Queen Elizabeth II has passed away at the age of 96.

She was the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-serving female head of state in history having been on the throne for 70 years.

Her death comes less than 18 months after that of her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April last year aged 99.

The Queen visited Warwickshire on a number of occasions during her reign, coming to Warwick in 1996 where she spoke to people in the streets and visited the castle as well as the Lord Leycester Hospital.

She also visited Leamington Spa in March 1988 where she was given a tour of the Royal Priors and again in 2011 to open the Warwickshire Justice Centre.

She also came to open the Royal Show when it moved to the National Agriculture Centre in Stoneleigh for the first time in 1963, visiting again in 1972, 1989 and in 2002.

In 1970 she attended the opening of Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry and in November 1986 the reopened Swan Theatre in Stratford.

The last photographs of the Queen released publicly were taken on Tuesday (6 September) at Balmoral where she accepted the resignation of then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and subsequently invited Liz Truss to form a government.

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Following this, the Queen withdrew from an online meeting of the privy council on Wednesday after being advised by doctors to rest.

This morning, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying the Queen was under medical supervision amid concerns from her doctors about her health.

Family members rushed to be by her side before it was confirmed this evening that she had passed away peacefully this afternoon.