A LIFETIME OF DUTY
Life for Elizabeth and Philip was forever changed on February 6, 1952. The couple were in Kenya on the start of a tour of the Commonwealth that was due to bring them to New Zealand when the news came through that George VI had died, and Princess Elizabeth, at the age of 26, was now Queen. It was Philip who had the task of informing his wife, and it was difficult to know who took the news hardest, said palace staff who were there that day.
Private secretary Mike Parker, who became a good friend, later recalled, “He looked as if you’d dropped half the world on
