George VI of the United Kingdom
Albert Frederick Arthur George was born on the 14th December 1895 at York Cottage, Sandringham Estate, Norfolk. He was the second son of Prince George, Duke of York (George V) and Mary, Duchess of York and named in honour of his great-grandfather Prince Albert, Prince Consort as he was born on the anniversary of Prince Albert's death. Albert was not expected to inherit the throne and spent majority of his life living in his brothers shadow. He was described as often ill and "easily frightened and prone to tears". He suffered stomach pains, and was forced to write with his write hand although being naturally left handed. He had a terrible stammer which haunted him for his whole life and knock knees for which he wore painful splints.
From 1909, Albert attended the Royal Naval College, Osbourne as a naval cadet. He was bottom of his class in 1911 but still progressed to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. When his grandfather Edward VII died, he moved up to second in-line to the throne. In 1913, he trained on the HMS Cumberland in the West Indies and on the east coast of Canada. From 15th September 1913, he was rated a midshipman and served on the HMS Collingwood for three months in the Mediterranean. He was given the nickname "Mr. Johnson" so to avoid any attacks by warring ships.
He had fought as a young naval officer at the Battle of Jutland in World War I, and was the first member of the Royal Family to learn to fly. He left the war due to ill health caused by a duodenal ulcer, which he was operated on in 1917. He later had a career at the Royal Naval Air Service's training establishment at Cranwell. He was there until August 1918. In October 1919, he studied history, economics and civics at Trinity College, Cambridge. After that he took on more royal duties and then on the 4th June 1920 was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney. He developed an interest in working conditions and traveled to industrial places of business and was President of the Industrial Welfare Society. He also created annual summer camps between 1921 and 1939 to bring boys from different social backgrounds together.
On the 26th April 1923 he married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon after a protracted courtship and after rejecting two proposals of marriage. Elizabeth was the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. This marriage was seen as a modern one as it was a royal marrying a non-royal. Because of his stammer, Albert dreaded public speaking and after his speech at the British Empire Exhibition on the 31st October 1925. He then went for speech therapy with Lionel Logue. By the time of his tour of the Empire, he spoke fluently and spoke at the new Australian Parliament House without stuttering. Albert had two children with Elizabeth: Elizabeth whom was referred to as 'Lilibet', and Margaret. They lived at their London residence which was 145 Piccadilly and Albert referred to the family as "us four".
George V hoped that Albert and his daughter would come to the Throne. When Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson, he became King George VI on the 11th December 1936. Fortified by the influence of his Queen, who swiftly acquired immense popularity in her own right, George VI coped with the aftermath of the abdication in a way that quickly restored confidence in the monarchy. His regnal "George VI" was chosen to restore hope in the monarchy and to emphasis continuity with his father. On the day he became King, the Irish Free State removed all direct mention of the monarch from its constitution and then the next day it passed another act which kept it apart of the Commonwealth, but made Ireland a republic. George's first act as King was to create the former Edward VIII the Duke of Windsor. George VI's coronation was on the same date intended for Edward's coronation and was attended by Queen Mary, which was a break with tradition. There was no durbar in Delhi as the cost was to much for the Indian government. George VI's early reign was dominated by the likelihood of war in Europe and George had to support Neville Chamberlain's appeasement with Hitler. In May and June 1939, George and Elizabeth visited Canada and the United States and were the first monarchs to do so. They toured throughout the region with William Lyon Mackenzie (Canadian Prime Minister) and were referred to as the King and Queen of Canada the whole time. In America, George forged a strong relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which would help the British during the Second World War.
When the horrors of World War II descended shortly afterwards on Britain, and on London in particular, the royal couple rose superbly to the occasion. Initially sceptical of Winston Churchill, the King and his Prime Minister soon developed a close personal working relationship and they met regularly to discuss the progress of the War. Every Tuesday for four and a half years, George met with Winston Churchill for lunch and they would just have a normal conversation. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stayed at what they and their subjects saw as their posts all through the Blitz, and showed love and care for their people in gestures that stilled the meanest critics. They narrowly escaped death when bombs exploded beside Buckingham Palace on the 13th September 1940. They inspected the wreck and also toured London to show that their King and Queen were still with them. But the Government preferred all high ranking people to be safe and the King and Queen slept at Windsor Castle during heavy bomb raids. George made visits to military forces abroad and visited France, North Africa, Malta, Normandy, southern Italy and the Low Countries during the war. When Victory in Europe was declared, The King, Queen and two princesses with Winston Churchill celebrated from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Following the War Britain entered a time of economic austerity and the British Empire began to be replaced by the Commonwealth of Nations as former colonies including India became independent. Clement Attlee succeeded Churchill less than a month after the war and during this period, the Statute of Westminster saw the end of the British Empire. British India became Pakistan and India and George became King of India and King of Pakistan, relinquishing the title of Emperor of India. India became a republic in 1950 while other countries left the Commonwealth of Nations: Burma in January 1948 and Palestine in May 1948. He with the Queen and Princesses visited the Union of South Africa. George was appalled by the Governments instruction to only shake hands with whites and referred to South African bodyguards as "The Gestapo". After his visit a new government came to power and enforced racial segregation.
The war harmed the health of George and due to his heavy cancer, he developed Lung Cancer. A planned tour of Australia and New Zealand was cancelled when George suffered an arterial blockage and faced losing his right leg. Princess Elizabeth and her new husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, took part in a lot of royal duties to compensate those of George VI. He had his left lung removed on the 23rd September 1951 and didn't attend the State Opening of Parliament and recorded his Christmas broadcast in sections. On the 31st January 1952, George went to London Airport against advise to farewell Princess Elizabeth who wa going on a tour of Australia via Kenya. But on the morning of the 6th February 1952 he was discovered dead in his bed having suffered from aa coronary thrombosis in his sleep. He was only 56 years old.
His lying-in-state took place from the 11th February at Westminster Hall and his funeral took place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. He was interred in the Royal vault and was then moved to the King George VI Memorial Chapel inside St George's Chapel on 26th March 1969.
George VI wrote to his brother that he inherited "a rocking throne" and tried "to make it steady again". His reign saw many hardships for the British people due to austerity, the war and the end of Imperial power. But his dutiful behaviour and patriotism in the monarchy saw the monarchy survive such turbulent times which is still remembered by many today in Britain and around the world.
From 1909, Albert attended the Royal Naval College, Osbourne as a naval cadet. He was bottom of his class in 1911 but still progressed to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. When his grandfather Edward VII died, he moved up to second in-line to the throne. In 1913, he trained on the HMS Cumberland in the West Indies and on the east coast of Canada. From 15th September 1913, he was rated a midshipman and served on the HMS Collingwood for three months in the Mediterranean. He was given the nickname "Mr. Johnson" so to avoid any attacks by warring ships.
He had fought as a young naval officer at the Battle of Jutland in World War I, and was the first member of the Royal Family to learn to fly. He left the war due to ill health caused by a duodenal ulcer, which he was operated on in 1917. He later had a career at the Royal Naval Air Service's training establishment at Cranwell. He was there until August 1918. In October 1919, he studied history, economics and civics at Trinity College, Cambridge. After that he took on more royal duties and then on the 4th June 1920 was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney. He developed an interest in working conditions and traveled to industrial places of business and was President of the Industrial Welfare Society. He also created annual summer camps between 1921 and 1939 to bring boys from different social backgrounds together.
On the 26th April 1923 he married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon after a protracted courtship and after rejecting two proposals of marriage. Elizabeth was the daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. This marriage was seen as a modern one as it was a royal marrying a non-royal. Because of his stammer, Albert dreaded public speaking and after his speech at the British Empire Exhibition on the 31st October 1925. He then went for speech therapy with Lionel Logue. By the time of his tour of the Empire, he spoke fluently and spoke at the new Australian Parliament House without stuttering. Albert had two children with Elizabeth: Elizabeth whom was referred to as 'Lilibet', and Margaret. They lived at their London residence which was 145 Piccadilly and Albert referred to the family as "us four".
George V hoped that Albert and his daughter would come to the Throne. When Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson, he became King George VI on the 11th December 1936. Fortified by the influence of his Queen, who swiftly acquired immense popularity in her own right, George VI coped with the aftermath of the abdication in a way that quickly restored confidence in the monarchy. His regnal "George VI" was chosen to restore hope in the monarchy and to emphasis continuity with his father. On the day he became King, the Irish Free State removed all direct mention of the monarch from its constitution and then the next day it passed another act which kept it apart of the Commonwealth, but made Ireland a republic. George's first act as King was to create the former Edward VIII the Duke of Windsor. George VI's coronation was on the same date intended for Edward's coronation and was attended by Queen Mary, which was a break with tradition. There was no durbar in Delhi as the cost was to much for the Indian government. George VI's early reign was dominated by the likelihood of war in Europe and George had to support Neville Chamberlain's appeasement with Hitler. In May and June 1939, George and Elizabeth visited Canada and the United States and were the first monarchs to do so. They toured throughout the region with William Lyon Mackenzie (Canadian Prime Minister) and were referred to as the King and Queen of Canada the whole time. In America, George forged a strong relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which would help the British during the Second World War.
When the horrors of World War II descended shortly afterwards on Britain, and on London in particular, the royal couple rose superbly to the occasion. Initially sceptical of Winston Churchill, the King and his Prime Minister soon developed a close personal working relationship and they met regularly to discuss the progress of the War. Every Tuesday for four and a half years, George met with Winston Churchill for lunch and they would just have a normal conversation. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stayed at what they and their subjects saw as their posts all through the Blitz, and showed love and care for their people in gestures that stilled the meanest critics. They narrowly escaped death when bombs exploded beside Buckingham Palace on the 13th September 1940. They inspected the wreck and also toured London to show that their King and Queen were still with them. But the Government preferred all high ranking people to be safe and the King and Queen slept at Windsor Castle during heavy bomb raids. George made visits to military forces abroad and visited France, North Africa, Malta, Normandy, southern Italy and the Low Countries during the war. When Victory in Europe was declared, The King, Queen and two princesses with Winston Churchill celebrated from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Following the War Britain entered a time of economic austerity and the British Empire began to be replaced by the Commonwealth of Nations as former colonies including India became independent. Clement Attlee succeeded Churchill less than a month after the war and during this period, the Statute of Westminster saw the end of the British Empire. British India became Pakistan and India and George became King of India and King of Pakistan, relinquishing the title of Emperor of India. India became a republic in 1950 while other countries left the Commonwealth of Nations: Burma in January 1948 and Palestine in May 1948. He with the Queen and Princesses visited the Union of South Africa. George was appalled by the Governments instruction to only shake hands with whites and referred to South African bodyguards as "The Gestapo". After his visit a new government came to power and enforced racial segregation.
The war harmed the health of George and due to his heavy cancer, he developed Lung Cancer. A planned tour of Australia and New Zealand was cancelled when George suffered an arterial blockage and faced losing his right leg. Princess Elizabeth and her new husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, took part in a lot of royal duties to compensate those of George VI. He had his left lung removed on the 23rd September 1951 and didn't attend the State Opening of Parliament and recorded his Christmas broadcast in sections. On the 31st January 1952, George went to London Airport against advise to farewell Princess Elizabeth who wa going on a tour of Australia via Kenya. But on the morning of the 6th February 1952 he was discovered dead in his bed having suffered from aa coronary thrombosis in his sleep. He was only 56 years old.
His lying-in-state took place from the 11th February at Westminster Hall and his funeral took place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. He was interred in the Royal vault and was then moved to the King George VI Memorial Chapel inside St George's Chapel on 26th March 1969.
George VI wrote to his brother that he inherited "a rocking throne" and tried "to make it steady again". His reign saw many hardships for the British people due to austerity, the war and the end of Imperial power. But his dutiful behaviour and patriotism in the monarchy saw the monarchy survive such turbulent times which is still remembered by many today in Britain and around the world.
Titles and Styles
- 14 December 1895 – 28 May 1898: His Highness Prince Albert of York
- 28 May 1898 – 22 January 1901: His Royal Highness Prince Albert of York
- 22 January 1901 – 9 November 1901: His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Cornwall and York
- 9 November 1901 – 6 May 1910: His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Wales
- 6 May 1910 – 4 June 1920: His Royal Highness The Prince Albert
- 4 June 1920 – 11 December 1936: His Royal Highness The Duke of York
- 11 December 1936 – 6 February 1952: His Majesty The King
- 11 December 1936 – 14 August 1947 : His Imperial Majesty The King-Emperor (in regard to British India)