Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, has sadly passed away, aged 96, it has officially been confirmed.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed the news in a statement released today.
During her 70 years on the throne, Elizabeth II served as Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth – undertaking an important symbolic and unifying role as a head of state, spanning numerous geographical regions, cultures and religions.
She was not just the longest-reigning British monarch in history, but she was also the first-ever monarch to reign in the United Kingdom for 70 years and was beloved by many for her sense of duty and devotion to her role.
The statement reads in full: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
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The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/VfxpXro22W
The confirmation of HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s passing comes after Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday 8 September that she was “under medical supervision” at Balmoral after her doctors had become “concerned for Her Majesty’s health”.
A meeting of the Accession Council is now expected to gather at St James’s Place to proclaim the accession of Prince Charles as the new Sovereign.
As per the late Queen’s wishes, Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, will be known as Queen Consort and is also expected be crowned at his coronation.
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Arrangements for the lying-in-state and funeral must wait on the decisions of the new King, Charles III.
HM Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 96 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Queen Elizabeth II’s Life
HRH was born Princess Elizabeth (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) in 1926.
Having left the UK for a tour of Kenya with her new husband of just five years, it was at the region’s Treetops Hotel that she would learn of the death of her father, George V, on 6 February 1952.
After receiving the news, she immediately canceled her projected journey to Switzerland and returned home urgently with the Duke of Edinburgh to be with her family and make arrangements for her father’s funeral.
The Coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London.
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Elizabeth II acceded to the throne at the age of 25, being proclaimed Queen by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards.
The Coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
During her reign, she served as an important figurehead for the UK and the Commonwealth during times of enormous social change.
Throughout her life, she remained committed to public and voluntary service and was linked to over 600 charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations.
From the preservation of wildlife and the environment to the protection of young children, in her role as Royal patron or president she brought much publicity to important charitable causes throughout her lifetime.
She was passionate about horses and racing, first learning to ride when she was just three years of age and continuing to ride up until the age of 94, which is the last time she was publicly spotted on horseback.
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A longtime racehorse owner, in 2021 she was presented with a horse racing honour that inducted her into the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame.
In the BBC documentary, The Queen’s Racehorses: A Personal View, she said: “My philosophy about racing is simple. I enjoy breeding a horse that is faster than other people’s, and to me, that is a gamble from a long way back.
“I enjoy going racing but I suppose, basically, I love horses, and the thoroughbred epitomises a really good horse to me.”
HRH was also famous for her love for dogs, which was inherited from her father, King George VI – who brought home the family’s first corgi, a puppy named Dookie, in 1933.
Her Majesty bred over 30 canines during her reign and is credited with creating the Dorgi, a dachshund-corgi hybrid, after one of her pet corgis mated with her sister, Princess Margaret’s dachshund Pipkin.
Featured Image – Sergeant Adrian Harlen (via Crown Copywright)
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ITV to be bought out by Sky in transformational British broadcasting deal worth £1.6 billion
Danny Jones
In a watershed moment for British broadcasting, Sky has reached a transformational agreement worth more than £1.6 billion to buy out ITV in a landmark takeover deal.
With Sky already owned by US telecommunications corporation Comcast, this is set to be one of the biggest shakeups in TV and streaming for some time.
Talks actually started last November, but the process to complete a buyout like this has obviously taken a significant amount of time and money already.
It’s also worth noting that the deal is still pending full approval from the relevant regulators; nevertheless, it’s fair to say that it could change the face of the British media giants – who are based here in Greater Manchester over at MediaCity – but might signal a significant overhaul of our media landscape.
The Sky Group have assured there will be no immediate change to popular shows and will not be put behind a paywall at present (for now, anyway), with ITV still under a free-to-air service until 2034 as part of its public licensing contract.
Aquisitons/mergers of this size like this don’t come around very often, at least not across this side of the pond, with the growing Disney’s growing multinational monopolisation being one of the biggest examples of conglomerates mopping up major networks and huge brands over the past decade.
Writing in a statement, Sky said: “The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK.
“Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events.”
That lattermost example feels particularly poignant at the moment, as this also means that the likes of ITV’s impressive World Cup coverage will come under the Sky umbrella in the near future.
ITV agrees sale of media and entertainment business to Sky for up to £1.6bnhttps://t.co/UtgO9REejy
It’s being seen as an ambitious attempt to shake up traditional terrestrial telly and digital platforms, with the ‘old guard’, as it were, having to move forward and fast to keep up with the mercurial market becoming evermore dominated by streaming services.
Of course, there are plenty raising questions and concerns over yet another domestic institution becoming deeper and deeper entwined with big American business; on the other hand, former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who still owns shares, says the deal was “essential” for its survival.
ITV will also receive £1.2bn in cash and Sky’s Love Productions business in return for ownership of their media and entertainment arm, whose shows include the Great British Bake Off.
Moving forward, ITV will also get a further £200m in 2028 if they meet revenue targets when it comes to advertising, with Sky promising to spend over £2.1bn on content from ITV Studios over a five-year period. You can read the full update from ITV right HERE.
Featured Images — James West (via Flickr)/Publicity picture
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Wayne Rooney ‘agrees’ to bizarre bet ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals
Danny Jones
England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has seemingly roped himself into a bizarre bet of his own making after yet more teams booked their place in the quarter-final stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It’s not quite Gary Lineker doing Match of the Day in his underpants after Leicester won the league, level, but we’d still pay to see it.
However, after the bedlam following England booking their spot in the quarter-finals this morning (feels odd to say and we’re still not quite sure what day it is), you might be surprised to learn it has nothing to do with the Three Lions’ historic victory.
It does have to do with who they’ll be facing in their next game, though: Norway, as Rooney seemed confident enough in his prediction that the Scandinavian side wouldn’t make it into the final eight that he wagered he’d row down the River Mersey. Well, they did…
Yes, in case you missed it, the Norwegians did make it past Brazil with a 2-1 win – and, of course, more goals for Erling Haaland – before Thomas Tuchel’s side had barely even woken up for their very long day at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.
While no one was quite sure why ‘Wazza’ was quite so confident that the ‘Seleção’ were going to go through, especially since Norway had shown just as much star power in spells in the opening four rounds, he still decided to throw down the gauntlet on himself.
As you can see in the clip above, he says he’s a “man of [his] word” and looks to have even roped in the likes of fellow former pros turned punditry colleagues on the night, Micah Richards and Joe Hart.
That being said, he did make the caveat that perhaps it would be better if the BBC could somehow sort them to sail down the Hudson River in New York instead, simply for the sake of ‘time’.
We’re not sure exactly how easy it is for the British broadcasters to simply secure permission to take a rowboat down one of the busiest and most famous waterways in the world, but you never know.
Here’s hoping they at least try to make something happen, anyway.
There’s been plenty of curious and comedic moments already this tournament, but for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Harry Kane’s post-match following the tense 3-2 thriller against Mexico, you really need to.
He was given the chance to chat to the media once again after his voice recovered, but let’s just say the memes that have already come from THAT interview are almost as memorable as the match itself.
The Manc -
8th September 2022 
