Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Monday 11 February 1952, page 1


UNTIL MAY 31

LONDON, Sunday.

The Lord Chamberlain announced last night that the court will wear mourning until May 31 for the late King George VI.

There has been no indication whether there will be a following period of half mourning,

All important functions involving royalty will automatically be cancelled during the mourning period.

Court mourning will thus Iast just over 16 weeks compared with six months of full, and three months of half mourning for King George V.

The Lord Chamberlain's an-nouncement read: "The Queen commands that the Court wear mourning until May 31 for his late Gracious Majesty King George Sixts of blessed memory. The Court will go out of (mourn-ing on June 1. The Queen's wishes on the period of public mourning are not yet known "

A report from Washington says that President and Mrs Truman will attend a memorial service for the late King George at Washington Cathedral at 3 pm next Friday.

Funeral services in London are being held that day

New York's ''liberty bell" which rang in 1775 for the sign-ing' of the Declaration of Inde-pendence and had tolled the death of most of the Presidents of the United States, would ring 56

'times at noon on Friday in hon-our of King George, it was an-nounced last night.

More than 1,000 villagers made a pilgrimage to the tiny church of St. Mary Magdalene at Sand-ringham yesterday to file past the coffin containing the body of their late King.

They were mostly country folk,

too humble to afford more than an armband as a sign of their mourning.

At dusk yesterday, four game-keepers took up the first evening watch over the coffin which stood

before the gleaming silver altar.

On the coffin were three wreaths bearing cards from the Queen, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.

The Queen's card, in her own clear handwriting, said, '"Darling Papa, from loving and de-

voted daughter and son-in-law, Lilibet and Philip."

Lilibet is the pet name by which her father knew her affec-tionately from earliest childhood.

The Queen Mother's card on a wreath of white flowers said, "Darling Bertie from his always loving Elizabeth."

Princess Margaret's card car-ried the words, "Darling Papa, from his ever-loving Margaret."

The tiny church was closed to-day and the last vigil of em-ployees on the King's estate will end two hours before the coffin leaves for London to-morrow.

The oak coffin which was hand carved by estate employees who knew their King as "squire," will

leave the church in a horse

drawn, army gun carriage and be driven in procession to the near-by station.

Preparations For Lying-in-State

The Dukes of Gloucester and Edinburgh will walk behind the carriage, while the Queen,' the Queen Mother and Princess Mar-garet will follow by car. "

They will all Join the train and travel to King's Cross "station, London, where the train will be met by a guard of honour of the three armed services.

The coffin will tie placed on an-other gun carriage drawn by a white plumed regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery and escort-ed by the King's Company of the

Grenadier Guards.

Again, the Dukes of Gloucester and Edinburgh will walk behind the coffin on its three-mile jour-ney to, Westminster where the body will lie in State until the funeral on February 15.

The Queen, the Queen Mother,

and Princess Margaret will not take part In the procession. They will leave the station by a pri vate route for Buckingham Pal-ace, where they will await a telephone call telling them the procession is nearing Westmin-ster.

they will then leave the Pal-

ace to be at the Hall when the coffin arrives and is placed on the purple-draped catafalque.

After a 15-mlnute service, the Queen and the Royal Family will leave the hall. The coffin will then be guarded by officers of the rung's Household Troops, mem-bers of the King's Bodyguard and lung's Gentlemen-at-Arms.

The public will be admitted to file past the coffin for 14 hours daily on February 12, 13 and 14.

Queen Mary, who is 84, will

participate in the lying-in-state ceremony on the afternoon of February 11.

The Queen's children, her in-fant daughter Anne and Prince Charles, played happily in the nursery at' Sandringham yester-day with toys brought back from Kenya while their mother signed state papers and, approved ar-rangements for the King's fu-

neral.

The mourning atmosphere has puzzled Charles, but failed to suppress his high spirits

He has often asked "Where's

grandpa," and has been told, "he has gone to sleep"

When his mother arrived at Sandringham, he asked the same question.

'The Queen sat Charles on her knee and told him, "Grandpa has gone to God and is very happy."

Kings And Queens To Attend Funeral

Five Kings, tne Queen of Hol-land and the representatives of four other. Kings will attend the late King's funeral in London on February 15.

The Shah,of Persia is expect-ed to send a. special envoy and the King of Egypt will be repre-sented by Prince" Abdal Monofm.

The Treasurer, Sir Arthur Fadden, and The High Commis-sioner in London, Sir Thomas White, will represent Australia while New Zealand will be rep-resented by its Prime Minister, Mr. Holland

The Royal visitors will include 80-years-old King Haakon of Norway, the King's uncle, and the oldest and tallest monarch in Europe.

He will., be accompanied by Crown Prince Olav, King Gustaf Adolf and Queen Louise of Swe-den, King Frederick and Queen Ingrid of Denmark, King Paul of the Hellenes (cousin of the Duke of Edinburgh) and Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of Holland. * ,

Prince Albert will, represent his brother,- Baudouin,1 King of theNBelgiana.' *

Sixteen-years-old King Faisal, who is at Harrow School, will represent Iraq and Prince (Feisal, son and Foreign Minister of King Don.Saud," will attend for Saudi Arabia.

Crown Prince, Hussein, son of King Talal, will represent Jor-

dan

General Eisenhower will repre-sent S.H.A3>.E. at, the King's funeral,, whieff, the'B.B.C. 'sadd yesterday woulfl be televised.