Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25626-20151023184552/@comment-25626-20151029203158

He could die even sooner. Setting the aside the obvious risks of a-bomb attacks, George's health was just rotten in his last years, thanks to his excessive smoking. He even had a lung removed in September, 1951 after they found a tumor (for perspective, BA ends in about the first week of June, 1951). The stress of having his country under attack yet again less than six months after the end of World War II won't help his fragile health. I won't be surprised if he dies early in this world, a la FDR in Worldwar, although I won't be betting anything I'd care to lose on it.

Even if he dies on schedule, it would still be a "sudden" thing from the perspective of the world, and would be a blow to Britain's morale. Whether HT decides to turn George's death into a major plot point (for example, the British communists see this as their big moment and make some sort of move or something of that order), I have no idea.