I cannot bear to think of Lilibet, so young to bear such a burden

On the day of King George VI's death, his widow, Queen Elizabeth, writes to her mother-in-law

11th February 1952: Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother at London King's Cross railway station for the arrival of the special train bringing the coffin of King George VI from Sandringham. (Photo by Ron Case/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In the early hours of 6th February, 1952, at Sandringham House in Norfolk, King George VI died in his sleep from a coronary thrombosis, resulting in his 25-year old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, immediately becoming Queen Elizabeth II. Hours after the King’s death, his widow, Queen Elizabeth (subsequently known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother) wrote to her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, and spoke of the awful news.

Over the course of three days, 304,000 visited Westminster Hall where the King’s body lay in state, and on 15th February his funeral took place—the procession was the first of a British monarch to be shown on television.