“The King is dead! Long live the Queen!”
Thousands of Moose Javians, millions of Canadians, and billions of people worldwide were shocked when King George VI died 70 years ago, although his death allowed daughter Princess Elizabeth to succeed him and become the longest-serving monarch in Commonwealth — and Canadian — history.
“King George VI Dies At 56 — Beloved Monarch Passes In His Sleep,” declared the Feb. 6, 1952 issue of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald.
Doctors suspected that a blood clot — coronary thrombosis — killed the King, although having a lung removed the previous September likely contributed as well, an article said.
“The King’s voice sounded husky when he broadcast his annual Christmas message, and some specialists saw that as a possible indication that cancer, having been removed from his left lung, was still present in his right,” it added.
The Royal Family was unaware that death was near, which is why 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip embarked on a six-month Commonwealth Tour several days before. Upon hearing the news, the princess took a 19-hour flight from Kenya to England to become the Commonwealth’s first ruling woman in half a century after Queen Victoria died in 1901.
“And Britons believe firmly that the country waxes prosperous under a woman’s reign,” the article added.
Local reaction
“Our young Queen and her husband endeared themselves to all Canadians last year (1951), and we know a personal loss with the young couple in the sudden death of our King,” said Mayor Louis H. Lewry. “We take our oath of allegiance to the young Queen and pledge ourselves anew. God Save the Queen.”
Senior Capt. Stan Mattison, on behalf of the Moose Jaw Ministerial Association, said, “In his (George VI) passing, the association feels that the British Commonwealth of Nations has lost one who was a staunch upholder of the highest Christian principles in his personal life and in that of his family, thus being a worthy example to his subjects.
“He will always be remembered as one who was a tower of strength to his people during many dark days.”
Mattison added that the association would hold a memorial service at St. Andrew’s United Church on Feb. 15, the funeral day.
Another article indicated that the Boy Scouts would wear black armbands for six months to mourn King George VI’s death. Meanwhile, all Scout entertainment from Feb. 7 and 15 was cancelled.
Provincial reaction
The Feb. 6 Times-Herald featured articles from Britain and worldwide of statemen, political leaders and common people expressing their sadness about the King’s death.
In Saskatchewan, premier Tommy Douglas expressed sympathy on the province’s behalf.
“The news of the death of our beloved King early this morning came as a great shock to all of us. In spite of his recent serious illness, he seemed to be slowly regaining his health so that most of us had come to feel that the crisis was over,” Douglas said. “The news of His Majesty’s sudden passing will be a stunning blow to all people throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations.”
The opening of the Saskatchewan legislature on Feb. 7 was sombre, another article said. There was no RCMP escort for Lt.-Gov. W.J. Patterson to the legislative building, no honour guard, no flower-decorated rotunda, and no gun salute.
National reaction
In Ottawa, prime minister Louis St. Laurent had flags lowered to half-staff on all federal buildings.
In a statement, the prime minister said that George VI was “both a great king and a good man,” as demonstrated during the Royal Couple’s 1939 visit to Canada and throughout the Second World War.
Canadians were feeling “personnel sorrow” over this news, St. Laurent continued, since their attachment to the Crown had been strengthened during the King’s reign by their admiration for the “high courage and the exemplary family life” he led.
“With our sympathy we extend to our new Queen not only an expression of complete loyalty, but also of abiding personal affection,” he added. “It will be the prayer of all that divine providence will sustain Her Majesty in the discharge of her heavy duties.”
International reaction
“The King was greatly loved by all his peoples. He was respected as a man and as a prince far beyond the many realms over which he reigned,” said British prime minister Winston Churchill.
“The simple dignity of his life, his manly virtues, his sense of duty … his gay charm and happy nature, his example as a husband and father in his own family circle, his courage in war or peace — all these were aspects of his character which won a glint of admiration … .”
Pomp and splendour
The proclamation of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne on Feb. 8 — making her the official sovereign of over 580 million people or one-quarter of the world’s population at the time — would follow a 1,000-year-old tradition of pomp and splendour, the Times-Herald reported on Feb. 7.
The ceremony in London would include military personnel dressed in “scarlet and plumes of full-dress uniform” riding on horseback, royal trumpeters dressed in gold-embroidered coats, black-coated drummers, and other well-dressed officials.
Meanwhile, flags in Ottawa were lifted to full staff “as the first blast of the Royal salute began heralding the accession of the new Queen.” Afterward, they were lowered again until the Feb. 15 funeral.
‘God Save The Queen!’
“With a trumpet fanfare, a roll of drums and a 62-gun salute, Britain’s youngest Queen today was proclaimed ‘Elizabeth II, By the Grace of God’ in a glittering pageant dating back 1,000 years,” the Feb. 8 paper said.
“I pray that God will help me to discharge worthily this heavy task that has been laid upon me so early in my life,” the new Queen said. She resolved to follow in her father’s “shining example of service and devotion,” to work as he did “to uphold constitutional government and to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples.”
Funeral ceremony
The King’s body was returned to London on Feb. 11 on a horse-drawn gun carriage to lie in state at Westminster Hall until his funeral on Feb. 15 at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
English police indicated on Feb. 12 that mourners were passing through the hall at about 1,200 people every 15 minutes. About 40,000 Britons filed through by mid-afternoon.
As part of the funeral service on Feb. 15, the gun carriage that transported George VI’s body was the same one that carried Queen Victoria’s coffin. Meanwhile, 56 artillery salvoes — to mark his age — were fired at one-minute intervals during the procession.
In Moose Jaw, city council passed a resolution to proclaim Feb. 15 a day of mourning for King George VI. Civic offices were closed while residents were encouraged to observe the day.
Provincially, the premier proclaimed that day a holiday, with all government buildings, schools and Crown offices closed. All beer parlours in Saskatchewan were also shuttered for the day.
