The longest-reigning British queen in history, Queen Elizabeth, has passed away.

Age-wise, she was

96. The announcement comes just a few days after the Queen met with Liz Truss, her fifteenth prime
minister, and just hours after Buckingham Palace revealed that the Queen's physicians were worried
about her health. The Queen's entire family, along with Prince William, Prince Harry, Sophie,
Countess of Wessex, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, traveled to Balmoral to be with her in her
dying hours.

"The Queen passed away quietly this afternoon at Balmoral. The King and the Queen Consort will
stay at Balmoral until tonight and go back to London the following day "a press release from
Buckingham Palace reads.

The Queen will have a formal funeral in her capacity as queen, which is anticipated to proceed

The longest-reigning British queen in history, Queen Elizabeth, has passed away. Age-wise, she was
96. The announcement comes just a few days after the Queen met with Liz Truss, her fifteenth prime
minister, and just hours after Buckingham Palace revealed that the Queen's physicians were worried
about her health. The Queen's entire family, along with Prince William, Prince Harry, Sophie,
Countess of Wessex, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, traveled to Balmoral to be with her in her
dying hours.

With all the hype around the upcoming Royal Baby in Britain, you would assume the country had a
monopoly on monarchs, whether they were young or not. There are actually 26 monarchies in the
world, making for an unique web of kings, queens, sultans, emperors, and emirs that collectively rule
or reign over 43 different nations.

Of course, it goes without saying that most royal families are much less well-known abroad than the
Windsors. That has a lot to do with Britain's imperial past because, legally, 16 nations, including
Canada and Australia, are still ruled by the British monarchy, which previously ruled a sizable portion
of the globe.