FEBRUARY 11-12, 1952
DEATH OF GEORGE VI: London, 6 – King George VI of Great Britain died peacefully in his sleep this morning. (…) The news of the king’s death was urgently telegraphed to the new queen in Kenya, where she is staying with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh. This is the first time in Great Britain’s history that a monarch has succeeded to the throne while in a foreign country. (…) The Crown Council of Great Britain met this afternoon in an official session and declared the country’s new queen, naming her as Queen Elizabeth II. ACCESSION OF ELIZABETH: London, 8- As the inhabitants of London mourn the death of their popular king, they looked on with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow as the new queen was announced with great pageantry, with heralds and mounted guards in golden uniforms that recalled days gone by. The new queen’s day began at 10 a.m. with a speech at St James Palace, and ended in the evening at Sandringham, where she prayed at a vigil for her deceased father. PAVLOS: King Pavlos will leave by air on Wednesday (February 13) for London to attend the funeral of George VI. The incident threatened to fuel simmering tensions between Slav-Macedonians and Albanians, hindering Western-mediated efforts to secure a stable peace following a seven-month insurgency in 2001 that had stoked fears of a new war in the Balkans.
