Queen Elizabeth ll, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, dies at 96 | USA TODAY

Queen Elizabeth ll ascended to the throne after the death of her father in 1952.

Bells will toll and gun salutes will soon be firing throughout the United Kingdom as broadcasters, proclaiming heralds and Twitter mark the passing of one sovereign and the ascension of the new one.

Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, 73, immediately became king upon her death.

As the 41st monarch since William the Conqueror in 1066, Elizabeth was the symbol of stability as Britain and its 1,000-year-old monarchy sailed through roiling storms of the modern age, including a deadly pandemic.

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