The Queen has told the devastating story of how Buckingham Palace, her main residence in London along with Prince Philip, was bombed during the Blitz. She took to her official Instagram page @Theroyalfamily on 13 September 2020 with a photo of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother to mark the 80th anniversary, and wrote:
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"#OnThisDay in 1940, Buckingham Palace was bombed during The Blitz.
"King George VI described the attack in his diary: 'All of a sudden we heard an aircraft making a zooming noise above us, saw two bombs falling past the opposite side of the Palace, and then heard two resounding crashes as the bombs fell in the quadrangle about 30 yards away.
'We looked at each other, and then we were out into the passage as fast as we could get there. The whole thing happened in a matter of seconds'."
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The Blitz began on 7 September 1940 with attacks on London's docks and continued in the city throughout September and October before bombings spread across the country. After the raid on Buckingham Palace, The King and Queen visited the East End, London.
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother wrote in a letter to Queen Mary: "It does affect me seeing this terrible and senseless destruction – I think that really I mind it much more than being bombed myself. The people are marvellous, and full of fight. One could not imagine that life could become so terrible. We must win in the end."
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Buckingham Palace in London
Both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were in residence at the time of the bombing, marking one of nine attacks on the palace during WWII.
Queen Elizabeth II, meanwhile, spent most of the war years apart from her parents at Windsor Castle, where she recently isolated during the coronavirus pandemic. Buckingham Palace continues to act as her main home in the capital.
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