I was just a little shy of my fifth birthday, so all the images are not completely clear. We were in the cinema watching the newsreels on the screen. This was in the days before most of us had televisions in our homes. My brother and I would go to the cinema on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons and movies such as the Sign of Zorro. But first there were the newsreels, solemn voices reciting the great happenings of the time. I have forgotten many of those events, but some have remained fixed in my mind until this very day.

I remember, with a voice more solemn than usual, the announcer telling us of the death of the king — the king who had led his people to victory in World War II; the king who had come to symbolize bravery and perseverance; the king who had ruler over a mighty empire and …