Queen Elizabeth II dead at 96 after 70 years on the throne

Queen Elizabeth II, waving during an official visit as part of a Jubilee celebration in 2012, died Thursday at the age of 96. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Queen Elizabeth II, waving during an official visit as part of a Jubilee celebration in 2012, died Thursday at the age of 96. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a symbol of stability in a turbulent era that saw the decline of the British empire and disarray in her own family, died Thursday af…