World Leaders Mourn Demise of Queen Elizabeth II; PM Modi Calls Her 'Stalwart of Our Times'

Britain’s longest-serving monarch Queen Elizabeth took her last breath at her Scotland home in Balmoral on 8 September. Britain’s figurehead for more than seven decades died at the age of 96. Her last public appearance was on 6 September, when she welcomed Liz Truss, UK’s new Prime Minister to her home.

Media reports said that almost all of the British royals including her son Prince Charles were by her side in the last hour.

Following the Queen’s death, her eldest son Charles became king of UK as well as the head of state of 14 other kingdoms including New Zealand, Australia, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands & Papua New Guinea.

Condolences poured in from across the world after the death of the 96-year-old emperor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembered her as a "stalwart of our times", saying she "provided inspiring leadership to her country and people" and "a personification of dignity and decency in public life".

Due to recent health issues, the Queen was under the medical supervision of doctors who were "concerned for Her Majesty's health." She passed away at Balmoral Castle, where members of the royal family had hurried to her side after her health took a turn for the worse.

Since the end of last year, the Queen had been suffering what Buckingham Palace described as "episodic mobility problems." The Queen will lie in state in Westminster Hall for about four days before her funeral after her coffin is returned to London.

Elizabeth surpassed the record of Queen Victoria, who had ruled the UK from 1837 to 1901, in 2015 to become its longest-serving queen. Elizabeth's marriage to Prince Philip, whom she referred to as her "strength and stay," died in April 2021 at the age of 99.

"The warmth and hospitality of the Indian people and the richness and diversity of India itself have been an inspiration to all of us,” she said in one of her addresses.

Her first State visit as the head of Britain took place in 1961, when she travelled to Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata with her late husband, Prince Phillip, and paid a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra. At Raj Ghat in New Delhi, she paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi as well.