Condolences poured in from around the world Thursday after , whose rule saw Britain through .

Elizabeth had been on the throne since 1952, when the nation was still rebuilding from the destruction of World War II, and became a global icon of calmness and fortitude through years of political upheaval and social changes at home and abroad.

B次元官网网址淪he lived history, she made history. And with her passing, she leaves a magnificent, inspirational legacy,B次元官网网址� Israeli President Isaac Herzog said.

In India, once a British colony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called her B次元官网网址渁 stalwart of our times.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪he personified dignity and decency in public life,B次元官网网址� Modi tweeted.

Flags were ordered flown at half-staff from Washington to Ghana.

President Joe Biden was informed of her death by senior advisers during a meeting in the Oval Office.

Elizabeth, who the White House said had met with 14 American presidents, B次元官网网址渨as a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States,B次元官网网址� he and first lady Jill Biden said in a statement, saying she B次元官网网址渟he defined an era.B次元官网网址�

She was mourned across the 54-nation Commonwealth, a group built around Britain and its former colonies.

The queenB次元官网网址檚 death comes as a growing number of British territories in the Caribbean seek to replace the monarch with their own heads of state amid demands that Britain apologize for its colonial-era abuses and award its former colonies slavery reparations.

Still, Caribbean leaders from Bermuda to Dominica and beyond mourned her death.

B次元官网网址淗er passing ends an iconic 70-year reign and is a profound loss for the commonwealth of nations and the world,B次元官网网址� tweeted Roosevelt Skerrit, DominicaB次元官网网址檚 prime minister.

Minutes later, Bermuda Premier David Burt noted that her reign B次元官网网址渉as spanned decades of such immense change for the United Kingdom and the world.B次元官网网址�

Tributes also came from celebrities. Elton John said in a tweet that she was B次元官网网址渁n inspiring presence to be around, and lead the country through some of our greatest, and darkest, moments.B次元官网网址�

There was even praise from the fictional Paddington Bear, the beloved British childrenB次元官网网址檚 book character. The bear shared tea with the queen shown in June during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

B次元官网网址淭hank you MaB次元官网网址檃m, for everything,B次元官网网址� said a statement on the Paddington Bear Twitter feed.

Elizabeth died Thursday afternoon at age 96 at Balmoral Castle, her summer residence in Scotland, where members of the royal family had rushed to after her health worsened.

B次元官网网址擳he Associated Press