Queen’s father King George VI died unexpectedly in his sleep aged 56

Queen Elizabeth II, who has recently marked 70 years to throne, can never forget February 6, 1952 when her father King George VI died suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep and she became the Queen.

King George VI was just 56 when he took his last breath. The death of her father meant the then-Princess Elizabeth became the Queen when she was 25 years old.

The King had undergone surgery for carcinoma in September the year prior and had been slowly recovering. His sweet daughter, now the longest reigning Queen, was in Kenya at the time. She became the first sovereign in over 200 years to accede the throne while abroad.

Princess was in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip on the first leg of a royal tour that would also take them to Australia and New Zealand. The couple were standing in for George VI who was not in good health to take the trip.

The night the King died, the Queen and Prince Philip had spent the night at a game-viewing lodge just over 100 miles (165km) from Nairobi.

British hunter Jim Corbett who was also staying at the lodge at the time famously wrote in the visitor’s guide book: “For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience she climbed down from the tree next day a Queen.”

According to Independent , due to the remote location it wasn’t until the next day that Princess Elizabeth learned of her father’s death. The news was relayed to a senior courtier, who passed it on to the Queen’s private secretary Martin Charteris, who then phoned Prince Philip’s aide.

Elizabeth was aware of her dad's health at this stage, and it’s reported that George VI had already started showing the Queen state papers and “the ways of the monarchy”.