The Monarchy
An Oral Biography of Elizabeth II
THE ACCESSION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II
In the early morning hours of February 6, 1952, the Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of Windsor, twenty-five, heiress presumptive1 to the British Throne, became Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
King George VI had died in his sleep of a heart attack during the night. The King's body was discovered at 7:30 that morning by his valet.
Only a day earlier, the King had been out in an unusually brilliant winter sunshine, enjoying his favorite sport, shooting. He had bagged nine hares and one pigeon. His last words to his companions were: "Well, it's been a very good day's sport, gentlemen!"
At 11:45 a.m., London time, on the day of the King's death, the heiress presumptive was at Sagana Lodge, a farm she and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had been given as a wedding gift by the colonial government of Kenya. It was the first leg of a Commonwealth tour she h ...
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