The King is dead. God Save The Queen!
50 years ago today His Majesty King George VI passed away in his sleep. Although he had been ill, his death was as sudden and unexpected as his elevation to the throne in December 1936 following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. He died in his sleep at Sandringham, having waved his daughter Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip off on their Royal Visit to Africa.
His Majesty had been recovering from an operation to remove a cancerous right lung following a life time of heavy smoking , a family addiction that had affected the health of both his father King George V and his grandfather King Edward VII. The King was not in fact told of the doctors' diagnosis and believed that the operation had been because of a bronchial blockage. The day before his death he had been out shooting on the estate, and had enjoyed listening to his daughter Princess Margaret playing at the piano that evening after dinner. After listening to the BBC 9 o'clock News on the wireless to hear an update on Princess Elizabeth's African tour he retired to bed. A servant brought him a cup of cocoa at 11PM and at midnight he was seen by an outside night watchman closing his bedroom window. Sometime between then and 7.30AM when he was called, the King suffered a fatal heart attack, and died.
The King was deeply mourned by a nation that came to love him for his quiet but inspired leadership during the dark years of war when, with Elizabeth his Queen and Winston Churchill his Prime Minister, he rallied the people against the onslaught of Hitler's Nazi might. His early years were undistinguished and had left him totally unprepared for the sovereign mantle of leadership thrust upon him by the events of 1936. Privately tutored at home as a child, he was afflicted with a bad stammer.
The King had joined the Royal Navy in his teens as Duke of York. He pursued an undistinguished naval career frequently punctured by illness. He had little experience and less taste for public life. As Destiny's child however he rapidly won the nation's admiration and loyalty in 1940 when he stayed in London throughout the 54 days of constant blitz from Nazi bombing raids, touring the shattered streets with his wife and bringing encouragement and hope to the people.
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