Her eldest son, Charles, 73, succeeds as king immediately, according to centuries of protocol, beginning a new, less certain chapter for the royal family after the queen’s record-breaking 70-year reign.

Britain’s longest-serving monarch has been dogged by health problems since last October that have left her struggling to walk and stand.

Her children – heir to the throne Prince Charles, 73, Princess Anne, 72, Prince Andrew, 62, and Prince Edward, 58, were either already at or quickly headed to Balmoral after the announcement.

They were joined by Charles’s elder son Prince William plus his younger son Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, who have been on a rare visit to Britain after abandoning royal life to move to the United States.

The queen — an instantly recognisable figure to billions of people across the world — is in her Platinum Jubilee year, marking 70 years since she succeeded her father king George VI in 1952.

Moments before Thursday’s announcement, notes were passed in the House of Commons to Prime Minister Liz Truss, her ministers and opposition leaders, prompting them to leave the chamber.

“The whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime,” the new premier tweeted, just two days after the queen appointed her at Balmoral to succeed Boris Johnson.

“My thoughts — and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom — are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family at this time,” Truss added, echoed by leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

One photograph of the queen greeting Truss at Balmoral on Tuesday had already sparked alarm, showing a deep purple bruise on the monarch’s right hand.

In an overnight ceremony on Monday, November 29, in the capital of Bridgetown, Dame Sandra Mason was sworn in as president in the ceremony coinciding with the country’s 55th anniversary of independence.

Singer Rihanna, who is from Barbados attended the event alongside the Prince of Wales, Charles, who represented the Queen.

In a speech, Prince Charles acknowledged the “appalling atrocity of slavery” the Caribbean island suffered while stating it was time for the Island to move ahead as a republic.

Speaking as the guest of honour at the event, Prince Charles reiterated the continuing ties between the two nations despite the constitutional status change.

He described the moment as a new beginning before being awarded the prestigious Order of Freedom of Barbados by the new president.

The Queen sent the country her “warmest good wishes” for “happiness, peace and prosperity in the future” and said the nation holds a “special place” in her heart.

To signify the official change of power, a final salute was made to the British monarchy and the British Royal Standard flag was lowered and replaced.

Dame Sandra Mason, 72, the island’s governor-general since 2018, was named as president-elect of the nation following a vote in parliament last month. She now replaces the Queen as the head of state.

Vessel Republic Barbados has set sail on her maiden voyage. May she weather all storms and land our country and citizens safely on the horizons and shores which are ahead of us,” she said after being sworn in.

She later announced that pop star Rihanna would be named a national hero by President Mason. The artist and businesswoman, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, was previously named an ambassador by her home country in 2018

“May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honour to your nation,” Ms Mottley said, in reference to one of Rihanna’s songs.

Barbados announced its plan to become a republic last year, but it says it will still remain within the Commonwealth.

Barbados was one of England’s first slave colonies. English settlers first occupied the island in 1627 and, under British control, it became a sugar plantation economy using enslaved people brought in from Africa.

Slavery was abolished in Barbados in 1834 and the country became fully independent in 1966.

Before Barbados, which has a population of about 285,000 people, the last nation to remove the Queen as head of state was Mauritius in 1992.

Her Majesty, 95, has moved to reassure her family she is on the mend and “looking forward” to the festive family gathering at her Norfolk estate.

Fears over the Queen’s health were sparked in recent weeks after the monarch was forced to pull out of a number of engagements due to a back sprain. On the advice of her doctors, she has been resting at Windsor Castle after becoming injured almost two weeks ago.

Last month she spent a night in hospital for an unspecified condition. This Christmas will be the first for The Queen after she lost her husband, Prince Philip in April. They had been married for 73 years before his death.

It is thought The Queen will travel to Sandringham around December 17.

Royal sources told The Mirror it was likely she would make a 50-minute helicopter journey from Windsor but added the traditional journey by train from London to Kings Lynn had not yet been ruled out.

Guests at Sandringham will include her son Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children.

Prince Edward has also confirmed his attendance, along with his wife Sophie and their children, Louise and James.

Also expected to attend, is Princess Anne and her children Peter Philips and Zara Tindall. An invitation is also said to have been given to Princess Beatrice, her husband Edo Mapelli Mozzi, and their newborn daughter Sienna, and to Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank, and their baby son August.

Sources also suggested Prince Andrew had “obviously” been invited. It is thought to be “highly unlikely” Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle will fly from California with their two children to attend although it is said they have been invited.

Last year, The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh spent Christmas alone in Windsor Castle due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A source told The Mirror: “The Queen has told everyone she is feeling far better of late and is very much looking forward to welcoming them for Christmas. Like many other families, this will be the first time Her Majesty can gather with her extended family after being kept apart for so long due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

Royal fans will be eager to catch a glimpse of the royals all together at the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene, a 16th-century church on the Sandringham property. The Queen is reportedly “determined” to attend the service, along with the rest of the family, but will be driven to the church to save her walking the short distance.

The Queen has already carried out some light duties and yesterday held two virtual audiences via video link, welcoming the High Commissioner for Nigeria, Sarafa Tunji Isola, and then the Ambassador of Malaysia, Zakri Jaafar.

Buckingham Palace said the Christmas plans were “a private affair”.

Speaking on GMB, royal commentator Dickie Arbiter said that even after the Queen decided to cancel her Northern Ireland trip, she will still be continuing with her duties.

he said. “The Queen made her feelings very crystal clear when she told the ‘Oldie awards’ to naff off. Remembrance Day is coming up and is sacred in her diary. To suggest she’ll step back is patronising and fighting fire – the Queen will instead ask her officials to pace her engagements more. During her coronation, she made a vow in the eyes of God, and you can’t compare that promise to the pope retiring. The Queen has had a very strenuous few days ago, which is why doctors probably advised her to cancel her upcoming trip. It’s a lot to ask of anyone of any age – even when she’s not at engagements the monarch has mounds of paperwork to go through. The officials at Buckingham Palace will be looking very carefully to pace her engagements. There’s only so much Charles, William and Kate can do.”

This comes days after her Majesty, 95  declined a magazine’s award of Oldie of the Year, saying “you are only as old as you feel and she doesn’t believe she fits the criteria.”

Commenting on her decision royal expert Angela Levin said “The Queen’s comment that you are “as old as you feel” is also a nudge to let us all know she is not going to step down as Monarch.

According to royal correspondent Richard Palmer, this year’s main Oldie of the Year award went to the French-American actress, dancer and writer Leslie Caron, 90.

The Queen turned 95 on April 2021. Her husband Prince Philip died at the age of 99 in April, days before the Queen’s birthday.

The Caribbean country’s government is to petition her Majesty for billions of pounds of compensation but critics say British taxpayers have already paid to free slaves.

Merchants made a fortune as slave traders in Jamaica after it became a British Colony in 1707. Many Jamaicans are descendants of slaves who suffered under the oppressive regime. The country gained independence from the UK in 1962 but has kept the Queen as head of state.

And now Jamaica wants compensation as the country’s Culture Minister announced the move to its House of Representatives.

Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange said “We are especially pleased to announce that we have made further steps in our strides towards seeking reparatory justice for the victims and descendants of the transatlantic slave trade. The petition is to be presented to the Queen of the UK and or the government of the UK. The Attorney General’s chambers would need to weigh up the merits of the petition in the eventuality of the government of Jamaica’s involvement in the petition and that it would be the responsibility of the Attorney General’s chambers to file the petition on behalf of the people of Jamaica”

David Cameron faced calls to pay billions of pounds in slavery reparations when he visited the former colony in 2015. That year, taxpayers finally paid off debt from compensating slave owners when the practice was abolished in 1833.

Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills, historian and founder of the British Monarchists Society, said: “Britain has already paid its share and then some – the price of freedom for Jamaica’s slaves. There needs to come a day where individuals, peoples, and the nations of today need to take accountability for themselves, their own actions, and situations, and stop blaming centuries-old dead people and less savoury histories of the past. Britain through the slave acts of the 1800s actually went into debt buying the freedom of slaves throughout the empire. At the time, the British government paid 20 million pounds, the equivalent of around 17 billion pounds today – to compensate slave owners for the lost capital associated with freeing slaves. This pay-out was a massive 40% of the government’s budget and required many bonds to slave owners to effectuate the law”

More than 20,000 people signed an online petition calling on the UK government to compensate “all Caribbean & African Descendants” last December.

He was due to celebrate his 100th birthday in June 2021.

Buckingham Palace announced that he died after recently spent more than a month in hospital and underwent a heart procedure.

“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” it said in a statement.

“His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

“The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”

The palace added that further announcements would be made “in due course”.

Fears over the health of the Duke of Edinburgh, as he was formally known, had been heightened after he recently spent a month in hospital for treatment.

He left the hospital on March 16 following what was described as a successful procedure for a pre-existing condition and treatment for an unspecified infection.

Philip had returned to Windsor Castle, west of London, where he had been isolating with the queen — Britain’s longest-serving monarch — since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year.

Buckingham Palace has now confirmed that he’s been discharged from King Edward VII’s Hospital, after photos shared online showed that he has driven away from the private hospital on Tuesday morning March 16.

The statement read “The Duke of Edinburgh has today been discharged from King Edward VII’s hospital and has returned to Windsor Castle, following treatment for an infection and a successful procedure for a pre-existing condition.  His Royal Highness wishes to thank all the medical staff who looked after him at both King Edward VII’s hospital and St Bartholomew’s hospital, and everyone who has sent their good wishes.”

Prince Charles on the other hand said he is “thrilled” his father is out of the hospital, telling reporters on a visit to Finsbury Park mosque in London that he has “spoken to him several times” since he was discharged.

The process of Queen Elizabeth’s removal would be complete on November 21 when the nation marks the 55th anniversary of independence from Britain.

The decision was taken last year when a government statement said, “The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind.” Prime Minister Mia Mottley said Barbadians wanted a Barbadian head of state.

“This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving,” he said in a speech.

Reacting to the announcement, Buckingham Palace said that it was a matter for the government and people of Barbados.

Quoting a palace source BBC reported that the idea “was not out of the blue” and “has been mooted and publicly talked about many times.”

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace announced at the Queen’s request and for the first time during her 68-year reign, there will be no gun salutes in the royal parks this year.

The aide said: “Her Majesty was keen that no special measures were put in place to allow gun salutes as she did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances.”

A social media post will mark the day on Tuesday, but any calls or video calls with family will be private.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport have written to government buildings giving the standard advice on flag flying protocol but included the following in their instructions: “In the current circumstances we are not expecting everyone to be able to follow this advice and you should continue to adhere to social distancing guidelines as set out by the Government. As has already been announced, there will be no Trooping in June and there are no plans currently for any alternative marking of her official birthday.’