Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, has died in Balmoral at age 96, after reigning for 70 years.

With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.

Queen Elizabeth II‘s tenure as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War, and the UK’s entry into the European Union and its exit.