His Late Majesty King George VI was born to Queen Mary Of Teck and King George V on the 14th December 1895. He was the second oldest sibling. He was named Prince Albert but was known by close family and friends as Bertie.
When he was born His great grandmother Queen Victoria was still Queen and he was quite far down the line of succession. On the 22nd January 1901 his great grandmother Queen Victoria passed away at the age of 81. Her son King Edward VII became King at the age of 59 and his son Prince Albert Victor was meant to be heir to the throne but died tragically at the age of 28 1892 after suffering with pneumonia but Bertie's father the later George V became heir to the throne.
Bertie's upbringing was quite difficult, He was very sensitive and suffered with a stutter for all of his life. He was schooled by a tutor. He also attended Royal Navel College in 1909 as a navel cadet. In 1911 he came to the bottom of his class with the finals. By the time he finished navel college his grandfather King Edward VII passed away and his father became King George V upon his succession Bertie was 2nd in line to the throne after his older brother Edward.
Bertie spent the first 6 months in 1913 on a training ship HMS Cumberland in the west indies and the east coast of Canada. Three weeks after the outbreak of World War One he was medically evacuated from the ship to Aberdeen where his appendix was removed. In February of 1918 Albert was appointed as an officer in charge of the boys at the Royal Navel Air Services's training area in Cranwell. He was the first royal to be a qualified pilot.
In October 1919 Albert attended Trinity College in Cambridge where he studied history, economics and civics for a year.
In April 1920 he met Elizabeth Bowes Lyon the youngest daughter of The Earl and Countess Strathmore. After their meeting he was determined to marry her, She rejected his proposal twice before saying yes. Albert and Elizabeth married on the 26th April 1923 in Westminster Abbey, The wedding was not broadcast on radio. On their marriage the couple was given new titles The Duke and Duchess Of York.
On the 21st April 1926 the couple welcomed their first child Elizabeth who was later known as Queen Elizabeth II she was known as lilibet by her father. On the 21st August 1930 they welcomed their second child Margaret Rose. They were a very happy little family unit where both parents could raise their children as normal as possible as Albert was 3rd in line to the throne.
1939 became known in the history books as the year of the 3 kings.
After a long illness King George V passed away on the 20th January 1936 and his eldest son and heir became King Edward VIII. As Edward didn't have any children yet his brother Albert became heir to the throne.
Before his succession Edward had met a divorcee named Wallis Simpson and he has the desire to marry her. But at the time The Church Of England never allowed divorced people to remarry and as Head Of The Church Of England his marriage to a divorcee would be totally unacceptable. He has the option to marry her but he had to abdicate the throne and marry in France. On the 10th April 1936 Edward had made the decision to abdicate in order to marry.
Following Edwards abdication his brother Albert as heir to the throne became King George VI. He was known as the reluctant king who never wanted to be king. When he found out that he was going to be king he apparently cried to his mother Queen Mary.
Edward took back His Royal Highness but was styled as The Duke Of Windsor. Meanwhile George was struggling with his stutter and before he became king his wife Elizabeth helped him get someone to help him with his stutter. She hired a speech therapist called Lionel Logue he and Albert practised breathing exercises to help improve his delivery.
His wife who was the new Queen was the biggest support to him when he struggled with his shyness, anxiety and stutter. She became the new Consort where she was styled as Queen Elizabeth.
The coronation took place on the 12th May 1937 at Westminster Abbey. In the same year The Imperial State Crown was commissioned where the sovereign can exchange crowns as the St Edward's Crown was too heavy. This was the same when his daughter was crowned in 1953 and more recently when his grandson was crowned in 2023.
In September 1939 was the outbreak of the Second World War The King and Queen resolved to stay in London throughout the war. They officially spent all their time at Buckingham Palace although they spent nights at Windsor Castle. On the 13th September 1940 Buckingham Palace was bombed while The King and Queen were in residence, they weren't injured but there was quite a lot of damage.
After Buckingham Palace was bombed The King and Queen could now relate to others who had their houses bombed. Instead of evacuation the couple insisted on staying in London to support and visit the people who have had their houses bombed. Meanwhile their children Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Windsor Castle for safety.
Throughout the war Their Majesties provided moral support and to try and boost the spirits in the best way they can.
In May 1945 Victory In Europe was celebrated as the war came to an end. There were celebrations all around the country including London where people surrounded Buckingham Palace shouting "We want the king." The King along with the other members of the royal family as well as Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to celebrate with the rest of the world.
King George VI's reign saw the creation of The Commonwealth where he became head of state to the growing Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is a union of countries and states where people come together and become allies. The Commonwealth now includes 56 member counties under the same head of state who is now King Charles III.
In April 1947 The King and his family toured Southern Africa. This is where Princess Elizabeth made her groundbreaking 21st birthday speech where she pledged her life to devotion and service "I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it will be long or short, will be devoted to your service"
In the same year in November Princess Elizabeth married Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey which was televised and broadcast to the radio. A year later on 14th November Albert became a grandfather for the first time with the birth of his grandson Prince Charles Of Edinburgh later King Charles III to whom he absolutely adored. By 15th August 1950 his second grandchild Princess Anne Of Edinburgh was born.
His health had deteriorated with the stress of the Second World War. By 1949 he was diagnosed with lung cancer as he was a heavy smoker.
In 1951 he went under surgery to remove his left lung after a tumour was found. During his recovery and rest his daughter Elizabeth and her husband The Duke Of Edinburgh took up most of his duties including various tours that were planned for The King.
It was discovered that he had a tumour on his right lung during surgery and doctors told him that he didn't have that much time to live. The King didn't tell anyone about his declining health only his doctors and the Prime Minister knew, His family were none the wiser. By Christmas 1951 he spent his final months with his family at Sandringham which is where royals normally spend the holidays. When he delivered his final Christmas speech he was declining and if you hear the speech you can hear that he wasn't very well at all. According to insiders the speech had to be recorded in sections and edited together.
On 31st January 1952 despite his declining health he insisted on going to London airport to see his daughter and son-in-law off for a tour to South Africa on his behalf. Little did anyone know that that would be his final public appearance.
The day before his death he spent his final hours doing what he loved doing best which was shooting and singing with friends and family. It was also speculated that Albert read poems to his two grandchildren Charles and Anne before he died.
On the 6th February 1952 at 7:30am King George passed away peacefully in his sleep and was found dead when his butler brought his usual morning tea. He died on the Sandringham estate where he spent Christmas and The New Year.
The new Queen was all the way in South Africa when her father died and didn't find out straight away. They kept the announcement until the new Queen was informed. His widow was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother as she was a Queen and she was also the mother of a sovereign.
A year after her son died Queen Mary Of Teck passed away from lung cancer at the age of 85. She died on the 24th March 1953 three months before her granddaughters coronation.
His funeral took place on the 15th February 1952 at Westminster Abbey and his body was transferred to Windsor where he was committed to the vault of St George's Chapel. In 1969 his body was transferred to the St George VI memorial chapel on the 26th March 1969. 50 years later in 2002 the remains of his widow Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the ashes of their younger daughter Margaret were buried alongside him.
In 2022 70 years later their eldest daughter Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully at the age of 96 years old. She was buried along with her husband who died a year earlier in 2021 in the same memorial chapel.
His legacy now lives on in his grandson King Charles III who is very similar to his grandfather. Charles is a very sensitive man which I think he took after his grandfather King George VI. And Charles is married to Camilla who in my opinion reminds me of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother when it comes to supporting their Kings.
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