Queen Elizabeth II To Mark 70-Year Reign at Place of Father's Death

Queen Elizabeth II will spend the anniversary of the day she became monarch at the estate where her father died.

The 95-year-old sovereign has arrived at her Sandringham Estate, in the east of England, where she is expected to remain until after February 6.

The date is significant as it marks the anniversary of King George VI's death in 1952, the day Elizabeth became queen.

This year, the queen's accession day marks the start of her Platinum Jubilee year when she celebrates 70 years on the throne.

However, there is an additional significance this year as it will be the first time she has observed the anniversary of her father's death since her husband, Prince Philip, died in April 2021.

King George VI died at Sandringham House, where the queen normally spends Christmas, though she was forced to remain at Windsor in 2021 due to concern about coronavirus.

U.K. newspaper The Times reported the queen is expected to spend time at Wood Farm on this visit, also on the estate.

Prince Philip spent much of his time at the cottage after his retirement in 2017 until the royal couple began isolating together at Windsor at the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

George VI, who became the first reigning British monarch to visit the United States in 1939, became ill shortly after the end of the Second World War.

The Royal Family's website states: "By 1948, it seemed that Britain had overcome the worst hardships of the post-war years, but the strain of the Second World War and the tensions of the post-war period had taken their toll on the King's health.

"The King failed to recover from a lung operation, and died in his sleep on 6 February 1952 at Sandringham; he was aged 56."

Elizabeth, then 25, was away in Kenya at the time with Philip and immediately became queen, though her flight back to the U.K. was delayed due to a thunderstorm.

Both houses of Congress voted to adjourn for the day, as beyond Britain the world was sent into mourning.

U.S. President Harry Truman was among those to pay respects via a White House statement.

Quoted by the BBC at the time, he said: "He [the king] shared to the end of his reign all the hardships and austerities which evil days imposed on the brave British people.

"In return, he received from the people of the whole Commonwealth a love and devotion which went beyond the usual relationship of a King and his subjects."

The queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations take place against the backdrop of Prince Andrew's civil trial on sex abuse allegations and a brewing dispute between Prince Harry and the British government.

The Duke of Sussex has filed a "judicial review" to challenge a Home Office decision to remove his police protection.

His legal representative said he had offered to pay for the service at the Sandringham Summit, a meeting the queen attended, in January 2020 but said: "That offer was dismissed."