Death and state funeral of George VI

in Norfolk, where the King died George VI had undergone a lung operation in September 1951 from which he never fully recovered. In the evening of 5 February 1952, he had a meal with his family at Sandringham House, Norfolk, and retired to bed at 10:30 pm. He died in his sleep on 6 February 1952 at the age of 56. An official proclamation of the accession was made by the Garter King of Arms on the Proclamation Gallery on the palace's eastern front, preceded by trumpet blasts from musicians from the Life Guards, the event being filmed by four television cameras. == Journey to London ==

The body of George VI was dressed in a British Royal Navy uniform and placed in a coffin made from oak grown on the Sandringham estate. On 11 February the coffin, draped in the Royal Standard on top of which his wife Queen Elizabeth had laid a wreath of flowers, was carried from the church. == Procession and lying in state ==

Before arrival in London the Imperial State Crown was placed on a cushion atop the coffin. The BBC radio commentary by Richard Dimbleby has since received comment for its poignancy. Historian D. R. Thorpe considered that the funeral helped spark the mass purchase of television sets, usually ascribed to both the Eisenhower inauguration in Washington and Elizabeth II's coronation the following year. During the service, the coffin was guarded by the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms and the Yeomen of the Guard. George VI's coffin was afterwards placed on a dais in Westminster Hall, under a vigil guard. The public were permitted to view the coffin and, at times, queued for to do so. Over the next three days some 304,000 people passed through Westminster Hall. The numbers were lower than they had been for George V, which was ascribed to the effects of the widespread television coverage. After the final day of lying in state it took a team of three jewellers two hours to clean the dust off the crown jewels which lay on the coffin, in preparation for the funeral. == Funeral ==

The funeral of George VI took place on 15 February at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Mourners, including representatives of foreign governments, were assembled outside Westminster Hall by 8:15 am. At 9:30 am George VI's coffin was carried from Westminster Hall by eight soldiers of the Grenadier Guards and placed on a gun carriage. The coffin was placed on a gun carriage that, as per royal tradition, would be hauled by a party of sailors the from New Palace Yard to Paddington Station from where it would travel to Windsor by train. The procession was led by the Central Band of the Royal Air Force and the Band of the Welsh Guards. Thereafter was a detachment of the RAF and representatives from Commonwealth forces including Northern and Southern Rhodesia, East and West Africa (King's African Rifles and Royal West African Frontier Force), Ceylon, Pakistan, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. There followed detachments from the units that George VI held the position of colonel-in-chief or honorary colonel, other British Army units, including the bands of the Coldstream Guards, the Irish Guards and the Royal Artillery. There was also a detachment of the Royal Marines (including their band). These were followed by senior foreign and British military officers, including George VI's aides-de-camp. A detachment of the Household Cavalry was followed by the Band of the Scots Guards and the massed pipes of five Scottish and Irish Regiments. Further senior military officials and members of the Royal Household preceded and escorted the coffin, flanked by the Gentleman at Arms and Yeoman of the Guard. Behind the coffin the Royal Standard was carried by the Household Cavalry in front of the Queen's carriage, which carried Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and the Princess Royal. Acheson, in a report to the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs complained about the waiting around at the start of the day and the slow pace of the procession, which took 3 hours and ten minutes to reach the station. He commented on the silence and stillness shown by the crowd, whom he called "solid, courageous, but tired people." As a mark of respect the Royal Air Force was grounded during the time of the funeral. On one transatlantic flight from London to New York, in air during the time of the funeral, all of the passengers rose from their seats and bowed their heads in acknowledgement. however it was broadcast on radio by the BBC and NBC. The service was presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, and the Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett Elizabeth II placed the king's colour of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin at the end of the service. naming George VI and his wife Elizabeth in the memorial chapel, as it appeared before replacement after the interment of Elizabeth II and her husband Philip in September 2022 Floral tributes were left outside the chapel; Churchill laid one on behalf of the British government, on the card of which he wrote "for valour", the phrase engraved on the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military award for gallantry. During the burial, the Lord Chamberlain had carried out the tradition of symbolically breaking his staff of office, actually by unscrewing a joint in the middle, and placing half on the coffin. Finally, Elizabeth II dropped in a handful of earth from Windsor. ==Guests==

As per report in London Gazette. British royal family ====The House of Windsor==== • Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, ''the late King's widow'' • The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, ''the late King's daughter and son-in-law'' • The Princess Margaret, ''the late King's daughter'' • Queen Mary, ''the late King's mother'' • The Duke of Windsor, ''the late King's brother and predecessor'' • The Princess Royal, ''the late King's sister'' • The Earl and Countess of Harewood, ''the late King's nephew and niece-in-law'' • The Hon. Gerald Lascelles, ''the late King's nephew'' • The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, ''the late King's brother and sister-in law'' • The Duchess of Kent, ''the late King's sister-in law (also widow of the late King's younger brother, and also second cousin)'' • The Duke of Kent, ''the late King's nephew'' • The Earl of Southesk, ''widower of the late King's first cousin'' • Lord Carnegie, ''the late King's first cousin once removed'' • Princess Marie Louise, ''the late King's first cousin once removed'' • Lady Patricia and The Hon. Sir Alexander Ramsay, ''the late King's first cousin once removed and her husband'' • Alexander Ramsay, ''the late King's second cousin'' ====Mountbatten family==== • The Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven, ''widow of the late King's second cousin'' • The Marquess of Milford Haven, ''the late King's second cousin once removed'' • The Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma, ''the late King's second cousin and his wife'' • The Marquess and Marchioness of Carisbrooke, ''the late King's first cousin once removed and his wife'' ====Teck-Cambridge family==== • The Marquess and Marchioness of Cambridge, ''the late King's first cousin and his wife'' • The Duchess and Duke of Beaufort, ''the late King's first cousin and her husband'' • Lady Helena Gibbs, ''the late King's first cousin'' Foreign royalty • The King of Norway, ''the late King's paternal uncle by marriage (also first cousin once removed)'' • The Crown Prince of Norway, ''the late King's first cousin'' • Princess Astrid of Norway, ''the late King's first cousin once removed'' • The King and Queen of Denmark, ''the late King's second cousins'' • The King of the Hellenes, ''the late King's double second cousin'' • The King of Sweden, ''husband of the late King's second cousin (also widower of the late King's first cousin once removed)'' • Prince Axel of Denmark, ''the late King's first cousin once removed'' • Prince Georg of Denmark, ''the late King's second cousin (also husband of the late King's niece by marriage)'' • Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover, ''the late King's second cousin'' • The Prince of Liège, ''the late King's second cousin once removed'' (representing the King of the Belgians) • The Grand Duchess and Prince of Luxembourg, ''the late King's third cousin and her husband'' • The Queen and Prince of the Netherlands • The King of Iraq • Prince Zeid bin Hussein • The Crown Prince of Jordan (representing the King of Jordan) • The Crown Prince of Ethiopia (representing the Emperor of Ethiopia) • Prince Ali Reza (representing the Shah of Iran) • Marshall Sardar Shah Wali Khan (representing the King of Afghanistan) • Prince Bửu Lộc (representing the Chief of State of Vietnam) • Prince Wan Waithayakon (representing the King of Thailand) • Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim (representing the King of Egypt) • Princess Pingpeang Yukanthor (representing the King of Cambodia) • Queen Victoria Eugenie, ''the late King's first cousin once removed'' • Count and Countess of Barcelona, ''the late King's second cousin once removed and his wife George VI's daughter and successor Elizabeth II did attend the funeral of King Baudouin in 1993, with his state funeral being the only foreign one she ever personally attended as sovereign. Despite attending some aspects of royal proceedings, Queen Mary, now aged 84, grew increasingly aged and was unable to attend her son's interment, but did manage to watch the funeral procession from the windows of Marlborough House. George VI was her third son that predeceased her, after Prince John and Prince George, and those around her said that of the three it was the loss that affected her the most. US President Harry S. Truman did not attend the funeral upon agreement with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, who had planned his trip to London for meetings on issues pertaining to Germany one week before the king died. In addition, Acheson also met with key American officials on the issues. Wallis, Duchess of Windsor was not invited and stayed in America. The royal family still held resentment towards her stemming from the abdication crisis of 1936, especially Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were in New York at the time of the King's death, and discovered the news belatedly from journalists at the Waldorf hotel, much to the Duke's grievance. He was firmly told that Wallis would not be received by the royal family and that he would have to attend the funeral alone. A similar situation occurred a year later after the death of Queen Mary, who never wrote to the Duchess and remained stoic in her view towards her. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother held a similar feeling and blamed the Duchess for contributing to the King's declining health; his reluctant coronation and shouldering the burden of the war contributed to his heavy smoking. She remained reluctant to meet the Duchess when she visited the UK with the Duke in 1967, and the meeting was tense, only meeting her once more in 1972, on the morning of the Duke's funeral. == Later events ==

commemorating the lying in state Three days after the funeral, George VI's widow, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother issued a statement thanking the nation and commending to them "our dear Daughter", Queen Elizabeth II. The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953; unlike at the funeral she permitted BBC cameras to film the event, which became a landmark in British television history. Queen Elizabeth, who became known as the Queen Mother to distinguish her from her daughter, died on 30 March 2002. Like her husband she lay in state at Westminster Hall. After a funeral at Westminster Abbey she was buried next to her husband in the King George VI Memorial Chapel on 9 April 2002. At the same time the ashes of Princess Margaret were also transferred to the chapel. ==See also==