The news this morning that the health of Queen Elizabeth II, the titular head of state for Great Britain, is rapidly failing. Via BBC.com:

The Queen is under medical supervision at Balmoral after doctors became concerned for her health, Buckingham Palace has said.

All the Queen's children are either at, or are travelling to, her Scottish estate near Aberdeen.

"Following further evaluation this morning, the Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision," a statement said.

The Queen is comfortable, it added.

[...] The announcement comes after the Queen, 96, pulled out of a meeting of her Privy Council on Wednesday, with doctors advising her to rest.

I'm not big on the royals, myself. But there's no question that the death of this Queen would truly mark the end of an era. (I mean, she even outlived two of the Beatles.) And she did manage to scrape out some measure of privacy in a very public life, so good for her.