The future George VI was born during the reign of his great-grandmotherQueen Victoria; he was named Albert at birth after his great-grandfatherPrince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and was known as "Bertie" to his family and close friends. His father ascended the throne asGeorge V in 1910. As the second son of the king, Albert was not expected to inherit the throne. He spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother,Edward, theheir apparent. Albert attended naval college as a teenager and served in theRoyal Navy andRoyal Air Force during theFirst World War. In 1920, he was madeDuke of York. HemarriedLady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and they had two daughters,Elizabeth andMargaret. In the mid-1920s, he engaged speech therapistLionel Logue to treat hisstutter, which he learned to manage to some degree. His elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII aftertheir father died in 1936, butEdward abdicated later that year to marry the twice-divorced American socialiteWallis Simpson. Asheir presumptive to Edward VIII, Albert became king, taking theregnal name George VI.
In September 1939, theBritish Empire and most Commonwealth countries—but not Ireland—declared war onNazi Germany, following theinvasion of Poland. War with theKingdom of Italy and theEmpire of Japan followed in 1940 and 1941, respectively. George VI was seen as sharing the hardships of the common people and his popularity soared.Buckingham Palace was bombed duringthe Blitz while the King and Queen were there, and his younger brotherthe Duke of Kent was killed on active service. George became known as a symbol of British determination to win the war.Britain and its allies were victorious in 1945, but the British Empire declined. Ireland hadlargely broken away, followed by theindependence of India and Pakistan in 1947. George relinquished the title of Emperor of India in June 1948 and instead adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth. He was beset by smoking-related health problems in the later years of his reign and died atSandringham House, aged 56, of acoronary thrombosis. He was succeeded by his elder daughter, Elizabeth II.
Early life
Four kings:Edward VII (far right); his son George, Prince of Wales, laterGeorge V (far left); and grandsons Edward, laterEdward VIII (rear); and Albert, later George VI (foreground),c. 1908
Albert was born atYork Cottage, on theSandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmotherQueen Victoria.[3] His father was Prince George, Duke of York (laterKing George V), the second and only surviving son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (laterKing Edward VII andQueen Alexandra). His mother, the Duchess of York (laterQueen Mary), was the eldest child and only daughter ofFrancis, Duke of Teck, andPrincess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.[4] His birthday, 14 December 1895, was the 34th anniversary of the death of his great-grandfatherAlbert, Prince Consort.[5] Uncertain of how the Prince Consort's widow, Queen Victoria, would take the news of the birth, the Prince of Wales wrote to the Duke of York that the Queen had been "rather distressed". Two days later, he wrote again: "I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the nameAlbert to her."[6]
The Queen was mollified by the proposal to name the new baby Albert, and wrote to the Duchess of York: "I am all impatience to see thenew one, born on such a sad day but rather more dear to me, especially as he will be called by that dear name which is a byword for all that is great and good."[7] Consequently, he wasbaptised "Albert Frederick Arthur George" atSt Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham on 17 February 1896.[d] Formally he was His Highness Prince Albert of York; within theroyal family he was known informally as "Bertie".[9] The Duchess of Teck did not like the first name her grandson had been given, and she wrote prophetically that she hoped the last name "may supplant the less favoured one".[10] Albert was fourth in line to the throne at birth, after his grandfather, father and elder brother,Edward.
Albert was ill often and was described as "easily frightened and somewhat prone to tears".[11] His parents were generally removed from their children's day-to-day upbringing, as was the norm in aristocratic families of that era. He had astutter that lasted for many years. Although naturallyleft-handed, he was forced to write with his right hand, as was common practice at the time.[12] He had chronic stomach problems as well asknock knees, for which he was forced to wear painful corrective splints.[13]
Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, and the Prince of Wales succeeded her as King Edward VII. Prince Albert moved up to third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother.
Beginning in 1909, Albert attended theRoyal Naval College, Osborne, as a navalcadet. In 1911 he came bottom of the class in the final examination, but despite this he progressed to theRoyal Naval College, Dartmouth.[14] When his grandfatherEdward VII died in 1910, his father became King George V. Prince Edward became Prince of Wales, with Albert second in line to the throne.[15]
Albert spent the first six months of 1913 on the training shipHMS Cumberland in theWest Indies and on the east coast of Canada.[16] He was rated as amidshipman aboardHMS Collingwood on 15 September 1913. He spent three months in the Mediterranean, but never overcame his seasickness.[17] Three weeks after the outbreak of World War I he was medically evacuated from the ship to Aberdeen, where his appendix was removed byJohn Marnoch.[18] He wasmentioned in dispatches for his actions as a turret officer aboardCollingwood in theBattle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916), the great naval battle of the war. He did not see further combat, largely because of ill health caused by aduodenal ulcer, for which he had an operation in November 1917.[19]
In February 1918 Albert was appointed Officer in Charge of Boys at theRoyal Naval Air Service's training establishment atCranwell. With the establishment of theRoyal Air Force Albert transferred from the Royal Navy to the Royal Air Force.[20] He served as Officer Commanding Number 4 Squadron of the Boys' Wing at Cranwell until August 1918,[21] before reporting for duty on the staff of theRAF's Cadet Brigade atSt Leonards-on-Sea and then atShorncliffe.[22] He completed a fortnight's training and took command of a squadron on the Cadet Wing.[23] He was the first member of the British royal family to be certified as a fully qualified pilot.[24]
Albert wanted to serve on the Continent while the war was still in progress and welcomed a posting toGeneral Trenchard's staff in France. On 23 October, he flew across the Channel toAutigny.[25] For the closing weeks of the war, he served on the staff of the RAF'sIndependent Air Force at its headquarters inNancy, France.[26] Following the disbanding of the Independent Air Force in November 1918, he remained on the Continent for two months as an RAF staff officer until posted back to Britain.[27] He accompaniedKing Albert I of Belgium on his triumphal re-entry into Brussels on 22 November. The prince qualified as an RAF pilot on 31 July 1919 and was promoted tosquadron leader the following day.[28]
In October 1919, Albert attendedTrinity College, Cambridge, where he studied history, economics and civics for a year,[29] with the historianR. V. Laurence as his "official mentor".[30] On 4 June 1920 his father created himDuke of York,Earl of Inverness andBaron Killarney.[31] He began to take on more royal duties. He represented his father and toured coal mines, factories, and railyards. Through such visits he acquired the nickname of the "Industrial Prince".[32] His stutter, and his embarrassment over it, together with a tendency to shyness, caused him to appear less confident in public than his older brother, Edward. However, he was physically active and enjoyed playing tennis. He played atWimbledon in theMen's Doubles withLouis Greig in 1926, losing in the first round.[33] He developed an interest in working conditions, and was president of theIndustrial Welfare Society. His series of annual summer camps for boys between 1921 and 1939 brought together boys from different social backgrounds.[34]
The Duke and Duchess of York (centre, reading programmes) atEagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane, Queensland, 1927
In a time when royalty were expected to marry fellow royalty, it was unusual that Albert had a great deal of freedom in choosing a prospective wife. An infatuation with the already-married Australian socialiteLady Loughborough came to an end in April 1920 when the King, with the promise of the dukedom of York, persuaded Albert to stop seeing her.[35] That year, he met for the first time since childhoodLady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of theEarl andCountess of Strathmore. He became determined to marry her.[36] Elizabeth rejected his proposal twice, in 1921 and 1922, reportedly because she was reluctant to make the sacrifices necessary to become a member of the royal family.[37] In the words of Lady Strathmore, Albert would be "made or marred" by his choice of wife. After a protracted courtship, Elizabeth agreed to marry him.[38]
Albert and Elizabeth were married on 26 April 1923 inWestminster Abbey. Albert's marriage to someone not of royal birth was considered a modernising gesture.[39] The newly formedBritish Broadcasting Company wished to record and broadcast the event on radio, but the AbbeyChapter vetoed the idea (although theDean,Herbert Edward Ryle, was in favour).[40]
Because of his stutter, Albert dreaded public speaking.[42] After his closing speech at theBritish Empire Exhibition atWembley on 31 October 1925, one which was an ordeal for both him and his listeners,[43] he began to seeLionel Logue, an Australian-born speech therapist. The Duke and Logue practised breathing exercises, and the Duchess rehearsed with him patiently.[44] Subsequently, he was able to speak with less hesitation.[45] With his delivery improved, Albert opened the newParliament House inCanberra, Australia, during a tour of the empire with his wife in 1927.[46] Their journey by sea to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji took them via Jamaica, where Albert played doubles tennis partnered with a black man,Bertrand Clark, which was unusual at the time and taken locally as a display of equality between races.[47]
King George V had severe reservations about Prince Edward, saying "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in twelve months" and "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne."[51] On 20 January 1936,George V died and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. In theVigil of the Princes, Prince Albert and his three brothers (the new king,Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, andPrince George, Duke of Kent) took a shift standing guard over their father's body as itlay in state, in a closed casket, inWestminster Hall.
As Edward was unmarried and had no children, Albert was theheir presumptive to the throne. Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, Edwardabdicated in order to marryWallis Simpson, who was divorced from her first husband and divorcing her second. Edward had been advised by British prime ministerStanley Baldwin that he could not remain king and marry a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands. He abdicated and Albert, though he had been reluctant to accept the throne, became king.[52] The day before the abdication, Albert went to London to see his mother, Queen Mary. He wrote in his diary, "When I told her what had happened, I broke down and sobbed like a child."[53]
On the day of Edward's abdication, theOireachtas, the parliament of theIrish Free State,removed all direct mention of the monarch from theIrish constitution. The next day, it passed theExternal Relations Act, which gave the monarch limited authority (strictly on the advice of the government) to appoint diplomatic representatives for Ireland and to be involved in the making of foreign treaties. The two acts made the Irish Free State a republic in essence without removing its links to the Commonwealth.[54]
Across Britain, gossip spread that Albert was physically and psychologically incapable of being king. No evidence has been found to support the contemporaneous rumour that the government considered bypassing him, his children and his brother Prince Henry, in favour of their younger brother Prince George, Duke of Kent.[55] This seems to have been suggested on the grounds that Prince George was at that time the only brother witha son.[56]
Early reign
Crown coin with George in profile, 1937Painting of the Coronation in 1937
Albert assumed theregnal name "George VI" to emphasise continuity with his father and restore confidence in the monarchy.[57] The beginning of George VI's reign was taken up by questions surrounding his predecessor and brother, whose titles, style and position were uncertain. He had been introduced as "His Royal Highness Prince Edward" for the abdication broadcast,[58] but George VI felt that by abdicating and renouncing the succession, Edward had lost the right to bear royal titles, including "Royal Highness".[59] In settling the issue, George's first act as king was to confer upon Edward the title "Duke of Windsor" with the style "Royal Highness", but theletters patent creating the dukedom prevented any wife or children from bearing royal styles. George VI was forced to buy from Edward the royal residences ofBalmoral Castle andSandringham House, as these were private properties and did not pass to him automatically.[60] Three days after his accession, on his 41st birthday, he invested his wife, the newqueen consort, with theOrder of the Garter.[61]
Cover of the 7 May 1937 edition ofRadio Times, drawn byC. R. W. Nevinson, marking the first coronation to be broadcast, and partially televised, live
George VI's coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on 12 May 1937, the date previously intended forEdward's coronation. In a break with tradition, Queen Mary attended the ceremony in a show of support for her son.[62] There was noDurbar held in Delhi for George VI, as had occurred for his father, as the cost would have been a burden to theGovernment of India.[63] RisingIndian nationalism made the welcome that the royal party would have received likely to be muted at best,[64] and a prolonged absence from Britain would have been undesirable in the tense period before the Second World War. Two overseas tours were undertaken, to France and to North America, both of which promised greater strategic advantages in the event of war.[65]
The growing likelihood of war in Europe dominated the early reign of George VI. The King was constitutionally bound to support British prime ministerNeville Chamberlain'sappeasement ofHitler.[13][66] When the King and Queen greeted Chamberlain on his return from negotiating theMunich Agreement in 1938, they invited him to appear on the balcony ofBuckingham Palace with them. This public association of the monarchy with a politician was exceptional, as balcony appearances were traditionally restricted to the royal family.[13] While broadly popular among the general public, Chamberlain's policy towards Hitler was the subject of some opposition in theHouse of Commons, which led historian and politicianJohn Grigg to describe George's behaviour in associating himself so prominently with a politician as "the most unconstitutional act by a British sovereign in the present century".[67]
In May and June 1939, theKing and Queen toured Canada and the United States; it was the first visit of a reigning British monarch to North America, although George had been to Canada prior to his accession. FromOttawa, George and Elizabeth were accompanied by Canadian prime ministerMackenzie King,[68] to present themselves in North America asKing and Queen of Canada.[69][70] Both Mackenzie King and the Canadian governor general,Lord Tweedsmuir, hoped that George's presence in Canada would demonstrate the principles of theStatute of Westminster 1931, which gave full sovereignty to theBritish Dominions. On 19 May, George personally accepted and approved theletter of credence of the new U.S. ambassador to Canada,Daniel Calhoun Roper; gaveroyal assent to nine parliamentary bills; and ratified two international treaties with theGreat Seal of Canada. The official royal tour historian,Gustave Lanctot, wrote "the Statute of Westminster had assumed full reality" and George gave a speech emphasising "the free and equal association of the nations of the Commonwealth".[71]
The trip was intended to soften the strongisolationist tendencies among the North American public with regard to the developing tensions in Europe. Although the aim of the tour was mainly political, to shore up Atlantic support for the United Kingdom in any future war, the King and Queen were enthusiastically received by the public.[72] The fear that George would be compared unfavourably to his predecessor was dispelled.[73] They visited the1939 New York World's Fair and stayed with PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt at theWhite House and athis private estate atHyde Park, New York.[74] A strong bond of friendship was forged between Roosevelt and the royal couple during the tour, which had major significance in the relations between the United States and the United Kingdom through the ensuing war years.[75][76]
Second World War
King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princess Elizabeth with RAF personnel during World War II
Following theGerman invasion of Poland in September 1939, the United Kingdom and the self-governing Dominionsother than Ireland declared war onNazi Germany.[77] The King and Queen resolved to stay in London, despite Germanbombing raids. They officially stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war, although they usually spent nights atWindsor Castle.[78] The first night of the Blitz on London, on 7 September 1940, killed about one thousand civilians, mostly in theEast End.[79] On 13 September, the couple narrowly avoided death when two German bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace while they were there.[80] In defiance, the Queen declared: "I am glad we have been bombed. It makes me feel we can look the East End in the face."[81] The royal family were portrayed as sharing the same dangers and deprivations as the rest of the country. They were subject toBritish rationing restrictions, and the U.S. first ladyEleanor Roosevelt remarked on the rationed food served and the limited bathwater that was permitted during a stay at the unheated and boarded-up Palace.[82] In August 1942, the King's brother, the Duke of Kent, was killed on active service.[83]
With Field MarshalBernard Montgomery (right), near the front lines in the Netherlands, October 1944
In 1940,Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister, though personally George would have preferred to appointLord Halifax.[84] After the King's initial dismay over Churchill's appointment ofLord Beaverbrook to the Cabinet, he and Churchill developed "the closest personal relationship in modern British history between a monarch and a Prime Minister".[85] Every Tuesday for four and a half years from September 1940, the two men met privately for lunch to discuss the war in secret and with frankness.[86] George related much of what the two discussed in his diary, which is the only extant first-hand account of these conversations.[87]
Throughout the war, George and Elizabeth provided morale-boosting visits throughout the United Kingdom, visiting bomb sites, munitions factories, and troops. George visited military forces abroad in France in December 1939, North Africa andMalta in June 1943,Normandy in June 1944, southern Italy in July 1944, and the Low Countries in October 1944.[88] Their high public profile and apparently indefatigable determination secured their place as symbols of national resistance.[89] At a social function in 1944, theChief of the Imperial General Staff,Field MarshalAlan Brooke, revealed that every time he met Field MarshalBernard Montgomery, he thought Montgomery was after his job. George replied: "You should worry, when I meet him, I always think he's after mine!"[90]
In 1945, crowds shouted "We want the King!" in front of Buckingham Palace during theVictory in Europe Day celebrations. In an echo of Chamberlain's appearance, the King invited Churchill to appear with the royal family on the balcony to public acclaim.[91] In January 1946, George addressed theUnited Nations at its first assembly, which was held in London, and reaffirmed "our faith in the equal rights of men and women and of nations great and small".[92]
Empire to Commonwealth
With Clement Attlee (left) at Buckingham Palace, July 1945
George VI's reign saw the acceleration of the dissolution of theBritish Empire. The Statute of Westminster 1931 had already acknowledged the evolution of the Dominions into separatesovereign states. The process of transformation from an empire to a voluntary association of independent states, known as theCommonwealth, gathered pace after the Second World War.[93] During the ministry ofClement Attlee,British India became the two independent Dominions ofIndia andPakistan in August 1947.[94] George relinquished the title ofEmperor of India,[95] and became King of India and King of Pakistan instead. In late April 1949, the Commonwealth leaders issued theLondon Declaration, which laid the foundation of the modern Commonwealth and recognised George asHead of the Commonwealth.[96][97][98] In January 1950, he ceased to be King of India when it became a republic. He remained King of Pakistan until his death. Other countries left the Commonwealth, such asBurma in January 1948,Palestine (divided between Israel and the Arab states) in May 1948 and the Republic of Ireland in 1949.[99]
In 1947, George and his family toured southern Africa.[100] The prime minister of theUnion of South Africa,Jan Smuts, was facing an election and hoped to make political capital out of the visit.[101] George was appalled, however, when instructed by the South African government to shake hands only with whites,[102] and referred to his South African bodyguards as "theGestapo".[103] Despite the tour, Smuts lostthe election the following year, and the new government instituted astrict policy of racial segregation.
The stress of the war had taken its toll on George's health,[104][105] made worse by his heavysmoking,[106] and subsequent development oflung cancer among other ailments, includingarteriosclerosis andBuerger's disease. A planned tour of Australia and New Zealand was postponed after George developed an arterial blockage in his right leg, which threatened the loss of the leg and was treated with a rightlumbar sympathectomy in March 1949.[107] His elder daughter and heir presumptive, Elizabeth, took on more royal duties as her father's health deteriorated. The delayed tour was re-organised, with Princess Elizabeth and her husband,Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, taking the place of the King and Queen.
On 31 January 1952, despite advice from those close to him, George went toLondon Airport[e] to see Elizabeth and Philip off on their tour to Australia via Kenya. It was his last public appearance. Six days later, at 07:30GMT on the morning of 6 February, he was found dead in bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk.[113] He had died in the night from acoronary thrombosis at the age of 56.[114] His daughter flew back to Britain from Kenya as Queen Elizabeth II.[115]
From 9 February George's coffin rested in St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, beforelying in state at Westminster Hall from 11 February.[116] His funeral took place atSt George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 15 February.[117] He was interred initially in the Royal Vault until he was transferred to theKing George VI Memorial Chapel inside St George's on 26 March 1969.[118] In 2002, fifty years after his death, the remains of his widow, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the ashes of his younger daughter, Princess Margaret, who both died that year, were interred in the chapel alongside him.[119] In 2022, the remains of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, were also interred in the chapel.[120]
In the words ofLabourMember of Parliament (MP)George Hardie, the abdication crisis of 1936 did "more for republicanism than fifty years of propaganda".[121] George VI wrote to his brother Edward that in the aftermath of the abdication he had reluctantly assumed "a rocking throne" and tried "to make it steady again".[122] He became king at a point when public faith in the monarchy was at a low ebb. During his reign, his people endured the hardships of war, and imperial power was eroded. However, as a dutiful family man and by showing personal courage, he succeeded in restoring the popularity of the monarchy.[123][124]
TheGeorge Cross and theGeorge Medal were founded at the King's suggestion during the Second World War to recognise acts of exceptional civilian bravery.[125] He bestowed the George Cross on the entire "island fortress of Malta" in 1943.[126] He was posthumously awarded theOrder of Liberation by the French government in 1960, one of only two people (the other being Churchill in 1958) to be awarded the medal after 1946.[127]
As Duke of York, Albert bore theroyal arms of the United Kingdom differenced with alabel of three pointsargent, the centre point bearing an anchorazure—a difference earlier awarded to his father, George V, when he was Duke of York, and then later awarded to his grandsonPrince Andrew, Duke of York. As king he bore the royal arms undifferenced.[129]
^George VI continued as titular Emperor of India until 22 June 1948,[1] and remained head of state asKing of India until the countrybecame a republic on 26 January 1950.[2]
^Lanctot, Gustave (1964),Royal Tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Canada and the United States of America 1939, Toronto: E.P. Taylor Foundation
^Swift, Will (2004),The Roosevelts and the Royals: Franklin and Eleanor, the King and Queen of England, and the Friendship that Changed History, John Wiley & Sons
^Zweiniger-Bargielowska, Ina (2016), "Royal death and living memorials: the funerals and commemoration of George V and George VI, 1936–52",Historical Research,89 (243):158–175,doi:10.1111/1468-2281.12108
1 Not a British prince by birth, but createdPrince Consort.2 Not a British prince by birth, but created a Prince of the United Kingdom. Princes whose titles were removed and eligible people who do not use the title are shown in italics.
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