News of King George VI's death reached
court officials in Kenya through news agencies. However, they waited
for confirmation from Buckingham Palace before informing Princess
Elizabeth of what had happened. Michael Parker, the Duke of
Edinburgh's private secretary contacted sources in Nairobi and London
for further information, while news via wire services were passed
around among royal servants. Bobo MacDonald, the princess'
hairdresser, and John Dean, the duke's valet, were the first to know
that princess was now queen. They were sitting on the doorstep and
cleaning shoes when the new queen's detective informed them of her
accession. They must have been saddened and glad at the same time,
but they carried on with their duties, having nothing else to think
of but serve their masters.
The new queen still knew nothing about
his father's passing. She emerged from her room to talk to them. She
informed them that wanted to go for a ride before she and Prince
Philip leaves for a tour in Mombassa in the afternoon. She requested
Bobo to make the arrangements. Bobo and Dean had no idea was to do
but they kept on doing their things, not showing hints as if
everything was alright.
Meanwhile, Michael Parker, slipped to
the side to call the attention of Prince Philip who was in a window.
The prince came outside and Parker whispered news of the king's
death. Parker recalls: “He looked as if you've dropped half the
world to him. I never felt sorry for anyone in all my life.”
Shocked, the Prince went inside and told Elizabeth that she was now
The Queen. In fact she was already queen for several hours but for
how long no one knew. It is unknown on what hour she succeeded
because no one was around when King George died. It was 2:45 pm in
Kenya, 11:45 in London, 25 years old, Elizabeth was the first monarch
to ascend the throne while in a foreign land since King George I
succeeded Queen Anne in 1714.
The queen received the news calmly,
herself being trained and prepared for this moment all her life. She
held her composure and immediately took matters into her own hand.
She signed the documents of her accession, which was taken along in
her luggage. She then dispatched a message to Australia and New
Zealand, sending her apologies because her trip had to be cut short.
As it became clear that she had taken over the duty as the new
sovereign, telegrams and messages began to arrive. She dealt with it
all, because duty calls her to do it, even if it meant having no time
to grieve of the king's death in private. After all, he was her
father. But before that, she was Queen as such, she has to be seen to
rule as soon as possible.
The Queen had taken with her, as with
any other member of the royal family, a suitcase containing mourning
outfits, a dreaded suitcase that no one dared to open. They were
included in her luggage, reserved in the event that they have to go
back to London upon the death of a royal or statesman.
Prince Philip ordered for a quick
flight home. Everything was settled speedily and within an hour, the
new queen was on her way to her kingdom. However, a thunderstorm
delayed the flight for one hour but nevertheless, the trip progressed
and the queen arrived in a country still mourning the death of her
beloved king.
The queen arrived at Heathrow Airport 4
pm, Feb. 7. She stepped down from the airplane, dressed in black. Sir
Evelyn Shuckburgh, diplomat, likened the Queen's accession to that of
Queen Victoria more than a century ago: “There was a touching
picture of [The Queen] walking down the steps from the aircraft with
the Privy Council lined up to greet her. One could just see the backs
of their poor old heads: Winston, Attlee, A.E. [Eden], Woolton and so
on. The 20th-century version of Melbourne galloping to Kensington
Palace, falling on his knees before Victoria in her nightdress. The
mystery is, where did she get her black clothes from? I have since
heard that Queen Mary has laid it down as a principle of life never
to go anywhere without a black dress – ‘in case something should
happen.’”
Lady Pamela Mountbatten, the queen's
lady-in-waiting, said of the big black Palace cars: “I remember the
Queen saying: ‘Oh, they’ve sent the hearses.’”
The queen was immediately driven to the
center of the capital, passing through the Mall, and eventually taken
to Clarence House. At 4:30 pm, a limousine emerged from the gates of
Marlborough House heading to Clarence House. It carried Queen Mary,
who said, “Her old grannie and subject must be the first to kiss
her hand.” She curtsied her grand daughter, while the new royal
standard was raised for the first time. Queen Elizabeth II's reign
was welcomed by a peculiar event. For a short period in the history
of the monarchy, the country had three queens, the reigning
sovereign, Elizabeth II, her mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen
Mother, and Queen Mary, who would die shortly before her coronation.
Ever the impassioned, Churchill,
broadcasted a speech that could be likened to any wartime speech he
did a few years ago. It was one of his finest, a tribute to the king
whose image became an immortal figure in boosting the morale of the
Britons in the darkest of the great war. Nevertheless, Churchill also
reminded that the new queen is Elizabeth, named after the greatest
queen England has ever had.
He ended his speech in words that
inspired the nation to move on and embrace a new sunshine as he
welcomed the reign of the new monarch with zest and youthful vigor:
“I, whose youth was passed in the august, unchallenged and tranquil
glories of the Victorian era, may we feel a thrill in invoking once
more the prayer and the anthem, 'God Save the Queen.”
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