How royal words said it all when Churchill died

Started by snokitty, January 24, 2015, 01:51:16 PM

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snokitty

How royal words said it all when Churchill died
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Fifty years ago Winston Churchill passed into history. He died just after 8am on January 24th 1965 at his home in London. Big Ben fell silent, the lights went off in Piccadilly and the world grieved. But amongst the many tributes that began to pour forth one simple message of mourning summed up the feelings of millions on learning of the death of Churchill. The heartfelt words of the Queen to Churchill's widow are as poignant now as they were on that grey day fifty years ago today.

'The whole world is the poorer by the loss of his many sided genius,' the Queen wrote to Lady Churchill. The message continued 'while the survival of this country and the sister nations of the Commonwealth, in the face of the greatest danger that has ever threatened them, will be a perpetual memory to his leadership, his vision and his indomitable courage.'

Courage was an important word in the relationship between Churchill and the House of Windsor. When the Queen's father, George VI, died in February 1952 Winston Churchill wrote a simple but stirring tribute to the king. The card among his flowers read 'For Valour' – the inscription on the Victoria Cross. Churchill's moving honour for the man who had been king during World War Two was echoed in the words of the Queen when the time came to mourn the war time Prime Minister.
"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too"      Voltaire

I can see humor in most things & I would rather laugh than cry.    Snokitty


cinrit

QuoteHow Buckingham Palace Courtiers Tried to Downgrade Winston Churchill's State Funeral Because He Was a 'Commoner'

Dignified and solemn, and a display of all the ceremony that Britain could muster, Sir Winston Churchill's State funeral 50 years ago was the country's epic farewell to its revered wartime leader.

But Buckingham Palace courtiers were initially opposed to giving such an honour to a mere 'commoner', previously unpublished official papers reveal.  Their concerns have come to light as Britain prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the funeral, which took place on January 30, 1965.

Official documents in the Parliamentary Archive in the House of Commons show that Royal representatives first raised their concerns in 1959 – just as civil servants were beginning to plan the event.

A record of a 'Garter Meeting' which took place on June 23 that year states: 'It was clear that Garter and the Palace representatives did not appreciate the vast scale on which this occasion is likely to develop – at any rate as regards the lying in state. In this they were considerably influenced by the theory that the funeral of a commoner must in all respects be on a smaller scale than that of a Royal person.'

More: How Buckingham Palace courtiers tried to downgrade Winston Churchill's State funeral because he was a 'commoner'  | Daily Mail Online

Cindy



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