The photograph, entitled Our Little Princess and captioned ‘Princess Elizabeth making sand castles at Craigweil House, Bognor’, was part of a collection presented to JPIMedia by the family of the late Eastbourne Herald photographer Terry Connolly. It shows our Queen as a little girl, just before her third birthday, on a visit to the south coast, where King George V was convalescing, having developed septicaemia. The Observer and West Sussex Recorder reported: “Craigweil House was offered on December 19, 1928, by Sir Arthur du Cros to Lord Dawson of Penn, through a mutual friend, for the use of His Majesty the King for so long as the King might require to use it, and free from rent or other conditions of any kind.” Lord Dawson was given a free hand to make any changes which might be required inside or outside the house in Aldwick. A tenancy agreement had to be made, as His Majesty was too ill to be consulted and the unconditional offer could not be accepted without reference to him. The Observer said ‘inaccuracies had crept into certain references in the Press’ but stated these were the ‘correct particulars’. Princess Elizabeth, whose parents were the Duke and Duchess of York at the time, visited her grandparents, King George V and Queen Mary, in March 1929. The Observer and West Sussex Recorder on Wednesday, March 30, 1929, reported: “The wonderful weather of the last week has enabled the King to go into the grounds at Craigweil House on several occasions, while His Majesty was even able to walk about fifty yards. “Her Majesty the Queen paid a visit to Burgess’s Bazaar on Thursday last, where she purchased some sand moulds for use by Princess Elizabeth, who came to Bognor the previous day.” King George’s sun cure beside the English Channel was not a long one but it seemed to do him, and the town, the world of good. The Observer and West Sussex Recorder on Wednesday, May 22, 1929, reported on the King’s departure and Bognor wishing him ‘God Speed’ “To anyone who saw the King arrive in Bognor just over three months ago when His Majesty was lying in an ambulance scarcely able to wave a hand, to those assembled to greet him, there could have been no greater contrast than his departure on Wednesday morning. Where hundreds had gathered to witness his arrival, there were thousands to see him depart, where on a solitary flag or so fluttered in the breeze, there were now hundreds, and greatest contrast of all, His Majesty looked alert and vigorous, and constantly acknowledged the greetings fo the crowd.” The King had consented to go through the town on his return to Windsor and the route was decorated with flags, transforming London Road and the Western Bandstand. Craigweil House had, during the King’s stay, acquired a certain personality from its royal guests, the Observer noted. There was practically no modern furniture, so the Queen had her sitting room furnished with easy chairs and sofa from the Royal yacht and used her own modern writing desk. Her silver bed was also brought from the Royal yacht and a wardrobe from Buckingham Palace. Apart from the glazing of the windows of the King’s rooms with vitaglass ‘to let in nature’s ultra-violet rays’, the house was ready practically a week before the expected arrival of the King, thanks to Queen Mary’s ‘precise and definite’ instructions. After their departure, Bognor and its sun leapt into such wide renown that the town was persuaded to make regular measurements of its natural ultra-violet radiation and an apparatus was specially designed by Professor Leonard Hill for the purpose. And it is thanks to the King’s visit that the town received the Regis suffix, the 90th anniversary of which was celebrated last July. A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton: In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers. Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. Stay safe, and best wishes.