President Joe Biden issued a proclamation hours after the death of Queen Elizabeth II ordering all flags at U.S. federal and military facilities to fly at half staff as "as a mark of respect," one of several symbolic gestures around the globe to honor the influential tenure of the 96-year-old sovereign.
"In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her," Biden declared in the text of the proclamation that the White House released. "Queen Elizabeth II led always with grace, an unwavering commitment to duty, and the incomparable power of her example. She was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States."
The proclamation specified flags will remain at half-staff until sunset on the day of Elizabeth's interment. Though that date had not been set as of Thursday afternoon, it likely would follow a 10-day mourning period, according to a fastidiously detailed 2017 report from The Guardian about the plans for the monarch's eventual death - many of which played out in the hours after the news emerged.
Biden has issued similar proclamations a half-dozen times this year to mark other tragedies of significance to the U.S. and his administration - though each of those only took effect for a day or two. He did so in early July following the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in May to mark the number of Americans who died from COVID-19 exceeding 1 million and for mass shootings in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 4 and at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in May.
The tenor of his latest order marks the important role the British sovereign played in developing ties between the U.S. and the U.K., a link known in government circles as "the special relationship."
"She helped make our relationship special," said Biden, who in social settings routinely cites his Irish ancestry and quips about moments traveling in an official capacity to British royal facilities and other facilities under the control of the U.K. - which colonized Ireland and still governs Northern Ireland.
"The seven decades of her history-making reign bore witness to an age of unprecedented human advancement and the forward march of human dignity," the president said. "Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world."
Elizabeth had issued similar honors as a mark of respect to the U.K. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, she ordered her ceremonial military guard to play the American national anthem outside Buckingham Palace.
Former President Donald Trump issued a warm statement acknowledging the queen's death, describing her reign as "historic and remarkable" and adding that "her leadership and enduring diplomacy secured and advanced alliances with the United States and countries around the world." She will always be remembered for "her faithfulness to her country and her unwavering devotion to her fellow countrymen and women."
"What a grand and beautiful lady she was - there was nobody like her!" Trump added.
Thursday's order came shortly after Biden canceled a planned event to discuss new vaccine policies.
Indeed, affairs of state across the globe softened, if not temporarily halted, as the British royal family shared the news that the longest serving English monarch had died.
In announcing the queen's death, newly minted Prime Minister Liz Truss, who received the monarch's blessing mere days before to form a new government, in short public remarks outside 10 Downing Street described "a huge shock to the nation and to the world."
"Queen Elizabeth II was the rock on which modern Britain was built," said Truss, a member of the Conservative Party and recent supporter of Brexit, who took over her position from Boris Johnson on Tuesday. "Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. Britain is the great country it is today because of her."
Truss described the dramatic, sweeping and at times tumultuous changes that Britain has endured during Elizabeth's reign. It began shortly after the end of World War II, a period that secured the end of the British Empire and the beginning of the Commonwealth, which now includes 56 nations "spanning every continent of the world," the prime minister said.
"She was the very spirit of Great Britain, and that spirit will endure," she said.
Truss also appeared to answer one of the more scrutinized questions in anticipation of the queen's death by confirming how her successor, the former prince of Wales, will be known as king.
The crown passes to "our new monarch, our new head of state, his majesty, King Charles III," Truss said. "God save the king."
Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, which until a few years before the queen's reign was a British colony, wrote on Twitter that he is "pained by her demise."
"Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered as a stalwart of our times. She provided inspiring leadership to her nation and people," Modi wrote. "She personified dignity and decency in public life."
Modi recounted how the queen showed him a handkerchief that Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi gave her at her wedding.
"I will always cherish that gesture," he wrote.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the queen "one of my favorite people in the world" and in a formal statement noted that she previously expressed that Canada felt like home. "Canadians never ceased to return her affection," he said.
Michael Higgins, the president of Ireland, noted the steps Queen Elizabeth took to reconcile relations with his country after decades of bloodshed by becoming the first sovereign to visit since it gained independence.
"During those memorable few days, the Queen did not shy away from the shadows of the past," Higgins said in a statement about that 2011 trip. "Her moving words and gestures of respect were deeply appreciated and admired by the people of Ireland and set out a new, forward-looking relationship between our nations - one of respect, close partnership and sincere friendship."
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