1947: Royal Tour of South Africa
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This film shows King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother) leaving London with Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. The Royal Family's arrival in Cape Town marks both the beginning of their journey across South Africa and the first state visit since 1939 and the outbreak of World War II.
The election of the National Party in 1948 brought in the system of apartheid, a policy of state-sanctioned racial segregation and discrimination. Disagreement with other Commonwealth countries over this system led to South Africa becoming a republic and leaving the Commonwealth in 1961.
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