George VI and his Queen, Elizabeth, in London during the Second World War

England have

His Majesty, King George VI, has died peacefully in his sleep at Sandringham House.

The official announcement from Sandringham, given at 1045 GMT, said the King retired in his usual health, but passed away in his sleep and was found dead in bed at 0730 GMT by a servant.

He was 56, and was known to have been suffering from a worsening lung condition.

Princess Elizabeth, who is at the Royal hunting lodge in Kenya, immediately becomes Queen at the age of 25.

She has been informed of her father's death, and is preparing to return to London, but a thunderstorm has delayed the departure of her plane.

She is expected back tomorrow afternoon, when she will take the Royal Oath which will seal her accession to the throne.

The cabinet met this morning as soon as the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was informed of the news, to discuss the constitutional implications.

The House of Commons has also been suspended as a mark of respect.

Before MPsadjourned, Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered their condolences, saying, "We cannot at this moment do more than record the spontaneous expression of grief."

He is due to make a broadcast to the nation at 2100 GMT tomorrow.

As the news of the King's death spread, all cinemas and theatres closed, and BBC programmes were cancelled except for news bulletins. Flags in every town were at half-mast, and sports fixtures were cancelled.

A crowd began to gather outside Buckingham Palace during the afternoon, as diplomats from around the world began arrived in official cars to write their condolences in the visitors' book.

By 2100 GMT the police had to press the growing number of mourners back from the gates and on to the pavement. Despite the bitter cold and rain, the silent, weeping crowd stayed until long after it grew dark.

The news was greeted with shock and grief throughout the world. In the United States, President Truman, in a formal statement from the White House, paid tribute to the King.

He said, "He shared to the end of his reign all the hardships and austerities which evil days imposed on the brave British people.

"In return, he received from the people of the whole Commonwealth a love and devotion which went beyond the usual relationship of a King and his subjects."

Both the US Senate and the House of Representatives voted to adjourn out of regard for the dead King.

The body of King George is to lie in state in Westminster Hall from next Monday, 11 February, until the funeral.

Alan Shepard leaving the lunar module for the first time (picture: Nasa)

There was just one moment of serious concern: as Apollo 14 left its orbit around the Earth for the Moon, a docking probe failed to work, putting the mission's ability to return in jeopardy.

In the event, a manual docking went perfectly.

There were also light-hearted moments. At the end of today's moonwalk, Alan Shepard became the first man to hit a golfball on the Moon, using a ball and golf club head he had smuggled on board inside his space suit.

He hit two balls just before lift-off, and drove them, as he put it, "miles and miles and miles".

Overall, the mission was pronounced a major success.

The lunar module, known as Antares, landed within 87 feet (26 metres) of its target point just north of the rim of the Fra Mauro crater - the site originally planned for the aborted Apollo 13 mission.

It was chosen for its exposed rock formations, part of a geological feature covering much of the near side of the Moon.

Shepard and his colleague, Edgar Mitchell, were able to go further from the lunar module than before with their "modularised equipment transporter" - a cart which allowed them to carry equipment and store lunar samples.

The cart also meant they could bring back more moon rock than ever before - about 100 lbs (45 kg) compared to the 75lbs (34 kg) brought back by Apollo 12.

They included samples of very old, crystalline "continental" rocks, almost white, which may be up to 4,500 million years old.

In all the pair spent more than nine hours exploring the Moon - longer than in any other mission.

One of their main scientific aims - a climb to the rim of the 400-foot (120 meters) high Cone Crater - had to be called off after Shepard registered a heartbeat of 150.

Mitchell also found the climb difficult, saying it was "a darn hard climb to try rapidly. The soil is a bit thin and mushy and these suits are bulky".

The next mission, Apollo 15, is scheduled for launch in July. Nasa plans to send a lunar rover car with the astronauts to send them even further away from base in exploring the Moon.

adjourn: close at the end of a session（延期；休会）