Britain's Queen Elizabeth is dead - Buckingham Palace

The UK's Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96, Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday (early Friday, Philippines time).

Elizabeth was queen of Britain and more than a dozen other countries since 1952, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and earlier this year marked her 70th year on the throne with four days of national celebrations in June.

"I have been inspired by the kindness, joy and kinship that has been so evident in recent days, and I hope this renewed sense of togetherness will be felt for many years to come," she said at the time.

Elizabeth came to the throne after the death of her father King George VI on Feb. 6, 1952, when she was just 25.

She was crowned in June the following year. The first televised coronation was a foretaste of a new world in which the lives of the royals were to become increasingly scrutinized by the media.

She became monarch at a time when Britain retained much of its empire. It was emerging from the ravages of World War II, with food rationing still in force and class and privilege still dominant in society.

Winston Churchill was the first prime minister who served during her reign. Liz Truss, who this week became the 15th prime minister under Elizabeth, was born in 1975, 101 years after Churchill was born in 1874. — Reuters