George VI the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, J. H. Thomas. King George V had severe reservations about Prince Edward, saying "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in twelve months" and "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne." On 20 January 1936, George V died and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. In the Vigil of the Princes, Prince Albert and his three brothers took a shift standing guard over their father's body as it lay in state, in a closed
Postage stamps and postal history of Gibraltar a variety of definitive and commemorative stamps were issued for the reigns of King Edward VII, George V and George VI. No stamps were issued by Gibraltar for King Edward VIII. The first stamp of Gibraltar for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II was the 1/2d Coronation commemorative omnibus stamp issued on 2 June 1953. The post in Gibraltar is currently run by the Royal Gibraltar Post Office which in 2005 was granted the title of ""Royal"" by Her Majesty the Queen. Gibraltar is now the only Commonwealth or British Overseas Territory outside the United Kingdom that bears this distinction.