When George VI died in early 1952, Ike was President of Columbia University, not President of the United States.
Yeah, the Queen only does short hops to Europe now and spends the rest of the time going up and down the UK.
You’re right. I can’t find any sources saying Truman was there.
It might in this ten minute video of George VI’s funeral. I watched the first 3 minutes and it’s terrible, but I assume at some point they must show the notables in attendance.
Back then most TV (still a small section of the population) and radio programmes were cancelled for several days; I doubt that would happen now.
Also, I was surprised to read that the U.S. House and Senate voted to adjourn “out of regard for the king.”
I would support such a move for QEII, but I think it’s more likely the Congress would give her a moment of silence and move on.
By the same token 4 US Presidents have died since 1963.
IIRC there was round the clock coverage of the Papal deathwatch and a few cases of anchors jumping the gun and prematurely announcing his death.
There was an article recently about all the planning that is in place for the Queen’s death and how big a deal it would be. Remember that a lot of Commonwealth realms will be changing the image on their currency when it happens - that alone will cost millions. BBC will stop broadcasting its regular schedule for 24x7 coverage of the funeral, the Queens life, etc. So if it happens right before the last Sherlock episode, expect the world to explode :). It will be a BFD.
Here is an article (I don’t think its the one I remember): What Happens When Queen Elizabeth II Dies
She doesn’t really do foreign funerals anyways. AFAIK she’s only ever attended one in her life (King Baudouin of Belgium), and London is closer to Brussels than it is to a good chunk of the UK.
The BBC rehearses what to do when the Queen dies. (Perhaps not so unusual as newspapers prepare obituaries for any prominent person, just in case.) I remember seeing an interview with a BBC newsreader. As I remember, he said that when he was hired, he was expected to have a black suit tailored and then to keep that suit in the office, just in case. And some people were offended when the newsreader on the BBC wore a dark red tie (rather than a traditionally black one) when announcing the death of the Queen Mother.
I think this is an important factor. With all due respect to people like Nelson Mandela or the Duke of Windsor or Diana Spencer, they were private citizens at the time of their deaths. Their deaths did not portent a change in government policies the way the death of a sitting President or a Monarch or a Pope would. When Mandela, for example, died there was no need to discuss who his successor would be - he had already been succeeded years earlier. So the absence of this cuts down on a lot of the media coverage.
Hardly. The existing currency will continue to circulate. As it’s replaced in the normal course, the replacement currency will have a new design. But the costs of issuing the new currency would have been borne anyway; the only additional cost will be introducing the new design. It’s not a big deal.
I just want Elizabeth to last at least until Sept 9th of this year, She will then be the longest reigning British monarch, edging out her g-g-grandmother Victoria. Assuming Charles survives his mother and comes to the throne, he will be the oldest ever at accession.
I am from the U.S., and if Elizabeth II leaves us before I do - and that is no sure thing despite the decades she has on me - I will be glued to the tv, in the way I never was for the marriages and funerals of her various relatives.
Sure, I’ve seen popes and presidents and the odd royal go to the final reward, but this is Elizabeth.
The majority of British citizens will remember no other monarch.
This page tells of Buckingham Palace figuring it out to the nth degree, including all the leap years in Victoria’s and Elizabeth’s reigns, to the evening of Sept. 9.
Apparently the palace didn’t or won’t reveal the particular hour.
But the Queen Mother lived for more than a century, so I wouldn’t place any bets on the length of the second Elizabethan Age.
They probably don’t know, since George VI died in his sleep when nobody else was around.
It’s really quite remarkable how long Charles has been waiting. King Felipe VI of Spain and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands are both two decades younger than him. They each ascended the throne at 46. Charles will be 67 in November and nada.
I am the daughter of a 91 year old mother. When I compare Elizabeth II’s mental state with my mother’s I’m astonished at what good shape she is in.
Liz might be a robot.