A tweet from the Royal Family at 6.30pm stated: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

Broadcaster Huw Edwards delivered the news of the Queen’s death live on BBC One.

The Queen's life in pictures

After an image of the flag at Buckingham Palace was shown at half mast, he told viewers: “A few moments ago Buckingham Palace announced the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”

How will the national anthem change now that the Queen has passed away?

The national anthem will only see minor changes, now that Prince Charles will become the monarch, and take the title of King Charles III.

As expected the anthem will change from 'God Save the Queen' to 'God Save the King'.

Minor alterations will be made changing 'Queen' to 'King' and the pronouns 'she/her' to 'he/his' but will otherwise remain exactly the same.

This anthem will be sung by the England national teams in sports, and by Team GB at Olympic/Paralympic games.