The Press: A Bulletin from the Palace

At 10:30 a.m. an urgent call came into the Fleet Street headquarters of Britain's two chief national news services, the Exchange Telegraph and Press Association. On the wire was a royal press office man who said calmly: "Here is an announcement from Buckingham Palace." In a few words, he said that King George VI had died, told the agencies to hold the news until 10:45 to allow time for other official notices to get through. But the news traveled faster than the royal press office had expected. Less than five minutes after the deadline, it was already in the U.S. and...

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