Overview

• Buckingham Palace said she died peacefully on September 4 at Kensington Palace, surrounded by family, and lowered the flag to half‑mast with a formal notice posted at the gates.
• She became the senior member of the royal family after Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022, though she had stepped back from public duties in 2002 to live more privately.
• Her public image was closely tied to Wimbledon, where she presented trophies from 1969 to 2001 and famously comforted Jana Novotná after the 1993 final, later reducing her presence following a 1999 dispute.
• In 1994 she converted to Roman Catholicism, a rare step for a prominent royal in modern times, reflecting personal conviction that shaped her later life.
• Tributes poured in from the king and queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while the palace indicated royal mourning will continue until a funeral whose date has not yet been announced.