George VI

King of the United Kingdom from 1936 to 1952

Photo by: Matson Photo Service · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Born:December 14, 1895

Died:February 6, 1952

Age at death:56

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Lung Cancer

Zodiac Sign:Sagittarius

Born in:York Cottage, United Kingdom

Residence:Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom

Buried in:United Kingdom

Languages:English

Military Officer Tennis Player Aristocrat Monarch

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Photo credits (9)

George VI:
Photo by: Matson Photo Service · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon:
Photo by: Richard Stone · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
Elizabeth II:
Photo by: Donald McKague · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
Mary of Teck:
Photo by: Bain News Service; edited by Fir0002 · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
George V:
Photo by: Bassano Ltd · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
Edward VIII:
Photo by: Attributed to Angelo Laviosa / Formerly attributed to Vincenzo Laviosa · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh:
Photo by: UKinUSA · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Charles III:
Photo by: White House · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons
Edward VII:
Photo by: Edward Poynter · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Links

Wikipedia IMDb

Awards

Albert Medal (1951)Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of William (1946)Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-apostles (1938)Royal Victorian Chain (1927)Knight of the Order of the Elephant (1920)

George VI

King of the United Kingdom from 1936 to 1952

Biography

George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, though the title was only formally relinquished in June 1948. Following the London Declaration of 1949, he was the first Head of the Commonwealth. The future George VI was born during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria; he was named Albert at birth after his late great-grandfather Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and was known as "Bertie" to his family and close friends. His father ascended the throne as George 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, the heir apparent. Albert attended naval college as a teenager and served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during the First World War. In 1920, he was made Duke of York. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. In the mid-1920s, he engaged speech therapist Lionel Logue to treat his stutter, which he learned to manage to some degree. His elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII after their father died in 1936, but Edward abdicated later that year to marry the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. As heir presumptive to Edward VIII, Albert became king, taking the regnal name George VI. His coronation took place in 1937. In September 1939, the British Empire and most Commonwealth countries – but not Ireland – declared war on Nazi Germany, following the invasion of Poland. War with the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire 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 during the Blitz while the King and Queen were there, and his younger brother the Duke of Kent was killed in a plane crash while on active service. George VI 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 had largely broken away, followed by the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. The King 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 at Sandringham House, aged 56, of a coronary thrombosis. He was succeeded by his elder daughter, Elizabeth II.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “George VI”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“You've been pretty unlucky with the weather, Mr Piper.”

— On seeing John Piper's dark views of Windsor Castle painted during the last war. Given in Times Literary Supplement, 7 October 1994, page 25.

“We are not a family, we are a firm.”

— On the Royal family, quoted by A. B. Baxter in Destiny Called to Them (Oxford University Press, 1939)

“The highest of distinctions is service to others.”

— Taken from the British Royal Family History website, [1]

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "George VI", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Portrait of George VI (1895–1952)

Title : King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the state opening of Parliament, Ottawa, Ontario / Creator(s) : Unknown Date(s) : 1948 Reference No. : MIKAN 4312140, 4312480 collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&... collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&... Location : Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Credit : National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque. Library and Archives Canada, e010955855 /

L-r: Margaret Rhodes, Pamela Hicks, Queen Mary, Mary Whitley, Princess Alice, Princess Alexandra, Prince William of Gloucester, David Mountbatten, Princess Elizabeth, Philip Mountbatten, Prince Michael of Kent, Princess Margaret, Caroline Gilmour, George VI, Elizabeth Longman, Queen Elizabeth, Diana Somervell, Victoria Mountbatten

Identificatie Titel(s): Minister presidenten Attlee, Ali Khan, Chifley en Malan op bezoek bij koning George VI Koning George VI met Attlee, Ali Kahn, Chifley en Malan, 1949 (titel op object) Objecttype: foto Objectnummer: RP-F-F01480 Vervaardiging Vervaardiger: fotograaf: International News Photos (vermeld op object) Plaats vervaardiging: Londen Datering: 21-apr-1949 Materiaal en Techniek Fysieke kenmerken: ontwikkelgelatinezilverdruk op fotopapier Materiaal: fotodrager Techniek: ontwikkelgelatinezilverdruk Afmetingen: foto: hoogte 150 mm × breedte 203 mm Onderwerp Waar: Buckingham Palace Wie: George VI (koning van het Verenigd Koninkrijk), Liaquat Ali Khan, Clement Attlee, Ben Chifley, Daniël F. Malan Verwerving en rechten: Verwerving: overdracht van beheer 1994 Copyright: Publiek domein

Identificatie Titel(s): Koningin Juliana en Koning George VI in een rijtuig Queen Juliana waves to the crowds as she drives with H.M The King from Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace (titel op object) Objecttype: foto Objectnummer: RP-F-F01335 Opschriften / Merken: onderschrift, verso, gedrukt: ‘State visit of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard’ Vervaardiging Vervaardiger: fotograaf: Sport & General Press Agency (vermeld op object) Plaats vervaardiging: Londen Datering: 21-nov-1950 Materiaal en Techniek Fysieke kenmerken: ontwikkelgelatinezilverdruk op fotopapier Materiaal: papier fotodrager Techniek: ontwikkelgelatinezilverdruk Afmetingen: foto: hoogte 151 mm × breedte 207 mm Onderwerp Waar: Londen Wie: Juliana (koningin der Nederlanden), George VI (koning van het Verenigd Koninkrijk) Verwerving en rechten: Verwerving: overdracht van beheer 1994 Copyright: Publiek domein