It is a poignant postcard which was never sent - printed as a souvenir of the Royal cruise cut short by a monarch's passing.

Eastern Daily Press: Ken Wheal from Toftwood, near Dereham, worked as an orderly at Clarence House. Picture: Matthew Usher.Ken Wheal from Toftwood, near Dereham, worked as an orderly at Clarence House. Picture: Matthew Usher. (Image: © ARCHANT NORFOLK 2015)

For as the ship's company made final preparations to set sail for Ceylon with the then Princess Elizabeth, in early 1952, news reached the SS Gothic that the voyage had been cancelled.

King George VI had died in his sleep thousands of miles away at Sandringham, in the early hours of February 6. The Princess, now the Queen, would be flying home immediately.

Among those on board the vessel, was Grenadier Guardsman Ken Wheal, then 25, who had been seconded to work as an orderly at Clarence House, the London home of the Princess and the Duke of Edinburgh, because of his exemplary conduct as a soldier.

Now 88 and living at Toftwood, near Dereham, he spoke to the EDP about this forgotten chapter in Royal history - at the very moment the Queen ascended to the throne - after Elizabeth II became the longest reigning monarch in British history.

Eastern Daily Press: Mr Wheal's ID card. Picture: Matthew Usher.Mr Wheal's ID card. Picture: Matthew Usher. (Image: © ARCHANT NORFOLK 2015)

In January 1952, he had set sail from Tilbury Docks for Mombassa, Kenya, on the 15,900 ton Gothic, which had been chartered for a Royal tour of the Southern Hemisphere.

Mr Wheal was given a map of the route the ship was due to take after the Princess and Duke joined the vessel, on February 7.

Aides were also given a postcard, featuring portraits of the Royal couple and the Gothic, to commemorate their planned arrival in Ceylon, on February 14.

From there, the Gothic would sail to Australia, calling at Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. Stops were also planned in Tasmania and New Zealand, during an outward voyage which was expected to last until June.

'I was looking forward to it,' said Mr Wheal. 'It would have been the trip of a lifetime in my book.

'They would have flown home, but we would have to come home with the ship.'

Instead of months at sea in southern climes, Mr Wheal and fellow aides were flown back to Britain after the tour was cancelled. To add insult to injury, the airline lost his baggage on the flight home.

Mr Wheal worked for the Royal Household for four years, from 1951. At Clarence House, he regularly worked on the switchboard - and learn to distinguish genuine calls from a young and mischievous Prince Charles playing with the phones.

'When Charlie was a little boy, if he picked up any phone, his governess would apologise and say it's all right - it's just Charlie playing around with the phones again,' he said.

He also ran messages between Clarence House and Buckingham Palace. Each Christmas, aides received gifts from the Royal Family.

Mr Wheal recalls they included his first-ever hairbrush, in a leather case, sets of silver spoons and cruet set; while the Duke of Edinburgh would give each member of staff a Christmas pudding.

Mr Wheal also took part in the Trooping of the Colour and other official duties, wearing the guardsman's scarlet tunic and heavy bearskin hat, which are passed down through generations of recruits to the regiment.

His army discharge papers, issued in 1957, record his Royal service amid an exemplary record, describing him as 'clean, smart, honest and sober'.

His commanding officer adds: 'He is a very good soldier, who has given good service to his regiment.'

Mr Wheal worked as a chauffeur for 20 years after leaving the army, retiring in 1987 to care for his wife Jane, who passed away in 1989.