Prince Philip brought the news to his wife of the King’s death while they were alone.
They rested in Sagana Lodge, a wedding gift from the people of Kenya, after spending the night at Treetops Hotel, in Aberdare Forest, observing large animals.
The new queen was the same age as Elizabeth I when she ascended the throne, at 25.
The royal couple had been married for less than five years when their lives were forever transformed.
According to one close aide, when Philip got the news, he appeared as if “you had dumped the entire world on him.” But Elizabeth remained composed despite her anguish.
Lord Charteris, who served as her private secretary at the time, reported seeing the future queen seated at her desk in the Lodge shortly after receiving the news.
Her cheeks were slightly heated, but there were no tears. She was prepared to assume the responsibility for which she had been meticulously trained.
Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in the gardens of the Sagana Lodge in Kenya, which she received as a wedding gift, the day before he informed her that her father, King George VI, had passed away.
The Queen and Sir Philip Mitchell, Governor of Kenya, stroll through the Sagana lodge in Kenya a few hours after learning of her father’s death on 6 February 1952.
When Charles inquired what name she desired to use as queen, she replied, “Of course, Elizabeth.”
The tour was canceled, and the royal couple returned to their residence on February 7.
Queen Mary paid the first ceremonial respect by kissing her granddaughter’s hand that afternoon.
The following day, February 8, Princess Elizabeth was officially crowned queen.
The Queen grins as she departs for Kenya on January 31, 1952, depicted left, but returns home in mourning at the death of her father, pictured right.
Nuns in Kenya unveiled this banner the day before Elizabeth learned of her father’s passing. The royal couple had spent the night at the Treetops Hotel when Philip received word that the King had passed away.
Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, her mother, Queen Elizabeth, and her sister, Princess Margaret, were at London Airport to bid her farewell prior to her departure on the tour. He died after six days.
She was crowned in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, the same day a nation learnt that a Commonwealth team had climbed Mount Everest.
Through the burgeoning new medium of television, the ceremony was broadcast worldwide.
Tens of thousands of people braved the pouring rain to line the streets outside of Buckingham Palace, while twenty million people throughout the nation watched the spectacle on television.
It won the hearts and minds of a people deprived of spectacle by the war.
The Queen was crowned with the St. Edward’s Crown, and her coronation garment was a white satin gown adorned with diamonds, gold and silver bullion, seed pearls, and crystals, designed by couturier Norman Hartnell.
The Queen learns of her father’s passing and the commencement of her reign while returning from Kenya in 1952, according to private footage thought to have been captured by the Duke of Edinburgh aboard the plane. It initially appeared in a 2012 BBC documentary.
On February 8, 1952, Princess Elizabeth was formally proclaimed Queen. She was crowned at Westminster Abbey (shown) on June 2, 1953, the same day a nation learnt a Commonwealth team had climbed Mount Everest.
The Queen was crowned with the St. Edward’s Crown, and her coronation garment was a white satin gown adorned with diamonds, gold and silver bullion, seed pearls, and crystals, designed by couturier Norman Hartnell.
Queen Elizabeth II had previously made her first Christmas broadcast in 1952, pledging the people of the Commonwealth and Empire that she would serve them “all the days of my life” in a speech written in her own hand.
The Queen’s public life evolved as she participated in Britain’s times of happiness and sorrow.
In January 1953, when significant flooding struck the east coast, she and Philip drove from Sandringham to speak with victims and rescuers.
After her coronation, the Queen visited Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and inspected the Fleet and the Royal Air Force.
After opening her second Parliament in November 1953, she embarked on a 50,000-mile journey of the Commonwealth.
In 1955, the scandal surrounding Princess Margaret’s romantic relationships reached its climax.
In her inaugural Christmas broadcast in 1952, the Queen vowed to serve the people of the Commonwealth and Empire “for the rest of my life.”
In January 1953, the Queen met with victims of the devastating North Sea floods that struck the East Coast in Belvedere, Kent.
The Queen’s sister yielded to royal pressure and renounced plans to marry the ‘unsuitable’ divorced Group Captain Peter Townsend so that she would not be excluded from the Royal Family.
In 1960, she married Antony Armstrong-Jones, who became Lord Snowdon. They separated in 1976 and eventually divorced.
In 1955, the first conference of Commonwealth leaders under her reign was held in London, but by April, her own prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, had resigned.
The day before he did so, the Queen dined at 10 Downing Street for the first time.
She had a strong relationship with the great statesman, and in 1965 she became the first sovereign to attend the official funeral of one of her people, breaking with tradition.
After Sir Winston, the Queen appointed fourteen additional prime ministers, including Sir Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Liz Truss.
The Queen poses for a photo at Balmoral on September 6, as she waits to officially appoint Liz Truss as Prime Minister.
Her Majesty shakes hands with Ms. Truss at Balmoral after the new Conservative leader flew to the Scottish hideaway to be sworn in as Prime Minister.
At the age of 73, Prince Charles now follows in his mother’s footsteps as the oldest serving heir apparent in British history.
While Ms. Truss was his mother’s last prime minister, the leader of the Conservative Party will be Charles’ first.
As was the case with his mother, Charles will be given the opportunity to choose his royal name.
The former Prince of Wales was also given the middle names Philip, Arthur, and George at birth, therefore he could also be referred to as King Charles III, Philip, Arthur, or George.
Charles will then follow centuries of royal custom by being crowned at Westminster Abbey, much like his mother.