The White House Reacts To The Queen's Heartbreaking Death

The UK's longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has died at the age of 96 after a reign that lasted 70 years. According to The Royal Family Twitter account, she passed away "peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon" with her family gathered around her. With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will become the new King and head of state (via CNN). "The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow," the account tweeted, referring to Charles and Camilla.

The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reacted to the news in a press briefing, saying: "Our hearts and our thoughts go to the family members of the Queen, goes to the people of United Kingdom. I don't want to get ahead of what the President is going to say," (via YouTube). Jean-Pierre also quoted President Joe Biden during the queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration a few months ago: "Under her reign, the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States has gotten stronger and closer than ever."

NSC Coordinator John Kirby added that President Biden would address Her Majesty's death and that "He did convey to Prime Minister Truss, who is on the video teleconference, that he and Dr. Biden are thinking very much of the queen and the people of the United Kingdom,"(via YouTube).