Only eight months after his Silver Jubilee,
King George V died at Sandringham House, his Norfolk home. On January
20th 1936, members of the Privy Council had assembled in the King’
s bedroom where he lay gravely ill and the Lord President read aloud a
proclamation setting up an emergency Council of State. The King was unable
to manage a signature at the foot of the document and, just before midnight,
he died in the presence of Queen Mary and his children. He was 70 years
old.
On January 25th the ILN brought out its special double number,
‘The Death of King George V’
(Appendix List no. 108).
Its key features are the life story of the late King; scenes in and around
the church of St. Mary Magdalene in the park at Sandringham where the
body had been taken to rest until its removal to London for the Lying-in-state;
Sandringham House itself, and aspects of public anxiety during the King’
s illness. A subsidiary section details the Accession of King Edward VIII
and his Proclamation at St. James‘s Palace, Charing Cross, Temple
Bar and the Royal Exchange.
The cover, in ‘leather-effect’ mourning purple, shows a recent
photograph of the late King against the royal coat of arms.
This is issue number 5049, vol. 188, pages 113-152, measuring 37 x 26
cm, and priced at two shillings.