TRIBUTES PAID TO KING

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26662, 22 February 1952, Page 7

TRIBUTES PAID TO KING

MEMORIAL SERVICE IN NEW YORK

(Rec. 10 p.m.) NEW YORK, Feb. 20. A memorial service to King George VI was held in the Protestant Episcopal Catherdral of St. John the Divine to-night. Among the 5000 people who attended was the Duchess of Windsor, dressed completely in black.

The service was conducted by the Bishop of New York (the Rt. Rev. Horace Donegan) and was under the sponsorship of Commonwealth Ambassadors in New York.

In his address Bishop Donegsn said the late King was a true and honoured friend of the people of the United States. "In him people saw the matchless qualities of honesty, modesty, and the highest standard of personal life and public duty. It is not surprising that he is already being known as ’George the Beloved.’ As the eyes of the world now turn to his successor on the Throne, we are deeply moved by the thought of a person so young called suddenly to a task so difficult. As Americans we mourn the death of a devoted Christian gentleman. We salute his• successor to the Throne.”

United Nations diplomats and American military and civic dignitaries were in the congregation. At the end of the service the congregation stood in i silence in memory of the King. Then .the “Star Spangled Banner” and “God Save the Queen” were played.