UPDATE: 1:46 P.M. ET – Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, has died at 96, The Royal Family announced on Twitter.
“Get well soon” was the message from Londoners and tourists on Thursday after doctors said they were concerned about the health of Queen Elizabeth.
“Everybody is really stressed about it, we have had her for 70 years so we need to digest the whole thing because it suddenly happened,” London resident Sharon Gove said outside Buckingham Palace.
“Two days ago she was with the new prime minister then suddenly everybody is concerned about her. So it is not very nice but God save the queen!”
Members of the royal family rushed to be with the 96-year-old monarch at her Scottish home, Balmoral Castle, where she had appointed Liz Truss as the new British prime minister on Tuesday.
The thoughts of American tourist Lupe Garcia, 60, were also with the family.
“Well I think it is very sad, I hope the recuperates very quickly. I think everybody loves her and respects her and we want what is best for her and her family,” she said.
Some well-wishers were drawn to the palace just to be there after the news that the queen was ailing broke.
“I work close by and I heard on the news about her majesty’s failing health so I was concerned and it led me to come to Buckingham Palace, to be at the heart of the monarchy,” said Alexander Caplan, a 40-year-old who works as a technology entrepreneur.
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Others were thinking of the queen and her family elsewhere on the streets of London.
Student Beatriz Cintra, 29, said she hoped the queen recovered and that the royal family could “navigate through this difficult period united and that they find peace in whatever happens.”
Bar tender Albert Laane, 18, summed up the thoughts of many, saying: “Hey Elizabeth, get well soon.”
(Reporting by Paul Hardy, Ben MakoriAdditional reporting by Sarah McFarlaneWriting by Alison WilliamsEditing by Frances Kerry)