Queen Elizabeth II: How Middle East newspapers reacted to the monarch's death

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died on Thursday at the age of 96.

According to her family, the monarch passed "peacefully" at her Scottish estate, just hours after she ushered in a new UK government under Liz Truss. 

The Queen’s death and King Charles III's succession were covered in newspapers across the Middle East. 

Lebanon 

Lebanese papers today:@LOrientLeJour
“The great lady has gone”@Annahar
“And London has fallen”@NidaaWatan
“Elizabeth II dies...long live Charles III” #QueenElizabeth #UK #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/DUZiloFaRo

— Rosabel Crean (@CreanRosabel) September 9, 2022

A number of newspapers in Lebanon marked the Queen’s death on their front page, with tributes such as "The great lady has gone" and "long live Charles III". 

Leading Arabic daily Annahar led with "And London has fallen". 

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued a memorandum declaring 3 days of official mourning on the occasion of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Lebanese flag also flys at half this morning at the presidential palace in Baabda pic.twitter.com/Wz7pDYcz2V

— Nafiseh Kohnavard (@nafisehkBBC) September 9, 2022

Lebanese journalists shared news about the country's three days of mourning in the wake of Queen Elizabeth's death. This was met with outrage among some social media users given that only one day of mourning followed the 2020 Beirut blast when over 200 people died. 

Jordan

Front page news of Jordan's Al Rai newspaper read: "The world mourns Queen Elizabeth" on Friday. 

Petra, the kingdom's official news agency as well as The Jordan Times and Roya News also splashed stories about the Queen's death on their front pages. 

Saudi Arabia 

The Queen's death covered the front page of English-language news site Saudi Gazette on Friday. 

The state's official news agency SPA featured messages of condolences from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on their website and Twitter feed.

HRH Crown Prince Condoles King of Britain on the Death of Queen Elizabeth IIhttps://t.co/X2x4oKNOBy#SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/wo50eBEn7l

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) September 9, 2022

Qatar

Doha's Gulf Times led with news of the Queen's death on Thursday alongside a message of condolence from Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. 

Oman

The death of Queen Elizabeth II led the front page of the Oman Daily on Friday. The news site's lead story hailed the "strong" political, economic and military relations between Britain and Oman. 

Kuwait

The Kuwait News Agency, the official state news wire service, placed messages of condolence from the country's Emir to King Charles III at the top of its front page. 

Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas printed the headline: "London Bridge has fallen". 

Today’s headline in Kuwait: “London Bridge has fallen” pic.twitter.com/Llgmom1ufA

— Anna Jacobs (@AnnaLeaJacobs) September 9, 2022

Iraq 

The Iraqi News Agency included a number of condolence messages following the Queen's death on its front page. 

Several Iraqis on social media shared pictures of Queen Elizabeth meeting King Faisal II in the 1950s. 

King Faisal II of #Iraq in the company of Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit to Great Britain.

Rest in peace Queen Elizabeth. pic.twitter.com/4hFmSwafMB

— Faisal Saeed Al Mutar (@faisalalmutar) September 8, 2022

Iran 

Iran adopted a very different tone. Official news agency, IRNA, listed the "crimes" committed during Queen Elizabeth's reign. This included the "killing of Irish people, chemical bombing of Iraq, killing of Yemenis, co-orchestrating Iran's 1953 coup and wars on Egypt, Syria and Afghanistan". 

The Queen had only a figurehead role and held no political power according to the UK's constitution.

Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, has enumerated the “crimes” committed during #QueenElizabeth’s reign: “Killing of Irish people 1970-2000, chemical bombing of Iraq in 2003, killing of Yemenis in 1963-1966, co-orchestrating Iran’s 1953 coup & wars on Egypt, Syria & Afghanistan.” pic.twitter.com/KsOHdD3Eve

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) September 9, 2022