In February 1952, as subjects of the United Kingdom mourned the death of George VI, the new queen’s government grappled with issues that sound familiar today: with war raging in Korea, inflation – pushed up by rising prices in the commodities market – had reached 11.2 per cent, its first significant spike since the Second World War.
Seventy years later, as King Charles III ascends to the throne, his government finds itself in a similar position: global disruption and war have pushed up inflation – it is now into double digits for the first time in 40 years.
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