Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8th, 2022, at Balmoral Castle in the UK. The royal family announced online that she died peacefully at her royal estate in Scottish Highlands.  On Thursday morning, Buckingham Palace stated that the Queen was being medically observed because of concerns about her wellbeing. A few hours after this announcement, at 6:30 pm London time, it was announced that she had passed away.  

Her passing shocked many because of how long her reign had lasted. Queen Elizabeth was the longest serving monarch in Britain with nearly 71 years of reign. In her many years of reign, she met prime ministers and hosted world leaders. Her death shocked not only people that had met her in real life, but many others all over the world. A student at Hidden Valley says, “I was shocked, just in utter disbelief because she had been a queen for so long. All I could think about was my dad because he’s British.”  

The queen was credited for many things such as modernizing certain aspects of the British monarchy and staying calm during worldly issues. With the passing of power to King Charles III, people are unsure of how he will rule the country and continue to speak on his mother’s death and her achievements. Another student at Hidden Valley says, “I don’t think people will be able to get over her death because she’s been alive for so long and she’s definitely what we think about when we think of the UK.”