Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Born on 21 April 1926, the Queen was crowned on 2 June 1953. All 70 years and 127 days of her reign, the longest in British history, were defined by an unwavering consistency and a devotion to duty. She symbolised stability in times of strife and served her subjects, many of whom have known no other sovereign, until the very end. She not only witnessed world history, but was frequently part of it. As other monarchies were swept away, Queen Elizabeth II stabilised the British royal family's position with her willingness to modernise and embrace change. A certainty in British life for almost a century, the loss of the Queen will, for many, leave a hollow that cannot be filled. Our thoughts and good wishes are with her family, and all those whose lives she touched. Here, the final cadence of 'Hard Frost' by Cecil Day-Lewis, the first poet laureate appointed by the Queen in 1968. Written at the turn of another melancholy autumn, it sifts through a cold surface to reveal where the seasons – as constant as Elizabeth – make their changes: Deep below where frost Worrying the stiff clods unclenches their Grip on the seed and lets The future breathe. Pictured: The Queen at Balmoral: Elizabeth II sitting in her study at the Scottish royal residence on 31 October 1972, dealing with dispatch boxes containing state papers sent from Whitehall. Photography: Fox Photos/Getty Images. The Queen in 1947. Photographed by Cecil Beaton for Vogue. Queen Elizabeth II and her son Charles leaning out of a window at Balmoral on 28 September 1952. Photography: Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Getty Images.