The Royal House Of Windsor: King George VI and young Queen Elizabeth's South African tour
THE ROYAL HOUSE OF WINDSOR revisited the 1947 royal tour of South Africa.
A young Princess Elizabeth runs around on board a ship
King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth and their daughters Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret visited South Africa from February until April 1947.
The Royal Family travelled to Cape Town on the HMS Vanguard, with almost 2,000 naval officers on board to care for the them.
During their trip, the family travelled extensively by train through South Africa and visited Swaziland, Basutoland (Lesotho) and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (Botswana).
They also took a trip to Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) by plane.
At the time, the King reigned over these nations as part of the British Dominions, and the trip was seen as an attempt to bring the territories closer to to the Empire.
The Spectator wrote in 1947: “It sweetened the atmosphere of South Africa. Here came four royal people from England… they were modest, lovable, so anxious to please, so eagerly pleased.”
The Royals visited South Africa and the neighbouring Dominions
King George, his wife Queen Elizabeth and their daughters Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret in 1947
Queen Elizabeth turned 21 while in South Africa
Princess Elizabeth, as the Queen was then known, celebrated her 21st birthday during the visit.
To mark the occasion, the South African government presented Elizabeth with a necklace featuring 21 large diamonds. The Queen calls these stones her “best diamonds” and still wears them to this day.
Soon after her return to England, Elizabeth announced her engagement to Prince Philip.
Elizabeth announced her engagement to Prince Philip soon after her return from South Africa
Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret on horseback
According to historians, King George had already given his approval to the union in 1946, but asked that the announcement be delayed until after Elizabeth’s 21st birthday.
While the royals were enjoying South Africa, England was struck by its worst storms in living memory.
Following a freezing winter, heavy rain and snow in March caused the Thames and other rivers to overflow, damaging around 100,000 properties.
The Royal House of Windsor continues tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.
Episode three looks back at Prince Philip's attempt to change the Royal Family's name to Mountbatten-Windsor, and his demand that the Queen's coronation be televised.