King George VI acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom in December 1936. Due to the outbreak of World War II and his poor health in post-War years, he only received a few state visits from foreign heads of state during his reign, all of whom were from European countries. A state visit normally lasted for 4 days and included a state banquet given by The King at Buckingham Palace as well as a formal reception of the City of London at Guildhall.