'George VI' (Albert Frederick Arthur George;
14 December 1895 –
6 February 1952) was
King of the United Kingdom and the
British Dominions from
11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last
Emperor of India (until 1947) and the last
King of Ireland (until 1949).
As the second son of
King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother,
Edward. He served in the
Royal Navy during
World War I, and after the war took on the usual round of public engagements. He married
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and they had two daughters,
Elizabeth (who succeeded him as Queen Elizabeth II) and
Margaret.
At the death of their father in 1936, his brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII. However, less than a year later Edward expressed his desire to marry the twice-divorced
American socialite Wallis Simpson. For political and religious reasons, the British
Prime Minister,
Stanley Baldwin, informed Edward that he could not marry Mrs. Simpson and remain king. So,
Edward abdicated to marry. By reason of this abdication, unique in 2000 years of British history, George VI ascended the throne as the third monarch of the
House of Windsor.
Within 24 hours of his accession the
Irish parliament (the
Oireachtas) passed the ''
External Relations Act'', which essentially removed the power of the monarch in
Ireland. Further events greatly altered the position of the monarchy during his reign: three years after his accession, his realms, except Ireland, were at
war with
Nazi Germany. In the next two years, war with
Italy and the
Empire of Japan followed. A major consequence of World War II was the decline of the British Empire, with the
United States and the
Soviet Union rising as pre-eminent
world powers. With the
independence of
India and
Pakistan in 1947, and the
foundation of the Republic of Ireland in 1949, King George's reign saw the acceleration of the break-up of the British Empire and its transition into the
Commonwealth of Nations.
Birth and family
The future George VI was given the first name of Albert and was known formally as Prince Albert (or "Bertie" to his family).
[1] He was born at York Cottage, on the
Sandringham Estate,
Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmother
Queen Victoria. His father was Prince George,
Duke of York (later
King George V), the second and eldest-surviving son of the Prince (later
Edward VII) and Princess of Wales (later
Queen Alexandra). His mother was the Duchess of York (later
Queen Mary), the eldest daughter of
Prince Francis, Duke of Teck and
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge.
Albert's birthday (
14 December 1895) was the anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather,
Prince Albert, the Prince Consort. Uncertain of how the Prince Consort's widow Queen Victoria would take the news of the birth, the
Prince of Wales wrote to his son, Prince George, Duke of York, that the Queen had been "rather distressed".
[2] Two days later, he wrote again: "I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name ''Albert'' to her".
2 This mollified the baby's great-grandmother, who wrote to the baby's mother, the Duchess of York: "I am all impatience to see the ''new'' 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".
2 He was
baptised Albert Frederick Arthur George at St Mary Magdalene's Church near
Sandringham three months later.
[3] However, his maternal grandmother
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge did not like the first name the baby had been given, and she wrote prophetically that she hoped the last name "may supplant the less favoured one".
[4] The second son, Albert was fourth in line for the throne at birth. The third in line to the throne, his older brother
Edward, was born more than a year earlier, on
23 June 1894.
Early life
As a great-grandson of
Queen Victoria, Albert was styled His Highness Prince Albert of York from birth. In 1898, Queen Victoria issued
Letters Patent that granted the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales the style ''
Royal Highness''. So, at age two, Albert became His Royal Highness Prince Albert of York.
He often suffered from ill health and was described as "easily frightened and somewhat prone to tears".
[5] His parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, were generally removed from their children's day-to-day upbringing, as was the norm in aristocratic families of that era. Albert developed a severe
stammer that lasted for many years, as well as chronic stomach problems. He suffered from
knock knees, and to correct this he was forced to wear splints, which were extremely painful. He was also forced to write with his right hand although he was naturally
left-handed.
[6]
Queen Victoria died on
22 January 1901, and the Prince of Wales succeeded her as King Edward VII. The Duke of York became the new Prince of Wales. Prince Edward was then second in line for the throne, and Prince Albert was third.
Military career and education
From 1909, Albert attended the
Royal Naval College, Osborne as a naval
cadet. He came bottom of the class in the final examination, but despite this he progressed to the
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1911.
[7] When Edward VII died on
6 May 1910, Albert's father became King George V. Prince Edward was created Prince of Wales on
2 June 1910, and Albert was now second in line to the throne.
Albert was commissioned as a
midshipman on
15 September 1913 and one year later began service in
World War I. His fellow officers gave their royal peer the ordinary nickname "Mr. Johnson".
[8]
He saw action aboard
HMS ''Collingwood'' in the
Battle of Jutland (
31 May –
1 June 1916), which ended as a tactical victory for
Germany but a strategic victory for the
United Kingdom. Albert did not see further action in the War largely because of ill health caused by a
duodenal ulcer.
[9] In February 1918 Prince Albert was appointed Officer in Charge of Boys at the
Royal Naval Air Service's training establishment at
Cranwell.
[10] With the establishment of the
Royal Air Force later that year and the transfer of Cranwell from Navy to Air Force control, Albert transferred from the Royal Navy to the Royal Air Force.
[9] He was later appointed Officer Commanding Number 4 Squadron of the Boys' Wing at Cranwell and he remained there until August 1918.
After the war, Prince Albert studied history, economics and civics for a year at
Trinity College, Cambridge, from October 1919.
[12] On
3 June 1920, Prince Albert was created
Duke of York,
Earl of Inverness and
Baron Killarney.
[13] He then began to take on royal duties, representing his father, the King, touring coal mines, factories, and railyards, acquiring the nickname of the "Industrial Prince".
[14]
Marriage
In a time when royals were expected to marry fellow royals, it was unusual that Albert had a great deal of freedom in choosing a prospective wife. In 1920 he met Lady
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of
Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and
Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. He became determined to marry her.
[15]
Although Lady Elizabeth was a descendant of King
Robert I of Scotland and King
Henry VII of England, she was, according to British law, a
commoner. She rejected his proposal twice and hesitated for nearly two years, reportedly because she was reluctant to make the sacrifices necessary to become a member of the royal family.
[16] In the words of Lady Elizabeth's mother, Albert would be "made or marred" by his choice of wife, and after a protracted courtship Elizabeth agreed to marry him.
[17]
They were married on
26 April 1923 in
Westminster Abbey. The newly formed
British Broadcasting Company wished to record and broadcast the event on
radio, but the
Chapter vetoed the idea (although the Dean,
Herbert Edward Ryle, was in favour).
[18] Lady Elizabeth was styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York after their marriage. Albert's marriage to a British commoner was considered a modernising gesture.
[19]
The Duke and Duchess of York had two children,
Elizabeth (called "Lilibet" by the family), born
21 April 1926, who succeeded her father as Elizabeth II, and
Margaret, born
21 August 1930. The Duke and Duchess and their two daughters lived a relatively sheltered life at their
London residence, 145
Piccadilly. One of the few stirs arose when the
Canadian Prime Minister,
R. B. Bennett, considered the Duke for
Governor General of Canada in 1931 — a proposal that the King rejected on the advice of his ministers.
[20]
The Duchess helped him overcome his dread (due to stammering) of public speaking. On the way to presiding over the opening of Australia's Federal Parliament at Canberra, he was introduced by her to Lionel Logue, an Australian-born expert on speech. The Duke and Logue went over the speech multiple times, and the Duchess rehearsed with him patiently on the sea voyage to Australia. The address at Canberra went successfully, and he was able to speak thereafter with only a slight hesitation.
[21]
Reluctant king
On
20 January 1936, King George V died and Prince Edward ascended the throne as Edward VIII. As Edward had no children, Albert was the
heir presumptive to the throne until his unmarried brother had any legitimate children, or died. George V had had severe reservations about Edward, saying, "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne."
[22] Less than a year later, on
11 December 1936, Edward VIII
abdicated the throne in order to marry his love, the twice-divorced
Wallis Warfield Simpson. Edward had been advised by Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin that he could not remain King and marry a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands. Edward chose abdication in preference to abandoning his marriage plans. Thus Prince Albert, Duke of York, was now king, a position he was reluctant to accept. The day before the abdication, he 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."
[23]
Courtier and journalist Dermot Morroh alleged that there was brief speculation as to the desirability of bypassing Albert and his brother,
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in favour of the younger brother
Prince George, Duke of Kent. This seems to have been suggested on the grounds that Prince George was at that time the only brother with a son.
[24]
Reign
Albert assumed the style and title King George VI to emphasise continuity with his father and restore confidence in the monarchy.
[25] 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,
[26] but George VI felt that by abdicating and renouncing the succession Edward had lost the right to bear Royal titles, including "Royal Highness".
[27] In settling the issue, George's first act as King was to confer upon his brother the title HRH The
Duke of Windsor. But the
Letters Patent creating the dukedom prevented any wife and children from bearing royal styles. George VI was also forced to buy the royal houses of
Balmoral Castle and
Sandringham House from Prince Edward, as these were private properties and did not pass to George VI on his accession.
[28] Three days after his accession, on his forty-first birthday, he invested his wife, the new Queen, with the
Order of the Garter.
[29]
George VI's
coronation took place on
12 May 1937, the previously intended date of Edward's coronation. In a break with tradition, Queen Mary attended the coronation as a show of support for her son.
[30] There was no
Durbar held in
Delhi for George VI, as had occurred for his father, as the cost would have been a burden to the
government of India.
[31] Rising
Indian nationalism made the welcome that the royal couple would have received likely to be muted at best,
[32] and a prolonged absence from Britain would have been undesirable in the tense period before
World War II. Two overseas tours were undertaken, to
France and North America, both of which promised greater strategic advantages in the event of war.
[33]
The growing likelihood of war in
Europe dominated the early reign of George VI. The King was constitutionally bound to support Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain's
appeasement stance towards
Adolf Hitler. However, when the King and Queen greeted Chamberlain on his return from negotiating the
Munich Agreement in 1938, they invited him to appear on the balcony of
Buckingham Palace with them. This public association of the monarchy with a politician was exceptional, as balcony appearances were traditionally restricted to the royal family.
6
In 1939, the King and Queen undertook an extensive tour of
Canada, during which they made a brief visit to the
United States. From
Ottawa, the royal couple were accompanied throughout the trip by the
Prime Minister of Canada, and not a
British minister, meaning they were present in both Canada and the US as
King and Queen of Canada.
[34][35] George was the first reigning Monarch of Canada to visit North America, though he had been to his Canadian realm previously as Prince Albert and as Duke of York. The Canadian Prime Minister at the time,
William Lyon Mackenzie King, hoped that the King's presence in Canada would allow him to demonstrate in reality the principles of the
Statute of Westminster 1931, which gave full self-government to the
Dominions and recognised each Dominion as having a separate crown. Thus, at his Canadian residence,
Rideau Hall, George VI personally accepted and approved the
Letter of Credence of the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Canada,
Daniel Calhoun Roper. The official Royal Tour historian,
Gustave Lanctot, stated: "When Their Majesties walked into their Canadian residence, the Statute of Westminster had assumed full reality: the King of Canada had come home."
35
The entire trip was a measure intended to soften the strong
isolationist tendencies among the North American public vis-à-vis the developing tensions in Europe. Although the aim of the tour was mainly political, to shore up Atlantic support for Britain in any upcoming war, the King and Queen were enthusiastically received by the Canadian public.
[36] The fear that George would be unfavourably compared to his predecessor, Edward VIII, was dispelled.
[37] They were also warmly received by the American people, visiting the
1939 New York World's Fair and staying with
President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the
White House and at
his private estate at
Hyde Park,
New York.
[38]
When war broke out in 1939, George VI and his wife resolved to stay in London and not flee to Canada, as had been suggested. The King and Queen officially stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war, although they usually spent nights at
Windsor Castle to avoid
bombing raids. George VI and Queen Elizabeth narrowly avoided death when two German bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace whilst they were there.
[39]
In 1940 Neville Chamberlain was replaced as Prime Minister by
Winston Churchill. Throughout the war, the King and Queen provided morale-boosting visits throughout the UK, visiting bomb sites and munitions factories. The Royal Family adhered to
rationing restrictions in the country at the time; indeed,
U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt during her stay at Buckingham Palace during the war reported expressly on the rationed food served in the Palace and the limited bathwater that was permitted.
[40]
Author Will Swift has suggested that a strong bond of friendship was forged between the King and Queen and President and First Lady during the 1939 Royal Tour, which had major significance in the relations between the United States and Great Britain through the war years.
[41] However, there have never been credible suggestions that the King took any strategic role in the war; his frequent letters to the President were mostly unanswered, and it was Roosevelt's relationship with Churchill that was critical. Eleanor Roosevelt took a wry view of the utility of kings and queens and the substance of George and Elizabeth ("a little self-consciously regal," was her verdict on Elizabeth).
[42]
In 1945, in an echo of Chamberlain's appearance, the King invited Churchill to appear with him on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the
VE Day celebrations.
Empire to Commonwealth
George VI's reign saw the acceleration of the dissolution of the
British Empire, which had begun with the
Balfour Declaration at the
Imperial Conference of 1926, when the
Commonwealth came into being and the Dominions were acknowledged to have evolved into
sovereign states over a period of years previous — the declaration was formalised in the ''
Statute of Westminster 1931'' (Imp.).
[43]
Britain's brief
League of Nations Mandate over Iraq ended in 1932 with Iraqi independence without membership in the as-yet ill-defined Commonwealth even being considered. This process gathered pace after World War II.
Transjordan became independent as the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1946,
Burma in January 1948, and
Palestine (although divided between
Israel and the Arab states) that May; all three opted out of the Commonwealth. After declaring itself a Republic, southern
Ireland left the Commonwealth the following year. India became the two independent dominions of
India and
Pakistan. George relinquished the title of
Emperor of India, and became King of India and King of Pakistan instead. In 1950 India became a republic within the Commonwealth, and George VI ceased to be King of India. India recognised George's new title as
Head of the Commonwealth.
[44]
Illness and death
The stress of the war had taken its toll on the King's health,
[45] exacerbated by his heavy
smoking and subsequent development of
lung cancer among other ailments including
arteriosclerosis. Increasingly his daughter Princess Elizabeth, the heir presumptive to the throne, would take on more of the royal duties as her father's health deteriorated. In September 1951, George VI underwent a
pneumonectomy where his left lung was removed following the discovery of a malignant tumor.
[46]
In January 1952, despite advice from those close to him, he went to the airport to see off Princess Elizabeth, who was going on a tour of
Australia via
Kenya. Before takeoff he reportedly said to Bobo Macdonald, Elizabeth's nanny in childhood who was accompanying her on the trip, "Take care of Lilibet for me", and she promised she would.
[47] It was the last time he was to see her.
On
6 February 1952, George VI died from a
heart attack in his sleep at Sandringham House in Norfolk, at the age of 56.
45 After
lying in state at Westminster Hall, his funeral took place on
15 February, and he was interred in
St George's Chapel at
Windsor Castle.
[48] In 2002, the remains of his wife Queen Elizabeth and the ashes of his daughter,
Princess Margaret, were interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George's Chapel alongside him.
Other information
Titles
''
★ '1895–1898': ''His Highness'' Prince Albert of York
★ '1898–1901': ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Albert of York
★ '1901': ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Albert of Cornwall and York
★ '1901–1910': ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Albert of Wales
★ '1910–1920': ''His Royal Highness'' The Prince Albert
★ '1920–1936': ''His Royal Highness'' The Duke of York
★
★ ''in Scotland:'' 'May 1929': ''His Grace'' The Lord High Commissioner
★ '1936–1952': ''His Majesty'' The King
''and, occasionally, outside of the United Kingdom, and with regard to India (until the King ceased to use the imperial title upon
India's independence)''
★ '1936–1947': ''His Imperial Majesty'' The King–Emperor
'
Isle of Man':
★ '1936–1952':
Lord of Mann
'Islands of
Guernsey &
Jersey':
★ '1936–1952':
Duke of Normandy
Styles
From his brother's ascension to the throne, on
20 January 1936, until his own accession, on
11 December 1936, Prince Albert held the style ''His Royal Highness, The Prince Albert, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney''.
His full style as king was, from
11 December 1936, ''George the Sixth, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India''. Following 1948 the style Emperor of India was dropped, and the King was styled ''George the Sixth, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith''.
Honours
Main articles: List of the honours and appointments of George VI of the United Kingdom
Legacy
There are a number of geographical features, roads, and institutions named after George VI. These include:
★
King George Hospital in London.
★
King George VI Highway, including the
King George Station, in the
Greater Vancouver Regional District of
British Columbia.
★
George VI Sound in
Antarctica.
★
King George VI Chase, a horse race in the United Kingdom.
Ancestors
Notes and sources
1. A King's Story, , The Duke of, Windsor, Cassell & Co Ltd, 1951,
2. King George VI: His Life and Reign, , Sir John, Wheeler-Bennett, Macmillan, 1958,
3. His godparents were Queen Victoria, Empress Frederick, Grand Duke Friedrich Wilhelm of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, his wife the Grand Duchess (formerly Princess Augusta of Cambridge), the Crown Prince of Denmark, the Duke of Connaught, Prince Adolphus of Teck, and the Duchess of Fife. Source: ''The Times'', Tuesday 18 February 1896, p.11.
4. King George VI, , Sarah, Bradford, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989,
5. Wheeler-Bennett, pp.17–18.
6.
7. Bradford, pp.41–45.
8. ''Current Biography 1942'', p. 293–296
9. Bradford, pp.55–76.
10. RAF Cranwell - College History
11. Bradford, pp.55–76.
12. Wheeler-Bennett, pp.128–131.
13. Yvonne Demoskoff's Royalty: Peerage
14. ''Current Biography 1942'', p. 280
15. Elizabeth: The Queen Mother, , Hugo, Vickers, Arrow Books/Random House, 2006,
16. Bradford, p.106.
17. Bradford, p.77.
18. Into the Wind, , John, Reith, Hodder and Staughton, 1949,
19. The House of Windsor, , Andrew, Roberts, Cassell & Co., 2000,
20. George VI, , Patrick, Howarth, Hutchinson, 1987,
21. ''Current Biography 1942'', pp. 294–295
22. King Edward VIII: The Official Biography, , Philip, Ziegler, Collins, 1990,
23. Wheeler-Bennett, p.286.
24. Howarth, p.63.
25. Howarth, p.66.
26. Two Georges: the Making of the Modern Monarchy, , David, Sinclair, Hodder and Staughton, 1988,
27. Howarth, p.143.
28. Ziegler, p.326.
29. Bradford, p.223.
30. Bradford, p.214.
31. Vickers, p.175.
32. Bradford, p.209.
33. Bradford, pp.269, 281.
34. The Royal Tour of 1939
35.
36. Vickers, p.187.
37. Bradford, pp.298–299.
38. ''The Times'' Monday, 12 June 1939 p. 12 col. A.
39. The Second World War, , Winston, Churchill, Cassell and Co. Ltd, 1949,
40. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II, , Doris Kearns, Goodwin, Simon & Schuster, 1994,
41. The Roosevelts and the Royals: Franklin and Eleanor, the King and Queen of England, and the Friendship that Changed History, , Will, Swift, John Wiley & Sons, 2004,
42. Eleanor and Franklin, , Joseph P., Lash, Norton, 1971,
43. The History of the Commonwealth
44. King George VI
45. The official web-site of the British Monarchy
46. Bradford, p.454.
47. The Queen's Family, , Graham, Fisher, W. H. Allen & Co, 1982,
48. Bradford, p.462.
References
★
King George VI, , Sarah, Bradford, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989,
★
George VI, , Patrick, Howarth, Hutchinson, 1987,
★
★
Two Georges: the Making of the Modern Monarchy, , David, Sinclair, Hodder and Staughton, 1988,
★
King George VI: His Life and Reign, , Sir John, Wheeler-Bennett, Macmillan, 1958,
Further reading
★
Mountbatten: the official biography, , Philip, Ziegler, Collins, 1985,
External links
★
Illustrated History of George VI
★
CBC Digital Archives - Their Majesties in Canada: The 1939 Royal Tour
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