and his heir, Prince William.

He inherits a kingdom that is brooding in the face of the serious economic and social crisis and the unity split by Brexit, the desire for independence and community tensions in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the political upheavals with the arrival in Downing Street of a fourth prime minister in six years.

At Balmoral with his mother when she died "peacefully" Thursday afternoon, joined throughout the day by his three brothers and sister as well as his two sons, the new sovereign will return to London on Friday. 

A well-prepared funeral

If the course of the next few days, prepared for years, must still be confirmed by the palace, the main lines are known.

After returning to London with Camilla, now queen consort, the new king addressed the British for the first time on television, in a message recorded in advance and broadcast in the evening.

He must also meet with Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose enthronement by Elizabeth II on Tuesday was the last constitutional act of a life dedicated to her role to the end.

During the day, 96 cannons will be fired from several places in the country and the bells of St. Paul, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle will ring.

Charles III must then be officially proclaimed king on Saturday by the succession council, meeting at St. James's Palace in London.

The death of the sovereign, who had limited appearances for one night in the hospital in October 2021, opens a period of national mourning, until her funeral in ten days.