Watch the moment White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre learned of Queen Elizabeth II's death in the middle of a press briefing
- Karine Jean-Pierre was leading a White House press briefing when she learned of the Queen's death.
- She said "our hearts and our thoughts go to the family members of the Queen" and to the UK.
A video clip captured the moment during a routine press briefing when the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, learned of Queen Elizabeth II's death.
Jean-Pierre was answering a reporter's question on the Inflation Reduction Act on Thursday afternoon when journalists at the briefing notified her that the Queen had died.
"OK, so that's been confirmed?" she asked after a brief pause. The reporters affirmed the news.
"Our hearts and our thoughts go to the family members of the Queen, goes to the people of the United Kingdom," she said.
"I don't want to get ahead of what the president is going to say, I want you all to hear from him first, so I don't want to get ahead of that," she added.
Jean-Pierre described the UK as one of America's closest allies and said the two countries had a relationship that had "grown stronger and stronger." The press secretary ended the briefing immediately afterward.
An hour later, President Joe Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, released a statement expressing their "deepest condolences" to the British royal family.
"Her legacy will loom large in the pages of British history, and in the story of our world," the statement said.
Biden ordered all US flags to be flown at half-staff to mark the Queen's death.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen "died peacefully" on Thursday afternoon at her Balmoral estate in Scotland. At 96 years old, she was Britain's longest-reigning monarch, having inherited the crown from her father in 1952.
With her death, her son Charles automatically ascended to the throne and is now known as King Charles III.