SANDRIGHAM, England, Feb. 7, 1952 (UP) -- The body of King George VI will be taken after dusk today from the country home he loved and laid reverently before the altar in the little parish church where he worshiped. Grieving Queen Mother Elizabeth and her younger daughter, Princess Margaret, left the royal house late this morning for the first time since the king died to attend a half-hour service in the church on the estate grounds.
The king had attended services only last Sunday in this church of St. Mary Magdalene and sung "The Lord Is My Shepherd."
The monarch's body will lie in the church until it is taken to London, probably this weekend, for state ceremonies. Exact arrangements must await the arrival of the king's daughter, now Queen Elizabeth II.
On the royal estate, Jimmie Emerson, the 71-year-old royal carpenter, was building a coffin for the monarch he had known as a boy.
It will be the second royal coffin Emerson has made. He did the same for King George V, father of the monarch whose body lies inside the manor house today.
The coffin is of seasoned oak from a royal tree felled by George VI himself. It is being fashioned in the carpenter shop on the royal estate.
By ones and twos the rest of the royal family is coming "home," as Sandringham long was known to the late king. The king's brother, the duke of Gloucester and his duchess arrived late yesterday. They were followed by the duchess of Kent, the handsome widow of the king's youngest brother who was killed in a plane crash in 1942.
The duke of Windsor -- once King Edward VIII -- leaves New York tonight on the Queen Mary, although his wife will stay in the U.S.
