“Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. Her family gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health earlier on Thursday. The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change. With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King and head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.” BBC: Queen Elizabeth II has died. You undoubtedly heard this news before receiving this missive from me as phones and computers around the world were hit with a barrage of notifications linking to pre-written articles. Everything about royalty is strange, not the least of which is the public obsession with it.

+ “Elizabeth, who died on September 8th at ninety-six, led a life made up of privilege and sacrifice, and even those who resented the former acknowledged the latter.” Rebecca Mead in The New Yorker: The Reign of Queen Elizabeth II Has Ended.

+ What a run. Here’s a timeline of her life and a look at her life in pictures. And from flags to coins (and I suppose Netflix shows), a lot will change. It will take some time. Cash, stamps and flags: how royal symbols will change after Queen.

+ “The 20th century saw monarchs across Europe monarchs deposed or exiled or executed. Elizabeth grew up surrounded by royal relatives fleeing their home countries amid the chaos of World War II and taking refuge in England. But under her reign, Britain’s monarchy didn’t only survive. It continued to be downright popular — and specifically, so was she.” Vox: The subtle power of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.

+ NY Mag: Queen Elizabeth Was the First Monarch We Thought We Knew. “Crowned at the dawn of the TV age, she was defined by her distance as much as her ubiquity.” The Queen is no more. But the show will go on.

+ What’s happening at Balmoral is anything from improvised. The Guardian: ‘London Bridge is down’: the secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death.