George VI of the United Kingdom
“Four years ago, our Nation and Empire stood alone against an overwhelming enemy, with our backs to the wall. Tested as never before in our history, in God's providence we survived that test; the spirit of the people, resolute, dedicated, burned like a bright flame, lit surely from those unseen fires which nothing can quench.”
The man who would be known to history as King George VI was born 14 December, 1895 at Sandringham House, the second son of Prince George, the Duke of York. Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George was named to honor the Prince Consort of the then reigning Queen Victoria, becoming known within the Royal Family as “Bertie”. Suffering from a stammer as well as joint issues in the knees, he was known as a fussy infant and a tearful child, but despite these difficulties would grow up into a quiet, thoughtful young man.
King Edward VII (right), stands with his three successors: Prince George (future King George V, left), with his sons Prince Edward (future King Edward VIII), and Albert (future King George VI)
Queen Victoria had died in 1901, leaving Albert’s grandfather to become King Edward VII. Eight years later Prince Albert entered the Royal Naval Academy, where he graduated at the bottom of his class of cadets. Edward VII died in 1910, with Albert’s father being crowned King George V and the young prince correspondingly elevated to the third in the line of succession to the throne, behind his older brother Edward, Prince of Wales.
The British Royal Family during the First World War
Prince Albert would remain in the Royal Navy throughout the First World War, notably serving aboard the battleship HMS Collingwood in command of a turret during the Battle of Jutland in 1916, the only major naval engagement of the Great War. Health problems continued to plague him, however, and he would not see combat again during the conflict.
Albert I of Belgium returns to Brussles on 22 November, 1918. Prince Albert of Britain is also present (possibly next to the King. Albert I is astride the white horse)
Before the end of the war Albert would transfer to the newly formed Royal Air Force, in the process becoming the first member of the Royal Family to be certified as a pilot. He would then return to France to serve on the RAF staff there, and would indeed remain in that post for a period after the end of the war. He would also accompany Belgium’s King Albert I on his return to Brussels on 22 November, 1918.
After the completion of his overseas service Prince Albert attended classes in various subjects at Cambridge, and soon afterward was created Duke of York by his father the King. He then began a series of tours of industrial sites across Britain, as well as founding an organization that set up summer camps for boys across the country, brining together children of different backgrounds.
Prince Albert and Princess Elizabeth with their newborn daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II
On another front, the Duke had by this point been courting Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The relationship had begun in 1921, following a series of youthful romances by the Duke, but had encountered difficulty when the Lady Elizabeth, wary of the responsibilities of marrying into the Royal Family, rejected the Duke’s proposals for marriage not once, but twice. She was eventually persuaded, however, accepting his proposal in 1923, with the wedding taking place on 23 April of that year. Three years later they would give birth to their first child, Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II), followed in 1930 by another daughter, Margret.
King Edward VIII and Wallace Simpson on holiday
On 20 January, 1936 King George V died at Sandringham after a long decline in health related to heavy smoking. This in turn resulted in his son, Edward, Prince of Wales, being named King Edward VIII, and due to his childlessness also placed Prince Albert as the first in line to the throne. Albert and his brothers all took turns standing guard over the late King’s casket at Westminster, but as the reign of the new King began serious troubles were brewing.
As Prince of Wales, Edward had carried the reputation of a womanizer, carrying on a series of affairs with married women, most notably with a Parisian socialite who subsequently became involved in a murder case after the death of her husband. Despite all of this, it was his relationship with the American divorcee Wallis Simpson that had concerned George V and his government the most. After taking the throne, Edward VIII continued his affair, with senior government officials concerned that the King was allowing Simpson access to confidential government information, as well as a perceived disregard by the King for the constitutional role of the sovereign. After his announcement in late 1936 that he intended to marry Simpson as soon as her second divorce was finalized, he was persuaded to abdicate the throne, formally signing the Instrument of Abdication on 10 December, thus transferring the crown to Albert the following day.
The newly crowned King George VI appears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with his wife and children
Albert had never expressed any desire to be King, even though his father had confidentially stated that he preferred him as a successor to Edward. With public confidence in the Monarchy at perhaps its lowest ebb since the English Civil War, the new King had a difficult task before him. In order to demonstrate continuity with his father, George V, rather than his unpopular brother, Albert took the name George VI at his coronation, creating his brother as the Duke of Windsor. The new king was crowned on 12 May, 1937, the same day originally planned for his brother. The Empire was in a state of crisis: in addition to the scandals involving Edward, the Indian Independence Movement was gaining in strength, as was Germany, now under the control of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialists.
King George VI makes a radio address
The new King was viewed by some with little confidence. He had long dreaded public speaking due to his stammer, and other concerns about his health abounded. He had, however, been working for some time with a vocal coach, and his speaking had already improved notably. Meanwhile, with the clouds of war again gathering, the new King quickly embarked on goodwill tours of both the United States and France, which represented the main potential allies of Britain in a new war against Germany.
The King also worked closely with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in the buildup to war, even taking the unprecedented step of inviting the Prime Minister to appear with him on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the signing of the infamous Munich Agreement of 1938 in a show of support, causing some controversy.
The King inspects at RAF fighter base at Lille
On 1 September, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, thereby setting into motion the Second World War, and King George VI took to the airwaves two days later, announcing the declaration of war on Germany. He then immediately set about touring military facilities across Britain as well as the bases of the new British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France. When the War in the West began in earnest in May of 1940, the King confirmed the appointment of Winston Churchill to replace Chamberlain as Prime Minister, despite his personal preference of Lord Halifax for the role. He would subsequently see the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk, and then found his country standing alone against the victorious German military as France fell in June of 1940.
Barrage balloons hang in the sky over Buckingham Palace during the Second World War
As the Battle of Britain began, the King elected to remain in London, bluntly refusing to be evacuated to Canada. In addition to remaining in the capitol, the Royal Family also subjected themselves to the same rationing endured by their subjects. As the infamous London Blitz began in the late summer of 1940, Buckingham Palace was not spared by the Luftwaffe, being bombed on several occasions, including at least once while the King and Queen were inside the building. In response to this event the Queen famously declared:
“I’m glad we have bee bombed. It makes me feel we can now look the East End in the face.”
The King and Queen were photographed amongst the rubble of the bombed palace, and would often visit their subjects in the worst effected areas of the city. Even as the Blitz came to an end, King George VI had ensured the goodwill and admiration of his subjects for a long time to come. Indeed, during the fierce air battles over London one RAF pilot, out of ammunition, had rammed a German bomber, rather then allow it to bomb the palace.
George VI inspects a German Tiger tank captured in North Africa
As the war continued, the King continued to take an active role. He met with Churchill almost every Tuesday for lunch to discuss the progress of the conflict, as well as meeting with other Allied heads of state, with US President Franklin Roosevelt notably remarking on the rationing of water and food within Buckingham Palace during a state visit in 1942. The King visited various far flung fronts, including North Africa and the besieged island of Malta, with his unshakeable resolve becoming a symbol to the entire British Empire as well as to the world at large.
George VI meets with Field Marshal Montgomery in Holland
By 1944 the situation had turned decisively in favor of the Allies in Europe, and the King was quick to visit Normandy in France, and later made frequent trips to visit the troops as well as his commanders near the front lines as they pushed into Germany itself. When the Nazis collapsed in May of 1945 the jubilant crowds in London began to cheer and call for an appearance by the King, and George VI thus appeared on the palace balcony, accompanied by the Queen, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, as well as Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The Royal Family on the Palace balcony on the proclamation of Victory in Europe
Despite his popularity during the war, Churchill was replaced by Clement Atlee as Prime Minister before the end of hostilities with Japan, although his personal friendship with the King continued. As the country moved into the post war era, the King shifted his attention to the transformation of the British Empire into the Commonwealth. George VI relinquished his title as Emperor of India in 1947, and two years later relinquished his remaining titles in India and Pakistan. He would also have the distinction of being the first world leader to address the General Assembly of the newly formed United Nations in January of 1948.
The King’s first decade on the throne had been extremely eventful, and had seen him steady the ship of the monarchy after the turbulent year of 1937, but all of this activity exacted a toll on the monarch. In 1949 he was forced to cancel a series of overseas trips as his health began to deteriorate. Lung cancer, the same ailment that had taken his father, soon appeared, with George VI eventually requiring the complete removal of his left lung due to the growth of a tumor. His Christmas Message of 1951 had to be recorded in sections beforehand and edited together due to the weakness of the sovereign. As the 1952 began his condition had continued to deteriorate when on 31 January he saw off Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, who were departing on a tour of Kenya in his stead. He then returned to the place of both his birth and the death of his father, Sandringham House, where he died in is sleep on 6 February. His daughter, now Queen Elizabeth II, flew home immediately from Kenya.
George VI was given a state funeral with his casket lying in state at Westminster Hall before his burial in the Royal Vault of Westminster Abbey. His remains were later moved to the newly completed memorial chapel that bears his name in 1969, where he was joined by his widow, Queen Elizabeth, now known as the Queen Mother to differentiate her from her daughter, in 2002.
