George VI

File:Edward VII UK and successors.jpg (far right); his son George, Prince of Wales, later George V (far left); and grandsons Edward, later Edward VIII (rear); and Albert, later George VI (foreground), {{circa}} 1908]]

Albert was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria.Rhodes James, p. 90; Weir, p. 329 His father was Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), the second and only surviving son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). His mother, the Duchess of York (later Queen Mary), was the eldest child and only daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck, and Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck.Weir, pp. 322–323, 329 His birthday, 14 December 1895, was the 34th anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather Albert, Prince Consort.Judd, p. 3; Rhodes James, p. 90; Townsend, p. 15; Wheeler-Bennett, pp. 7–8 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 name Albert to her."Judd, pp. 4–5; Wheeler-Bennett, pp. 7–8

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 the {{em|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."Wheeler-Bennett, pp. 7–8 Consequently, he was baptised "Albert Frederick Arthur George" at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham on 17 February 1896.{{efn|His godparents were: Queen Victoria (his great-grandmother, for whom his grandmother the Princess of Wales stood proxy); the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg (his maternal great-aunt and great-uncle, for whom his grandfather the Duke of Teck and his paternal aunt Princess Maud of Wales stood proxy); Empress Frederick (his paternal great-aunt, for whom his paternal aunt Princess Victoria of Wales stood proxy); the Crown Prince of Denmark (his great-uncle, for whom his grandfather the Prince of Wales stood proxy); the Duke of Connaught (his great-uncle); the Duchess of Fife (his paternal aunt); and Prince Adolphus of Teck (his maternal uncle).The Times, Tuesday 18 February 1896, p. 11}} Formally he was His Highness Prince Albert of York; within the royal family he was known informally as "Bertie".Judd, p. 6; Rhodes James, p. 90; Townsend, p. 15; Windsor, p. 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".Bradford, p. 2 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".Wheeler-Bennett, pp. 17–18 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 a stutter that lasted for many years. Although naturally left-handed, he was forced to write with his right hand, as was common practice at the time.{{citation|first=Howard I. |last=Kushner |title=Retraining the King's left hand |journal=The Lancet |volume=377 |issue=9782 |year=2011 |pages=1998–1999 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60854-4|pmid=21671515 |s2cid=35750495 }} He had chronic stomach problems as well as knock knees, for which he was forced to wear painful corrective splints.{{cite ODNB|first=H. C. G.|last=Matthew|author-link=Colin Matthew|title=George VI (1895–1952)|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/33370|mode=cs2}}

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.

File:Prince Albert in RAF uniform.png dinner, 1919]]

Beginning in 1909, Albert attended the Royal Naval College, Osborne, as a naval cadet. In 1911 he came bottom of the class in the final examination, but despite this he progressed to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.Bradford, pp. 41–45; Judd, pp. 21–24; Rhodes James, p. 91 When his grandfather Edward VII died in 1910, his father became King George V. Prince Edward became Prince of Wales, with Albert second in line to the throne.Judd, pp. 22–23

Albert spent the first six months of 1913 on the training ship {{HMS|Cumberland|1902|6}} in the West Indies and on the east coast of Canada.Judd, p. 26 He was rated as a midshipman aboard {{HMS|Collingwood|1908|6}} on 15 September 1913. He spent three months in the Mediterranean, but never overcame his seasickness.Judd, p. 186 Three weeks after the outbreak of World War I he was medically evacuated from the ship to Aberdeen, where his appendix was removed by John Marnoch.{{citation |title=Royal Connections |url=http://www.med-chi.co.uk/heritage/history/the-archive/royal-connections.html#nav |website=Aberdeen Medico-Chirugical Society |access-date=16 January 2019 |archive-date=17 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117070027/http://www.med-chi.co.uk/heritage/history/the-archive/royal-connections.html#nav |url-status=live }} He was mentioned in dispatches for his actions as a turret officer aboard Collingwood in the Battle 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 a duodenal ulcer, for which he had an operation in November 1917.Bradford, pp. 55–76

In February 1918 Albert was appointed Officer in Charge of Boys at the Royal Naval Air Service's training establishment at Cranwell. With the establishment of the Royal Air Force Albert transferred from the Royal Navy to the Royal Air Force.Bradford, p. 72 He served as Officer Commanding Number 4 Squadron of the Boys' Wing at Cranwell until August 1918,Bradford, pp. 73–74 before reporting for duty on the staff of the RAF's Cadet Brigade at St Leonards-on-Sea and then at Shorncliffe.{{citation |last=Darbyshire |first=Taylor |date=1929 |title=The Duke of York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N4rSAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Hutchinson & Company Limited |page=51 |mode=cs2 |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-date=17 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417211057/https://books.google.com/books?id=N4rSAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }} He completed a fortnight's training and took command of a squadron on the Cadet Wing.Wheeler-Bennett, p. 115 He was the first member of the British royal family to be certified as a fully qualified pilot.Judd, p. 45; Rhodes James, p. 91

Albert wanted to serve on the Continent while the war was still in progress and welcomed a posting to General Trenchard's staff in France. On 23 October, he flew across the Channel to Autigny.Wheeler-Bennett, p. 116 For the closing weeks of the war, he served on the staff of the RAF's Independent Air Force at its headquarters in Nancy, France.{{citation |last= Boyle |first= Andrew |author-link= Andrew Boyle (journalist) |title= Trenchard Man of Vision |year= 1962 |publisher= Collins |location= St James's Place London |page= 360|chapter= Chapter 13}} 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.Judd, p. 44 He accompanied King 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 to squadron leader the following day.{{citation |last= Heathcote |first= Tony |date= 2012 |title= The British Field Marshals: 1736–1997: A Biographical Dictionary |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KAkkUN7s4TIC&pg=PT226 |publisher= Casemate Publisher |isbn= 978-1783461417 |access-date= 18 March 2016 |archive-date= 29 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160729235512/https://books.google.com/books?id=KAkkUN7s4TIC&pg=PT226 |url-status= live }}

In October 1919, Albert attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied history, economics and civics for a year,Judd, p. 47; Wheeler-Bennett, pp. 128–131 with the historian R. V. Laurence as his "official mentor".Wheeler-Bennett, p. 128 On 4 June 1920 his father created him Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney.Weir, p. 329 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".Current Biography 1942, p. 280; Judd, p. 72; Townsend, p. 59 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 at Wimbledon in the Men's Doubles with Louis Greig in 1926, losing in the first round.Judd, p. 52 He developed an interest in working conditions, and was president of the Industrial Welfare Society. His series of annual summer camps for boys between 1921 and 1939 brought together boys from different social backgrounds.Judd, pp. 77–86; Rhodes James, p. 97

{{see also|Wedding of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon}}

File:StateLibQld 1 110084 Duke and Duchess of York at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane, 1927.jpg, 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. The King brought his son's infatuation with the already-married Australian socialite Lady Loughborough to an end in April 1920 by persuading him to stop seeing her, with the promise of the dukedom of York.{{Citation |last=Henderson |first=Gerard |title=Sheila: The Australian Ingenue Who Bewitched British Society – review |date=31 January 2014 |url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/457107/Sheila-The-Australian-Ingenue-Who-Bewitched-British-Society-review |work=Daily Express |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123341/http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/457107/Sheila-The-Australian-Ingenue-Who-Bewitched-British-Society-review |access-date=15 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}; {{Citation |last=Australian Associated Press |title=A Sheila who captured London's heart |date=28 February 2014 |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/28/sheila-who-captured-londons-heart |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106071743/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/28/sheila-who-captured-londons-heart |publisher=Special Broadcasting Service |access-date=14 March 2015 |archive-date=6 November 2017 |url-status=live}} That year, Albert met for the first time since childhood Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. He became determined to marry her.Rhodes James, pp. 94–96; Vickers, pp. 31, 44 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.Bradford, p. 106 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.Bradford, p. 77; Judd, pp. 57–59

Albert and Elizabeth were married on 26 April 1923 in Westminster Abbey. Albert's marriage to someone not of royal birth was considered a modernising gesture.{{Citation |last=Roberts |first=Andrew |title=The House of Windsor |pages=57–58 |year=2000 |editor-last=Antonia Fraser |place=London |publisher=Cassell & Co. |isbn=978-0-304-35406-1 |editor-link=Antonia Fraser}} The newly formed British Broadcasting Company wished to record and broadcast the event on radio, but the Abbey Chapter vetoed the idea (although the Dean, Herbert Edward Ryle, was in favour).{{Citation |last=Reith |first=John |title=Into the Wind |page=94 |year=1949 |place=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |author-link=John Reith, 1st Baron Reith}}

File:TIMEMagazine12Jan1925.jpg, January 1925]]

From December 1924 to April 1925, the Duke and Duchess toured Kenya, Uganda, and the Sudan, travelling via the Suez Canal and Aden. During the trip, they both went big-game hunting.Judd, pp. 89–93

Because of his stutter, Albert dreaded public speaking.Judd, p. 49 After his closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley on 31 October 1925, one which was an ordeal for both him and his listeners,Judd, pp. 93–97; Rhodes James, p. 97 he began to see Lionel Logue, an Australian-born speech therapist. The Duke and Logue practised breathing exercises, and the Duchess rehearsed with him patiently.Judd, p. 98; Rhodes James, p. 98 Subsequently, he was able to speak with less hesitation.Current Biography 1942, pp. 294–295; Judd, p. 99 With his delivery improved, Albert opened the new Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, during a tour of the empire with his wife in 1927.Judd, p. 106; Rhodes James, p. 99 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.Shawcross, p. 273

The Duke and Duchess had two children, Elizabeth (called "Lilibet" by the family, later Elizabeth II) in 1926 and Margaret in 1930. The family lived at White Lodge, Richmond Park, and then at 145 Piccadilly, rather than one of the royal palaces.Judd, pp. 111, 225, 231{{citation|url=https://www.richmond.gov.uk/media/6327/local_history_white_lodge.pdf|title=White Lodge, Richmond Park|work=London Borough of Richmond upon Thames|accessdate=30 March 2023|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331000959/https://www.richmond.gov.uk/media/6327/local_history_white_lodge.pdf|url-status=live}} In 1931, the Canadian prime minister, R. B. Bennett, considered Albert for Governor General of Canada—a proposal that King George V rejected on the advice of the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, J. H. Thomas.Howarth, p. 53

{{Main|Abdication of Edward VIII}}

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."Ziegler, p. 199 On 20 January 1936, George V died and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. In the Vigil of the Princes, Prince Albert and his three brothers (the new king, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Prince George, Duke of Kent) took a shift standing guard over their father's body as it lay in state, in a closed casket, in Westminster Hall.

As Edward was unmarried and had no children, Albert was the heir presumptive to the throne. Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, Edward abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson, who was divorced from her first husband and divorcing her second. Edward had been advised by British prime minister Stanley 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.Judd, p. 140 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."Wheeler-Bennett, p. 286

On the day of Edward's abdication, the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Irish Free State, removed all direct mention of the monarch from the Irish constitution. The next day, it passed the External 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.Townsend, p. 93

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.Bradford, p. 208; Judd, pp. 141–142 This seems to have been suggested on the grounds that Prince George was at that time the only brother with a son.Howarth, p. 63; Judd, p. 135

File:1 crown George VI 1937.png with George in profile, 1937]]

File:Coronation of H.M. George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpg

Albert assumed the regnal name "George VI" to emphasise continuity with his father and restore confidence in the monarchy.Howarth, p. 66; Judd, p. 141 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,Judd, p. 144; Sinclair, p. 224 but George VI felt that by abdicating and renouncing the succession, Edward had lost the right to bear royal titles, including "Royal Highness".Howarth, p. 143 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 the letters patent creating the dukedom prevented any wife or children from bearing royal styles. George VI was forced to buy from Edward the royal residences of Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House, as these were private properties and did not pass to him automatically.Ziegler, p. 326 Three days after his accession, on his 41st birthday, he invested his wife, the new queen consort, with the Order of the Garter.Bradford, p. 223

File:Radio Times - 1937-05-07 - front cover - Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson.png, drawn by C. 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 for Edward's coronation. In a break with tradition, Queen Mary attended the ceremony in a show of support for her son.Bradford, p. 214 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.Vickers, p. 175 Rising Indian nationalism made the welcome that the royal party would have received likely to be muted at best,Bradford, p. 209 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.Bradford, pp. 269, 281

The growing likelihood of war in Europe dominated the early reign of George VI. The King was constitutionally bound to support British prime minister Neville Chamberlain's appeasement of Hitler.Sinclair, p. 230 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. While broadly popular among the general public, Chamberlain's policy towards Hitler was the subject of some opposition in the House of Commons, which led historian and politician John 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".Hitchens, Christopher (1 April 2002), [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/apr/01/queenmother.monarchy9 "Mourning will be brief"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028043217/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/apr/01/queenmother.monarchy9 |date=28 October 2017 }}, The Guardian, retrieved 1 May 2009

File:FDR-George-VI-Potomac-June-9-1939-2-detail-crop.jpg and Eleanor Roosevelt with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, on the USS Potomac, 9 June 1939]]

In May and June 1939, the King 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. From Ottawa, George and Elizabeth were accompanied by Canadian prime minister Mackenzie King,{{citation| url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/king/023011-1070.06-e.html| last=Library and Archives Canada| author-link=Library and Archives Canada| title=Biography and People > A Real Companion and Friend > Behind the Diary > Politics, Themes, and Events from King's Life > The Royal Tour of 1939| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=12 December 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030064730/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/king/023011-1070.06-e.html| archive-date=30 October 2009| df=dmy-all}} to present themselves in North America as King and Queen of Canada.{{citation| last=Bousfield| first=Arthur| author2=Toffoli, Garry| title=Royal Spring: The Royal Tour of 1939 and the Queen Mother in Canada| publisher=Dundurn Press| year=1989| location=Toronto| pages=60, 66| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Go5p_CN8UQC| isbn=978-1-55002-065-6| access-date=21 September 2020| archive-date=18 March 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318025506/https://books.google.com/books?id=1Go5p_CN8UQC| url-status=live}}{{citation| last=Lanctot| first=Gustave| author-link=Gustave Lanctot| title=Royal Tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Canada and the United States of America 1939| publisher=E.P. Taylor Foundation| year=1964| location=Toronto}} Both Mackenzie King and the Canadian governor general, Lord Tweedsmuir, hoped that George's presence in Canada would demonstrate the principles of the Statute of Westminster 1931, which gave full sovereignty to the British Dominions. On 19 May, George personally accepted and approved the letter of credence of the new U.S. ambassador to Canada, Daniel Calhoun Roper; gave royal assent to nine parliamentary bills; and ratified two international treaties with the Great 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".{{citation| last=Galbraith| first=William| title=Fiftieth Anniversary of the 1939 Royal Visit| journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review| volume=12| issue=3| pages=7–9| year=1989| url=http://www.revparl.ca/english/issue.asp?art=820¶m=130| access-date=24 March 2015| archive-date=7 August 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807152733/http://www.revparl.ca/english/issue.asp?art=820¶m=130| url-status=live}}

The trip was intended to soften the strong isolationist 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.Judd, pp. 163–166; Rhodes James, pp. 154–168; Vickers, p. 187 The fear that George would be compared unfavourably to his predecessor was dispelled.Bradford, pp. 298–299 They visited the 1939 New York World's Fair and stayed with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House and at his private estate at Hyde Park, New York.The Times Monday, 12 June 1939 p. 12 col. A 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.{{citation |last=Swift |first=Will |title=The Roosevelts and the Royals: Franklin and Eleanor, the King and Queen of England, and the Friendship that Changed History |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2004}}Judd, p. 189; Rhodes James, p. 344

File:Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. CH20901.jpg

Following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the United Kingdom and the self-governing Dominions other than Ireland declared war on Nazi Germany.Judd, pp. 171–172; Townsend, p. 104 The King and Queen resolved to stay in London, despite German bombing raids. They officially stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war, although they usually spent nights at Windsor Castle.Judd, p. 183; Rhodes James, p. 214 The first night of the Blitz on London, on 7 September 1940, killed about one thousand civilians, mostly in the East End.{{citation|last=Arnold-Forster|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Arnold-Forster|year=1983|orig-year=1973|title=The World at War|location=London|publisher=Thames Methuen|isbn=978-0-423-00680-3|page=303}} On 13 September, the couple narrowly avoided death when two German bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace while they were there.{{citation |last=Churchill |first=Winston |author-link=Winston Churchill |title=The Second World War |publisher=Cassell and Co. Ltd |year=1949 |volume=II |page=334}} 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."Judd, p. 184; Rhodes James, pp. 211–212; Townsend, p. 111 The royal family were portrayed as sharing the same dangers and deprivations as the rest of the country. They were subject to British rationing restrictions, and the U.S. first lady Eleanor Roosevelt remarked on the rationed food served and the limited bathwater that was permitted during a stay at the unheated and boarded-up Palace.{{citation|last=Goodwin|first=Doris Kearns|author-link=Doris Kearns Goodwin|title=No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1994|page=380}} In August 1942, the King's brother, the Duke of Kent, was killed on active service.Judd, p. 187; Weir, p. 324

File:King George VI with Sir Bernard Montgomery.jpg (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 appoint Lord Halifax.Judd, p. 180 After the King's initial dismay over Churchill's appointment of Lord Beaverbrook to the Cabinet, he and Churchill developed "the closest personal relationship in modern British history between a monarch and a Prime Minister".Rhodes James, p. 195 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.Rhodes James, pp. 202–210 George related much of what the two discussed in his diary, which is the only extant first-hand account of these conversations.Weisbrode, Kenneth (2013), Churchill and the King, New York: Viking, pp. 107, 117–118, 148, 154–155, 166. {{ISBN|978-0670025763}}.

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 and Malta in June 1943, Normandy in June 1944, southern Italy in July 1944, and the Low Countries in October 1944.Judd, pp. 176, 201–203, 207–208 Their high public profile and apparently indefatigable determination secured their place as symbols of national resistance.Judd, p. 170 At a social function in 1944, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Field Marshal Alan Brooke, revealed that every time he met Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, he thought Montgomery was after his job. George replied: "You should worry, when I meet him, I always think he's after mine!"{{citation|author=Reagan, Geoffrey|year=1992|title=Military Anecdotes|page=25|publisher=Guinness|isbn=978-0-85112-519-0}}

In 1945, crowds shouted "We want the King!" in front of Buckingham Palace during the Victory 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.Judd, p. 210 In January 1946, George addressed the United 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".Townsend, p. 173

File:Attlee with GeorgeVI HU 59486.jpg

George VI's reign saw the acceleration of the dissolution of the British Empire. The Statute of Westminster 1931 had already acknowledged the evolution of the Dominions into separate sovereign states. The process of transformation from an empire to a voluntary association of independent states, known as the Commonwealth, gathered pace after the Second World War.Townsend, p. 176 During the ministry of Clement Attlee, British India became the two independent Dominions of India and Pakistan in August 1947.Townsend, pp. 229–232, 247–265 George relinquished the title of Emperor of India,{{Citation |title=A proclamation by the King, 22 June 1948 |author=Published by Authority |journal=Supplement to the Belfast Gazette - Official Public Record |issue=1408 |page=153 |date=18 June 1948 |url= https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Belfast/issue/1408/page/153|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905023508/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Belfast/issue/1408/page/153|archive-date=5 September 2021|url-status=live|mode=cs2}} and became King of India and King of Pakistan instead. In late April 1949, the Commonwealth leaders issued the London Declaration, which laid the foundation of the modern Commonwealth and recognised George as Head of the Commonwealth.{{citation| url=https://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/history-items/documents/London%20Declaration%20of%201949.pdf| title=London Declaration 1949| publisher=Commonwealth Secretariat| access-date=2 April 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927031216/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/files/214257/FileName/TheLondonDeclaration1949.pdf| archive-date=27 September 2012| url-status=live}}{{citation|title=The London Declaration of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers, April 28, 1949|author=S. A. de Smith|journal=The Modern Law Review|year=1949|volume=12|issue=3|pages=351–354|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2230.1949.tb00131.x|jstor=1090506|doi-access=free}}{{citation|page=118|title=Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family: A Glorious Illustrated History|isbn=9780241296653|year=2016|publisher=Dorling Kindersley}} 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 as Burma in January 1948, Palestine (divided between Israel and the Arab states) in May 1948 and the Republic of Ireland in 1949.Townsend, pp. 267–270

In 1947, George and his family toured southern Africa.Townsend, pp. 221–223 The prime minister of the Union of South Africa, Jan Smuts, was facing an election and hoped to make political capital out of the visit.Judd, p. 223 George was appalled, however, when instructed by the South African government to shake hands only with whites,Rhodes James, p. 295 and referred to his South African bodyguards as "the Gestapo".Rhodes James, p. 294; Shawcross, p. 618 Despite the tour, Smuts lost the election the following year, and the new government instituted a strict policy of racial segregation.

{{main|Death and state funeral of George VI}}

The stress of the war had taken its toll on George's health,{{citation|publisher=Official website of the British monarchy|title=King George VI|url=https://www.royal.uk/george-vi-r1936-1952|access-date=18 April 2016|date=12 January 2016|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035747/https://www.royal.uk/george-vi-r1936-1952|url-status=live}}Judd, p. 225; Townsend, p. 174 made worse by his heavy smoking,Judd, p. 240 and subsequent development of lung cancer among other ailments, including arteriosclerosis and Buerger'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 right lumbar sympathectomy in March 1949.Rhodes James, pp. 314–317 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.

George was well enough to open the Festival of Britain in May 1951, but on 4 June it was announced that he would need immediate and complete rest for the next four weeks, despite the arrival of Haakon VII of Norway the following afternoon for an official visit.{{citation|work=The Times|title=The King to rest|url=https://login.thetimes.com/?gotoUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetimes.com%2Ftto%2Farchive%2Farticle%2F1951-06-05%2F4%2F17.html|date=5 June 1951|access-date=21 December 2021|archive-date=21 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221222826/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/archive/article/1951-06-05/4/17.html#start%3D1951-01-01%26end%3D1952-01-01%26terms%3D%22The%20king%22%20AND%20%22lung%22%26back%3D/tto/archive/find/%252522The+king%252522+AND+%252522lung%252522/w:1951-01-01%7E1952-01-01/o:date/2%26prev%3D/tto/archive/frame/goto/%252522The+king%252522+AND+%252522lung%252522/w:1951-01-01%7E1952-01-01/o:date/16%26next%3D/tto/archive/frame/goto/%252522The+king%252522+AND+%252522lung%252522/w:1951-01-01%7E1952-01-01/o:date/18|url-status=live}} On 23 September 1951, his left lung was removed in a surgical operation performed by Clement Price Thomas after a malignant tumour was found.Bradford, p. 454; Rhodes James, p. 330 In October 1951, Elizabeth and Philip went on a month-long tour of Canada; the trip had been delayed for a week due to George's illness. At the State Opening of Parliament in November, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Simonds, read the King's speech from the throne.Rhodes James, p. 331 The King's Christmas broadcast of 1951 was recorded in sections, and then edited together.Rhodes James, p. 334

On 31 January 1952, despite advice from those close to him, George went to London Airport{{efn|Renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966.{{citation|url=http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/company-news-and-information/company-information/our-history|title= Heathrow's history |website=Heathrow Airport |publisher=LHR Airports|access-date=9 March 2015|archive-date=3 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003090808/http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/company-news-and-information/company-information/our-history|url-status=dead}}}} to see Elizabeth and Philip off on their tour to Australia via Kenya. It was his last public appearance. Six days later, at 07:30 GMT on the morning of 6 February, he was found dead in bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk.{{citation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/6/newsid_2711000/2711265.stm|title=1952: King George VI dies in his sleep|publisher=BBC|access-date=29 May 2018|date=6 February 1952|archive-date=7 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007104517/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/6/newsid_2711000/2711265.stm|url-status=live}} He had died in the night from a coronary thrombosis at the age of 56.Judd, pp. 247–248 His daughter flew back to Britain from Kenya as Queen Elizabeth II.{{citation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1802079.stm|title=The day the King died|publisher=BBC|date=6 February 2002|access-date=29 May 2018|archive-date=30 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530041904/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1802079.stm|url-status=live}}

From 9 February George's coffin rested in St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, before lying in state at Westminster Hall from 11 February.{{citation|title=Repose at Sandringham|magazine=Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dFQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38|access-date=26 December 2011|date=18 February 1952|publisher=Time Inc|page=38|issn=0024-3019|archive-date=3 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603182415/http://books.google.com/books?id=dFQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38|url-status=live}} His funeral took place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 15 February.{{citation|first=Ina |last=Zweiniger-Bargielowska| title=Royal death and living memorials: the funerals and commemoration of George V and George VI, 1936–52 |journal=Historical Research |volume=89 |issue=243 |year=2016 |pages=158–175 |doi=10.1111/1468-2281.12108}} He was interred initially in the Royal Vault until he was transferred to the King George VI Memorial Chapel inside St George's on 26 March 1969.{{citation|url=http://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connection/burial/burials-in-the-chapel-since-1805.html|title=Royal Burials in the Chapel since 1805|publisher=Dean & Canons of Windsor|access-date=15 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927024852/http://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/about-st-georges/royal-connection/burial/burials-in-the-chapel-since-1805.html|archive-date=27 September 2011}} 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.{{citation|title=Mourners visit Queen Mother's vault|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1920360.stm|access-date=2 March 2018|work=BBC News|date=10 April 2002|archive-date=7 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207174725/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1920360.stm|url-status=live}} In 2022, the remains of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, were also interred in the chapel.{{citation |title=Your complete guide to the Queen's funeral |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60617519 |work=BBC News |date=19 September 2022 |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909001318/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60617519 |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Cultural depictions of George VI}}

File:George VI - Statue - Carlton House Terrace - London - 310504.jpg (1955) at Carlton House Terrace, Westminster]]

In the words of Labour Member of Parliament (MP) George Hardie, the abdication crisis of 1936 did "more for republicanism than fifty years of propaganda".Hardie in the British House of Commons, 11 December 1936, quoted in Rhodes James, p. 115 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".Letter from George VI to the Duke of Windsor, quoted in Rhodes James, p. 127 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.{{Citation|last=Ashley|first=Mike|author-link=Mike Ashley (writer)|year=1998|title=British Monarchs|publisher=Robinson|location=London|isbn=978-1-84119-096-9|pages=703–704}}Judd, pp. 248–249

The George Cross and the George Medal were founded at the King's suggestion during the Second World War to recognise acts of exceptional civilian bravery.Judd, p. 186; Rhodes James, p. 216 He bestowed the George Cross on the entire "island fortress of Malta" in 1943.Townsend, p. 137 He was posthumously awarded the Order 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.{{citation|url=http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_doc/liste_compagnons.pdf|publisher=Ordre de la Libération|access-date=19 September 2009|title=List of Companions|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306131445/http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_doc/liste_compagnons.pdf|archive-date=6 March 2009}}

Colin Firth won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as George VI in the 2010 film The King's Speech.{{citation |last1=Brooks |first1=Xan |title=Colin Firth takes the best actor crown at the Oscars |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/feb/28/colin-firth-best-actor-oscar |access-date=17 August 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=28 February 2011 |language=en |mode=cs2 |archive-date=17 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817193637/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/feb/28/colin-firth-best-actor-oscar |url-status=live }}

{{clear}}

{{Main|List of titles and honours of George VI}}

As Duke of York, Albert bore the royal arms of the United Kingdom differenced with a label of three points argent, the centre point bearing an anchor azure—a difference earlier awarded to his father, George V, when he was Duke of York, and then later awarded to his grandson Prince Andrew, Duke of York. As king he bore the royal arms undifferenced.{{cite web|last=Velde|first=François|date=19 April 2008|url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm|title=Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317070105/http://www.heraldica.org/topics/britain/cadency.htm|archive-date=17 March 2018|website=Heraldica|access-date=22 April 2009|url-status=live|mode=cs2}}

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|image1 =Coat of Arms of Albert, Duke of York.svg

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|caption2 =Coat of arms as King of the United Kingdom

|image3 =Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom in Scotland (1837-1952).svg

|caption3 =Coat of arms in Scotland

|image4 =Royal Coat of Arms of Canada (1921–1957).svg

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{{See also|Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark}}

{{ahnentafel

|collapsed=yes |align=center

|ref={{citation |title=Burke's Guide to the Royal Family |publisher=Burke's Peerage |location=London |editor-last=Montgomery-Massingberd |editor-first=Hugh |editor-link=Hugh Massingberd |year=1973 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/burkesguidetoroy00lond/page/252 252, 293, 307] |chapter=The Royal Lineage |isbn=0-220-66222-3 |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/burkesguidetoroy00lond |url=https://archive.org/details/burkesguidetoroy00lond/page/252 }}

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|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;

|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;

|1= 1. George VI of the United Kingdom

|2= 2. George V of the United Kingdom

|3= 3. Princess Victoria Mary of Teck

|4= 4. Edward VII of the United Kingdom

|5= 5. Princess Alexandra of Denmark

|6= 6. Francis, Duke of Teck

|7= 7. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge

|8= 8. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

|9= 9. Victoria of the United Kingdom

|10= 10. Christian IX of Denmark

|11= 11. Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel

|12= 12. Duke Alexander of Württemberg

|13= 13. Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde

|14= 14. Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge

|15= 15. Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel

}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Bradford |first=Sarah |year=1989 |title=King George VI |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=978-0-297-79667-1}}
• {{Cite book |last=Howarth |first=Patrick |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780091710002 |title=George VI |publisher=Hutchinson |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-09-171000-2 |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book |first=Denis |last=Judd |year=1982 |title=King George VI |location=London |publisher=Michael Joseph |isbn=978-0-7181-2184-6}}
• {{Cite ODNB |last=Matthew |first=H. C. G. |author-link=Colin Matthew |year=2004 |title=George VI (1895–1952) |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/33370}}
• {{Cite book |last=Rhodes James |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Rhodes James |year=1998 |title=A Spirit Undaunted: The Political Role of George VI |location=London |publisher=Little, Brown and Co |isbn=978-0-316-64765-6}}
• {{Cite book |last=Shawcross |first=William |author-link=William Shawcross |year=2009 |title=Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: The Official Biography |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4050-4859-0}}
• {{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=David |year=1988 |title=Two Georges: The Making of the Modern Monarchy |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |isbn=978-0-340-33240-5}}
• {{Cite book |last=Townsend |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Townsend (RAF officer) |year=1975 |title=The Last Emperor |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=978-0-297-77031-2}}
• {{Cite book |last=Vickers |first=Hugo |title=Elizabeth: The Queen Mother |year=2006 |publisher=Arrow Books/Random House |isbn=978-0-09-947662-7}}
• {{Cite book |last=Wheeler-Bennett |first=Sir John |author-link=John Wheeler-Bennett |year=1958 |title=King George VI: His Life and Reign |publisher=St Martin's Press |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/kinggeorgevihisl00whee}}
• {{Cite book |last=Weir |first=Alison |author-link=Alison Weir (historian) |year=1996 |title=Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, Revised Edition |location=London |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-7126-7448-5}}
• {{Cite book |last=Windsor |first=The Duke of |author-link=Edward VIII |title=A King's Story |location=London |publisher=Cassell & Co Ltd |year=1951}}
• {{Cite book |last=Ziegler |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Ziegler |year=1990 |title=King Edward VIII: The Official Biography |location=London |publisher=Collins |isbn=978-0-00-215741-4}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-George VI-article.ogg|date=12 July 2014}}

{{Sister project links| wikt=no | commons=George VI of the United Kingdom | b=no | n=no | q=George VI of the United Kingdom | s=Author:George VI of the United Kingdom | v=no | voy=no | species=no | d=q280856}}

• [https://www.royal.uk/george-vi George VI] at the website of the Royal Family
• [https://www.rct.uk/collection/people/king-george-vi-king-of-the-united-kingdom-1895-1952#/type/subject George VI] at the website of the Royal Collection Trust
• {{youTube|id=p1TubkzxPFY|title=Footage of King George VI stammering in a 1938 speech}}
• {{youTube|id=m-vlrXBqGw8|title=Soundtrack of King George VI Coronation speech in 1937}}
• {{NPG name|name=King George VI}}
• {{PM20|FID=pe/005986}}

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{{S-hou|House of Windsor|14 December|1895|6 February|1952|}}

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{{S-ttl|title=King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions|years=1936–1952}}

{{S-aft|after=Elizabeth II}}

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{{S-ttl|title=Emperor of India¹|years=1936–1947}}

{{S-non|reason=Partition of India}}

{{S-npo|mason}}

{{S-bef|before=Iain Colquhoun}}

{{S-ttl|title=Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland|years=1936–1937}}

{{S-aft|after=Norman Orr-Ewing}}

{{S-hon}}

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{{S-ttl|title=Air commodore-in-chief of the Air Training Corps|years=1941–1952}}

{{S-aft|after=The Duke of Edinburgh}}

{{S-ref|Indian Empire dissolved 15 August 1947. Title abandoned 22 June 1948 ({{London Gazette|issue=38330|page=3647|date=22 June 1948}})}}

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