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It was February 6, 1952, when Prince Philip<\/a> told his wife, who we now know as Queen Elizabeth, that her father King George VI<\/a> had died. Although the King had suffered from a prolonged illness, the moment still came as a profound shock to the 25-year-old Princess, who had to mourn her dear \u2018Papa\u2019 while facing the realization that she was now Queen.<\/p>\n To make matters more complicated, the royal couple were in Kenya at the time. Just a week earlier, King George VI had bid daughter and son-in-law farewell for what was intended to be a six-month tour of the Commonwealth. The King himself had been due to undertake the international journey but had to withdraw due to ill health; he was suffering from lung cancer.<\/p>\n Father and daughter: King George VI and the then Princess Elizabeth in 1946<\/p>\n <\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The first stop of the tour was Kenya. After three days in Nairobi, the couple drove up to Sagana Lodge, a property in the foothills of Mount Kenya that was given to them as a wedding present<\/a>. After lunch on February 5, Philip and Elizabeth ventured out 20 miles to Treetops, a game-viewing lodge overlooking an elephant waterhole where they planned to spend the night before continuing with the duties of their tour.<\/p>\n It was while the couple were there, soaking up the majesty of the African wildlife, that King George VI took his final breath at Sandringham House<\/a>, in Norfolk. Operation \u201cHyde Park Corner\u201d whirred into action, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill<\/a> was immediately informed. However, it took hours for the news to reach the Princess, who only found out after returning to Sagana.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n