GREAT BRITAIN: Socialist Era

Socialism inaugurated its reign with regal pomp.

The day was wet and grey, but millions of Londoners lined the route of the royal procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster. WRENs in uniform perched on the Admiralty roof; pajama-clad residents of Carlton House Terrace clung to chimneys. The cheers swelled in ear-splitting waves. By historic chance, V-J day came on the day the new Labor-dominated Parliament opened. In one burst Britons were hailing victory, the Crown and Socialism.

In the newly painted crimson-&-gold state coach drawn by the famed Windsor greys, Their Majesties—the...

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