It Is Britain's Saddest Day

Senior members of the Royal Family today sparked a royal rush as they raced to Balmoral to be beside the Queen at her deathbed as Britain's longest reigning monarch died peacefully at Balmoral following an historic day.

What started as a normal Thursday full of engagements, and the first day at school for the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, soon turned to something far more serious as news spread of Her Majesty's ill health.

The Queen's two eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne were the first to be by her side as they were both already in Scotland on official engagements.

They were later joined by Prince William - who flew up to Scotland alone - alongside Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie Countess of Wessex who flew by plane as the Royal Family came together in their time of need.

Even those on the periphery, including the 'favorite son' Prince Andrew and self-exiled Prince Harry, made the all-important trip to Scotland to be with their closest family in their darkest hour.

The first indication that something was wrong arrived quietly: A note, passed hand to-hand on the front benches of the Commons shortly after midday as Liz Truss made her first major policy announcement as Prime Minister.

The masks slipped as brows creased with worry on the government benches, before Sir Keir Starmer was passed a copy while speaking from the opposition side. The look of worry was mutual. Something big was happening.

Minutes after came the announcement from Buckingham Palace: Queen Elizabeth II had been placed under 'medical supervision' at her holiday residence in Balmoral by doctors who were 'concerned for her health'.

Charles, Camilla and Princess Anne - already in Scotland, where the Queen had been since mid-July - were on their way to her bedside. Prince William, who had just dropped George, Louis, and Charlotte off for their first day at school, was also on his way. Kate, ever mindful of the needs of her family, had opted to stay behind.

What ensued were hours of pregnant silence, where nobody said what everybody was thinking.

The 96-year-old monarch - the longest-serving in the UK's history, the only one that most alive today have ever known - was surely gravely ill. Then, at 6.30pm exactly, came the official announcement: The Queen had died.