Who was George VI?

Answer 1

King George VI (given name Albert) was a shy, introvert, brought up in the shadow of his elder brother, and the heir to the throne, the charismatic Prince David, Prince of Wales (who reigned for 11 months as Edward VIII before abdicating the Throne in order to marry twice-divorced US socialite Wallis Simpson.) When he learned from his mother Queen Mary, that his brother would abdicate the next day, and that the throne would pass to him, Prince Albert, Duke of York wrote in his diary "I broke down and sobbed like a child."

Albert was thus thrust, unwillingly into the rôle of King, choosing the regnal name of George VI. At first, the enormity of what had happened overwhelmed him, and his fears were compounded by the fact that he knew the abdication had left the monarchy on the brink of collapse, and that restoration of public confidence in the institution depended on him.

As Prince Albert he had been brought up, like his siblings to fear his father, King George V who famously said 'I was afraid of my father, and I'm going to make damned sure my children are afraid of me.', and indeed both he and his consort Queen Mary seem to have been rather cold, remote parents. This, together with the fact that despite being naturally left-handed, a series of tutors were instructed to force Prince Albert to write with his right hand, is believed to have contributed to his serious stammer, which made public speaking a torture to him (and to his listeners!). However, he was very fortunate in his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who gave him her utmost support, and encouraged him to seek help from the then controversial speech-therapist Lionel Logue. The therapy proved highly successful, and whilst his speech remained throughout his life slightly hesitant, he largely overcame his stammer. There are a few recordings still in existence of his Christmas broadcasts which attest to this.

Within two years of his Coronation, Britain found itself once more at war, and, initially, alone in the fight against Nazi Germany. Helped by a very able Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, the unassuming Royal Family, who remained in London throughout the worst of the bombing (Buckingham Palace itself took a direct hit from a German bomb), became very popular, and a symbol of the 'British Spirit'. The shy, reluctant King became a very popular National figure, as was shown by the million-strong throng who flooded the Mall and the entrance to Buckingham Palace when the war in Europe ended in 1944. Yet, those war years had taken a heavy toll on the health of the King, who was anyway a heavy smoker. And although he addressed the First General Assembly of the United Nations in 1946, he underwent sugery shortly afterwards to remove a clot from one of his legs, and was diagnosed with arteriosclerosis. From 1949, his daughter, Princess Elizabeth increasingly undertook Royal duties on behalf of her frail father, who underwent a pneumonectomy for lung cancer in 1951.

In February 1952, the immensely popular King George VI - who had never wanted the position, but who had won his place in the Nation's heart by his sheer hard-work and devotion to duty - died in his sleep at Sandringham. Princess Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh were staying in a hunting lodge in Kenya, on the first leg of a Commonwealth tour being undertaken in her father's place. It was the Duke of Edinburgh who informed his 25-year-old wife of her father's death, and that she was now Queen Elizabeth II. They flew immediately back to the UK.

Answer 2

King George V was King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India and ruled from 1910 to 1936.

Answer 3

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