By Michael Holden and Russell Cheyne
BALMORAL, Scotland (Reuters) — Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and the nation's figurehead for seven decades, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
(Additional reporting by Muvija M, Kate Holton, William James, Alistair Smout, Paul Sandle, Kylie MacLellan, Sachin Ravikumar, Farouq Suleiman, Elizabeth Piper, William Schomberg, David Milliken, Hannah McKay, and Sarah McFarlane. Editing by Kate Holton and Janet Lawrence.)