The year 1946 was marked by the strengthening of the Communist dictatorship, despite active resistance of the sovereign. After several months of waiting, the parliamentary elections were held on 19 November 1946 and were officially won by the Ploughmen's Front. After that date, the situation of the king and his mother became more precarious. In their palace, they had no access to running water for three hours a day and the electricity was off most of the day. This did not prevent Helen from maintaining her charitable activities and continuing to send food and clothing to Moldavia. In early 1947, the queen mother also obtained permission to travel abroad to visit her family. She then reunited with her sister Irene, weakened after her deportation to Austria, attended the funeral of her elder brother, King George II, and participated in the marriage of her youngest sister, Princess Katherine, with British Major Richard Brandram.