A LIFETIME OF DEVOTION

AS HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN MARKS YEARS ON THE THRONE WE CELEBRATE A REIGN LIKE NO OTHER

- LUCY CLARKE-BILLINGS

Beside a stream in the foothills of Mount Kenya on 6 February, 1952, a nervous Duke of Edinburgh shared a piece of devastating news with his 25-year-old wife – her father had died.

The royal couple had been staying in the East African country for one week when George VI passed away in his sleep, aged 56, following a lung operation.

The following day, dressed in black, his daughter stepped down from her plane on to the tarmac at London Airport (now Heathrow) as Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the Realm, Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith. She shook hands with ministers, including Prime Minister Winston Churchill, thanked her pilot for a safe and steady flight and promptly began the most historically significant reign in British history.

“The Queen’s father was an enormous influence in her life and, although she was young when he died, his memory and influence have always remained constant throughout her time on the throne,” royal expert Duncan Larcombe tells OK!.

“For the Queen, this year’s jubilee celebrations are not just about a long, lovely bank holiday in June, which is what we’re all looking forward to. It’s also the anniversary of her father’s death and Her Majesty will undoubtedly have some very poignant, private moments of reflection to think about how he shaped both her character and her destiny.”

On Sunday, the Queen will become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service to millions of people across the world. The palace will be releasing a portrait of the Queen on the day to mark the unprecedented milestone.