RECOVERED FROM. STATE OF COMA

Northern Advocate, 21 January 1936, Page 5

RECOVERED FROM. STATE OF COMA

Recognised Queen and , ... Children

[United Press Association.—By. Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.! , (Received 3 p.m.) ■ i • - LONDON, January 2\. ■> JT is officially stated that the Archbishop of Canterbury gave the last ' blessing for His Majesty. It was disclosed tonight that the King, during the past two days, has been lying in a state of coma, except for brief intervals, but was able to recognise the Queen and his children, greeting them Avith a faint smile when they entered. The only absentee in the anxious group awaiting the end, as the hours passed, was the Duke of Gloucester, whose sore throat kept him:in London. It had been announced that he would go to Sandringham, only in the event of an emergency. Meanwhile, he was constantly informed ol eyents by telephone. DUCHESS OF YORK IN TOUCH. The Duchess of York, who is indisposed, was also kept in close touch. She was one of the King’s favourite companions in recent years, and would have hurried to his bedside if she ha d been in health. The Duchess of Kent arrived at Sandringham in the afternoon, and assisted the Princess Royal to console the Queen. None of the King’s doctors have gone to bed tonight. All were fully dressed in the sitting room near the King, keeping anxious vigil and ready for emergencies. The Prince of Wales and the Dukes of York and Kent were also awake, and in constant communication with th e doctors. The Queen telephoned, to the Duke of-Gloucester giving the doctors’ unfavourable x’eport. CROWDS OUTSIDE GATES. The staff at Sandringham House was on duty throughout the • night, attending to the requirements of the d octors and nurses. Meanwhile, in -the darkness outside the handsome gates, which were the gift of Sandringham residents to His Majesty in memory of his Silver Jubilee, crowds rapidly increased, as the news that -the King was dying became more widely known. Many men stood with their heads uncovered. IN TOUCH BY WIRELESS. Prior to news of His Majesty’s death, Britain was kept in close touch with His Majesty’s condition by wireless. Each broadcast session, ? since Fridya, had been prefaced by the latest news of the King’s health. The gravity of his condition was realised from the outset, and anxiety was intensified by the afternoon bulletin, which spoke of his diminishing strength. After that, listening-in seemed unreal. Then the same medium, which, on Jubilee Day, and again on Christmas Day, when that Wonderfully intimate touch of human kingship brought His Majesty’s Dominions Into a real bond of delighted contact with him, now hushed them with the information that their loved. King’s life was ebbing. PRIVY COUNCIL MEETING. The Privy Council was summoned and assembled at Sandringham. It comprised the Archbishop of Canterbury; Viscount Hailsham, Lord Chancellor; Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, Lord President of the Council; Lord Dawson, of Penn, the King’s physician; Lord Wigram, the King’s private secretary; Sir John Simon, Home Secretary; Sir George Clerk and Sir Maurice, Hankey, clerk of the Privy Council. The councillors'assembled in a sitting room adjoining the King's bedroom.' The doors were wide open, to enable the meeting to be held in the presence of His, Majesty, in accordance with constitutional practice. The King was propped up by pillows. Lord Dawson was present, as a Privy Councillor, and assumed the responsibility of seeing that the King was comfortable, and was not subjected to. undue strain. After the usual formalities. Lord Dawson presented the King with' a State paper constituting a Council of State. That His Majesty signed, after which the Privy Councillors and Sir Maurice Hankey lunched with the Queen. . ' Sir Maurice told the press that His Majesty affixed his usual signature to the documents, and the councillos then withdrew to allow him to rest. It was officially announced later that the King had appointed as Counsellors of State, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Diike of York, the Duke cf Gloucester and the Duke of Kent. DEEP SYMPATHY IN AMERICA. Profoundly affected by King George’s illness, the people of the North American Continent, from Hudson Bay to the Rio Grande, gave evidence of their earnest hope for his recovery. The Secretary of State, Mr Cordell Hull, had instructed the American Embassy in London to convey President Roosevelt’s earnest wishes for the King’s return to health. Prayers were said in churches and schools in Canada and the United States. The Canadian Prime Minister, Mr W. L. Mackenzie King, said: “There is not a church, not a home, in which the prayers of the people have not been offered for the King, and in which anxieties of the Queen and other members of the Royal Family have not been remembered.” A STRIKING RESOLUTION. One of the most striking proofs of American sympathy was contained in a resolution offered in the Virginian State Legislature by the Speaker, in which it was stated that “The daughter is not yet separated so far from the mother as to learn, with the deepest concern, of the King’s illness and prays earnestly for the restoration of his health.”