According to Daily Mirror, a devastated Elizabeth, who was close to her father, had to apologize to her staff when she was informed of the news that would change her life. The first words she uttered were, “I’m so sorry,” because this meant that they would all need to go home to England and cancel the royal tour, which her staff had been preparing for months.
Lady-in-waiting Pamela Mountbatten recalled that Elizabeth had been “completely calm” despite receiving bad news. But her hasty return home had to be delayed for some hours due to a storm.
At which point, Elizabeth discussed with her staff what she could expect in England when they are back. She also asked her staff to give her an hour alone in her room aboard the royal BOAC Argonaut.
When her plane touched down at Heathrow Airport, England’s new queen was already dressed in her mourning clothes. Prime Minister Winston Churchill was at the tarmac to meet her as they set forth the ceremonies to lay the king to rest.
Queen Elizabeth was formally crowned as the monarch a year later in the first televised coronation. But Her Majesty has never celebrated the day she became queen because it also marked the death anniversary of her father.
So, every year, Queen Elizabeth would commemorate this day with a solemn time at Sandringham, the family home where King George VI passed away in his sleep. According to Dickie Arbiter, Her Majesty’s former press secretary, he lost count of how many times he’d asked Queen Elizabeth what she will do on the accession anniversary and her answer was the same each time: it’s not right to celebrate her father’s death.
Since 1988, Queen Elizabeth has traditionally marked Feb. 6 with a solemn time at her Sandringham estate, where she usually stays after an extended holiday. This year, the Queen has commemorated King George VI’s death in Windsor Castle, where she has been isolating from the coronavirus with Prince Philip since October 2020.
Her Majesty may have likely visited her father’s tomb at the St. George’s Chapel in the Windsor grounds. Royal experts said that Queen Elizabeth usually holds a prayer with a vicar on her father’s death anniversary.
The Queen has been the longest-reigning British monarch in 2015, beating the record of her great-great-Grandmother Queen Victoria. This early, Buckingham Palace has been preparing for Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and has announced a four-day bank holiday for June 2 to 5, 2022, to officially mark her 70 years on the throne. (Business Times)