GEORGE VI OF THE UK: BIOGRAPHY, THRONE, ACCOLADES - ARTE - 2025

George VI of the United Kingdom (1895-1952) was the fourth King of England belonging to the House of Windsor. He came to the throne in late 1936, after his brother Edward VIII renounced his royal obligations to marry a woman who had been divorced twice.

He was well known for having a speech problem that caused him to stutter. Although it enjoyed great esteem of the English town since it stayed in London during World War II facing the bombings of the troops of the German army.

Source: United Nations Information Office, no. 7946. Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944., via Wikimedia Commons.

The Crown underwent great changes throughout his reign, especially as many English colonies began to claim their independence. That is why under her reign the Commonwealth of Nations (Commonwealth in English) was created, in order to recognize the rights of nations linked to the United Kingdom, although without obligation of submission.

Likewise, the members of this Commonwealth have always respected the figure of kings.

He lasted 16 years as King of England, a position he held until the day of his death. In addition, he was the father of the current Queen of England, Elizabeth II, who has been on the throne for almost 70 years.

Biography

The full name of George VI when he was baptized was Alberto Frederick Arthur George. He was born on December 14, 1895, to the royal family's country house in Norfolk, popularly known as the Sandringham house. His birth occurred while his great-grandmother Victoria was the Queen of England.

Jorge VI was born thanks to the union between Jorge V and María de Teck. His father came to the throne in 1910 when George VI was barely 15 years old.

The future king was baptized as Albert in honor of his great-grandfather, Queen Victoria's husband, Albert of Saxony who had passed away in 1861. He was affectionately known by all members of the royal family as Bertie. At birth he received his first royal title which was Prince Albert of York.

Curiosities

One of the most obvious characteristics of King George Vi was that from a young age he suffered from stuttering. This caused that he received a great amount of nicknames, ridicule and that many times his capacity to take the reins of the Crown was doubted.

He was also left-handed, but was forced to write using only his right hand.

Historians have emphasized that as a child he was very prone to various diseases. This was also noticeable on a physical level, since he suffered from a deformity known as Genu valgus that consisted of a deviation of the legs that causes the knees to stay together.

Studies and military life

George VI's education focused on the military and at the age of 14 he entered the Naval College in Osborne. He began his training as a cadet. He was not a particularly outstanding student, he was even last in his class, but he still managed to enter Dartmouth, the United Kingdom Naval school.

At the age of 18 he was already part of the British Royal Navy and a few months later he participated in the First World War. She was aboard the ship HMS Collingwood during the Battle of Jutland from which the British came out the winners.

Over the years he received various positions and roles within the British armed forces. He was first in charge of the institution in Cranwell where new members of the Naval Air Service were trained.

Later, the Royal Air Force was created in the United Kingdom, where George VI was sent and appointed commanding officer. He remained in this branch of the Armed Forces until August 1918.

He became part of the Independent Air Force in the French city of Nancy. With the end of the First World War, George VI was appointed to administrative positions in the Air Force.

By 1919 he entered Trinity College, which is part of the University of Cambridge. There he devoted himself to studying history and economics, but only stayed for a year.

Obligations like royalty

In 1920 Alberto received the noble title of Duke of York, which is a title that is always received by the second son of the king or queen at that time. In addition he was also named Earl of Inverness and Baron of Killarney.

From that moment he began to attend multiple events on behalf of his father. It was very normal to see him visiting mines or factories of the time, which is why he became known as the industrial prince.

Family

Also in 1920 the then prince met Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She was the daughter of a well-known aristocratic family in the United Kingdom, whose parents were the Earls of Strathmore.

At that time, the custom was that royals could only marry other members of royal families.

Despite everything, they were married in 1923, but the prince had to make the marriage proposal up to three times to his future wife who had some doubts about being part of the royal family and the sacrifices that this required.

The marriage took place at Westminster Abbey. It was one of the most remembered weddings for having been one of the first samples of modernity of the Crown when accepting a commoner.

The couple only had two daughters: Isabel (the current queen) and Margarita.

Arrival to the throne

The coronation of Albert as King of England was full of controversies since it was not in the plans that he was the successor of his father. Edward VIII was designated to occupy the throne after the death of George V.

Edward VIII was appointed king on January 20, 1936, the date George V died, but he did not last even a year on the throne. His coronation never even took place.

It was all because Eduardo announced that he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, a commoner American woman who had already had two divorces. All characteristics prohibited by the church monarchy. To marry, Eduardo had to renounce the Crown and any royal title.

He finally resigned the throne on December 11, 1936 to fulfill his personal wish. That same day, Alberto was designated like new king of England. He chose the name George VI in order to show that he would follow the same line as his father's reign.

It was a very complicated promotion because of all the family conflicts surrounding the appointment and because a few years later World War II began. Without a doubt, the first litmus test for him to demonstrate his leadership.

Jorge's coronation occurred in May of the following year, on the same date that had been scheduled to crown his brother. Queen Maria was present to witness the coronation of her son.

Speech problems

George VI had problems from an early age to pronounce the letter K. He was speechless with the words that had that letter and this caused a stutter that followed him for many years. It was a more than curious problem that the king could not pronounce such important words for royalty as king or duke ('king' and 'duk e' in English).

This setback was made even more noticeable by the nascent media presence around the world. It was expected that the king would address the population by radio and that his visits or royal engagements would be recorded by the cameras of the time.

Stuttering was especially mocked by the Germans, who referred to George VI as the "stuttering king."

Lionel logue

It was very important for King George VI to work with Lionel George Logue, an Australian-born speech therapist who helped him overcome his stuttering. It was very common to see Logue at all the important events the king attended, including his coronation.

Logue came to immortalize the king's characteristic notes in his notes. He said of George VI that he was a person of great nervousness. The formula he used to treat the king was through approaches that had more to do with psychological aspects.

Upgrades

The story of how George VI dealt with his stuttering and what it meant to the English people during World War II has been spread throughout history. The film The King's Speech (2010) focuses its argument on this issue.

In the end, this George VI problem turned into a symbol. The way he dealt with it allowed him to gain even more support from the English people and respect.

Death

All the problems that arose from the Second World War, which ended in 1945, greatly affected George VI's health. He suffered from lung cancer, a blockage in an artery in his right leg and pneumonia. Even his left lung was removed.

During all these years of illness, Princess Elizabeth had to assume many of her father's responsibilities as king.

Finally George VI died in the Sandringham house, the same place where he was born, from a coronary thrombosis on February 6, 1952. He was only 56 years old.

He passed away in his sleep. It was found in the morning and around noon the information was made known to the English people. That same day his daughter Isabel assumed the Crown with only 25 years.

Thousands of people were witnesses to all the acts of the funeral thanks to the presence of television. Thousands more took to the streets to pay homage to the king.

Recognitions

After his death, George VI received the Cross of the Order of the Liberation from the government of France. It was a distinction given to people who aided France's military victory during World War II.

Many institutions in the UK were named after him (hospitals, motorways, stadiums, etc.)

There are statues of George VI in various iconic locations. One of them is in central London and there is another in Hong Kong.

References

1. Beal, Erica. King Emperor. Collins, 1941.
2. Bradford, Sarah. King George VI. Weidenfeld And Nicolson, 1989.
3. Donaldson, Frances Lonsdale et al. King George VI. And Queen Elizabeth. Lippincott, 1977.
4. Judd, Denis. George VI. Tauris, 2012.
5. Pudney, John. His Majesty, King George VI. Hutchinson, 1952.