Rare Rose of York Badge For The 1952 Tour of The King & Queen to Australia & NZ

A lovely little Badge made of brass with enamel filling (1 1/4" x 1/2" in size) made to commemorate King George VI and The Queen's tour to Australia and New Zealand in 1952. However, the Tour never took place as the stress of the war had taken its toll on the King's health,exacerbated by his heavy smoking and subsequent development of lung cancer among other ailments, including arteriosclerosis. The planned tour of Australia and New Zealand was postponed after the King suffered an arterial blockage in his right leg, which threatened the loss of the leg. Princess Elizabeth, the heiress presumptive, took on more royal duties as her father's health deteriorated. The delayed tour was re-organised, with Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, taking the place of the King and Queen. The King was well enough to open the Festival of Britain in May 1951, but on 23 September 1951, he underwent a pneumonectomy where his left lung was removed following the discovery of a malignant tumour. In October 1951, the Princess and the Duke went on a month-long tour of Canada; the trip having been delayed for a week due to the King's illness. At the State Opening of Parliament in November, the King's speech from the throne was read for him by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Simonds.His Christmas broadcast of 1951 was recorded in sections, and then edited together. On 31 January 1952, despite advice from those close to him, the King went to London Airport to see off Princess Elizabeth, who was going on her tour of Australia and New Zealand via Kenya. On the morning of 6 February, George VI was discovered dead in bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk. He had died from a coronary thrombosis in his sleep at the age of 56. His daughter Elizabeth flew back to Britain from Kenya as Queen Elizabeth II....the planned tour took place in late 1953 /early 1954.