The Queen of England, Elizabeth II, has died at the Balmoral Castle.

Mourners have assembled outside Buckingham Palace to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who has died aged 96.

Queen Elizabeth's death brings to a close a reign that spanned seven decades and made her the most recognized woman in the world.

The new King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.

Sports events in the UK will hold a day of mourning for the Queen on Friday, with the third Test between England and South Africa and the PGA championship at Wentworth among the events to be paused for at least a day as a mark of respect.

All Football League fixtures on Friday and the third day of racing’s St Leger festival at Doncaster have also been called off, while the RFU will announce in the morning whether Bristol v Bath and Sale v Northampton will go ahead.

The queen died peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Several members of the royal family travelled to her Scottish estate near Aberdeen.

Her eldest son, Charles, immediately became King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his mother.

Prince William is now next in line to the British throne. He served in the military from 2006 to 2013, participating in more than 150 helicopter search and rescue operations.

The French Presidential Palace mourned the death of Queen Elizabeth II in a long and emotional statement Thursday, thanking her for the role she played in modern history and Franco-British relationship. 

Elizabeth II was fluent in French and made several public speeches in French while visiting the country.

Numerous TV channels across the UK have cancelled their programming for the rest of the day, running live news shows about the Queen.