Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor died Thursday at Balmoral Castle. She is the only monarch most of her subjects have ever known. "The queen is dead, long live the king!" Bells will toll and gun salutes will soon be fireing throughout the United Kingdom as broadcasters, proclaiming heralds and Twitter marks the passing of one sovereign and the ascension of the new one. Her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, 73, immediately became king upon her death.