During the Royal Tour of South Africa in 1947, the royal family had to follow the rules of segregation, constantly under the watchful eye of the Afrikaner police. White South Africans held the belief that black South Africans were unhygienic people, carriers of disease and needed to be kept at a distance - and certainly not suitable to come into contact with the Royal Family.
After losing their escort on the tour, an exasperated King George VI is said to have commented to his wife: “Well, Mother, we’ve shaken off the Gestapo at last.” Despite the laws of apartheid, the King wanted to reward the black soldiers who had played their part in the war. However, when he tried to pin the medals onto the men himself, he was firmly told, no.
“He got the medal out of the box, handed it an official, who pinned it on the chest of the person being awarded it.”
Even beyond the borders of South Africa, in the British colony of Basutoland, the South African government still tried to enforce their divisive restrictions. The King, however, pushed back this time. The wife of a British high commissioner, Lady Baring, wrote of this in a letter: “The King said ‘Righto, he’d shake hands with everyone.’ And when it came to the investiture, he would jolly well pin on the medals himself.” - The Royal House of Windsor (2017).
