River Thames frost fairs River Thames frost fairs River Thames frost fairs were held on the tideway of the River Thames at London in some of the winters between the 17th century and early 19th century, during the period known as the Little Ice Age, when the river froze over. During that time the British winter was more severe than it is now, and the river was wider and slower, further impeded by the medieval Old London Bridge. Even at its peak, in the mid-17th century, the Thames freezing at London was less frequent than modern legend sometimes suggests, never exceeding about one year
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother 1952. The King died in his sleep on 6 February 1952 while Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh were in Kenya en route to the southern hemisphere, and they returned immediately to London, as queen and prince consort. Shortly after George VI's death, Elizabeth began to be styled as "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother" because the normal style for the widow of a king, "Queen Elizabeth", would have been too similar to the style of her elder daughter, now Queen Elizabeth II. Popularly, she became the "Queen Mother" or the "Queen Mum". She was devastated by her