QUEEN Elizabeth II’s father King George VI was not the direct heir to the throne after his father King George V died.

While we know all about the late Queen’s descendants, how much does anyone really know about the king that came before?

Who was Queen Elizabeth II’s father?

Queen Elizabeth II’s father was George VI, who was born on 14 December 1895.

He was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death on 6 February 1952.

He was not the direct heir to the throne after his father King George V died in January of 1936.

His older brother, King Edward VIII was next in the line of succession and began his reign at that time.

However, Edward VIII abdicated the throne not long after, in December 1936, which gave the title to the next in line, King George V.

The late Queen succeeded her father on the same day and reigned until her tragic death aged 96.

How did King George VI die?

Princess Elizabeth, then aged 25, was in Kenya on a royal tour when she learned of her father George VI’s death.

The King, who was ill with lung cancer and other ailments, had ignored doctors’ advice to see his daughter off from London Airport on January 31, 1952.

Elizabeth and her husband Philip planned to travel to Australia after a week in Kenya.

But on the morning of February 6, the King was found dead from a coronary thrombosis in his bed at Sandringham in Norfolk.

Prince Philip broke the news to his wife.

When did Queen Elizabeth assume sovereignty?

The Princess, eldest of the monarch’s two daughters and first in line to the throne, flew back to London as Queen.

She formally proclaimed her accession at a meeting of the Accession Council – a ceremonial body made up of privy councillors, peers and senior officials – at St James’s Palace on February 8.

She became the first Sovereign in over 200 years to accede while abroad.

Speaking after her meeting with the council, the Queen said: “By the sudden death of my dear father I am called to assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty.

“My heart is too full for me to say more to you today than I shall always work, as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all the world over.”

Her formal coronation as Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953, in London’s Westminster Abbey.

She reigned for 70 extraordinary years, until her tragic death on September 8, 2022, aged 96, making her son, Charles, King.

How is Accession Day celebrated and what happens in a royal gun salute?

Accession day is observed in the United Kingdom by the flying of specific flags and various official functions.

Flags are flown and soldiers fire gun salutes in London’s Green Park and the Tower of London, and also at Woolwich, Colchester, Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Cardiff, Belfast, York, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Dover Castle.

The 41-gun royal gun salute in Green Park takes place at midday.

The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in full dress uniform ride out from Wellington Barracks and parade past Buckingham Palace.

Six First World War era 13-pounder guns are pulled across the park by teams of six horses each.

The guns are detached and soldiers fire blanks a total of 41 times at ten second intervals, sending up puffs of white smoke.