Looking back at when Queen ELizabeth II visited Orange

"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," Buckingham Palace said in a statement early on Friday (AEST) confirmed the 96-year-old's death.

"The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."

Flags will fly at half mast across Australia on Friday as the nation waits to hear how the official mourning process will proceed, but it is also a time to commemorate what has been an incredible, seven-decade long reign.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Orange in 1970, and during their time in the city, the Queen planted a tree in Robertson Park.

The tree still stands on the parks eastern side, and is, according to Orange and District Historical Society member Ross Maroneys recollection in a previous Central Western Daily story, one of the biggest trees in the park.

During the same visit, the couple also toured the then Email refrigerator factory in Edward Street (later run by Electrolux and closed in 2016), as well as waving at thousands of admirers from a motorcade which travelled up Summer Street.

One of Oranges most used thoroughfares also has a distinctly royal touch, with Coronation Drive so named to celebrate Elizabeths ascension to the English throne in 1952.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the longest running Monarch in the Commonwealth's history.

"An historic reign and a long life devoted to duty, family, faith and service has come to an end," Mr Albanese said in a statement.

"The government and the people of Australia offer our deepest condolences to the royal family, who are grieving for a beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother - the person whom for so long was their greatest inner strength."