George VI

The second son of King George V and his wife, Queen Mary . Albert had four brothers: the future king Edward VIII (1894-1972), Henry, the Duke of Gloucester (1900-1974), George, the Duke of Kent (1902-1942), Prince John (1905-1919), who was autistic and suffered from epilepsy , and sister Mary (1897–1965), married Countess Harwood.

By nature, Albert was a modest and shy person, and also suffered from severe stuttering . However, he worked stubbornly under the guidance of the Australian self-taught speech therapist Lionel Log and as a result almost completely got rid of the disease ^[1] .

Educated at Osborne and the Royal Naval College in Dortmouth; in 1915 received the rank of midshipman and then junior lieutenant . He participated in the Battle of Jutland as the commander of the gun tower on the battleship Collingwood . Further service in the Navy was prevented by diseases: first an attack of appendicitis, then a stomach ulcer . In March 1918 he was transferred to the naval aviation of the Royal Air Force , served as a pilot on the Western Front, and reached the position of flight commander. The service was held under the name Johnson for the purpose of conspiracy. After the war, during 1919 he studied history and economics at Trinity College , University of Cambridge ^{[2] [3]} .

In June 1920 he became the Duke of York , on April 26, 1923, he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon , daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore . He met her back in 1905 (5-year-old Elizabeth treated 10-year-old Albert with candied cherries from the cake). Two children were born in the family: on April 21, 1926 - Princess Elizabeth-Alexandra (future Queen Elizabeth II ), and on August 21, 1930 - Princess Margaret Rose . In 1924-1925, the duke and duchess visited Uganda and Sudan , and in 1927 they visited Australia (Albert opened the Australian Parliament in Canberra ) and New Zealand ^{[4] [5]} .

After the abdication of Brother Edward VIII on December 11, 1936, the Duke of York became King George VI; was crowned May 12, 1937 - on the day previously scheduled for the coronation of his older brother. Unlike his father , George VI was not enthroned in Delhi as emperor of India. A day after the accession of George VI to the throne, the Parliament of the Free State of Ireland adopted a law that effectively eliminated the power of the British king in Ireland . In May - June 1939, the king and queen traveled to Canada and visited the United States .

On the eve of World War II, the king repeatedly intended to personally appeal to Hitler with a "pacifying" message, but invariably received a refusal from Prime Minister Chamberlain , who believed that his diplomacy would be quite enough. In May 1940, the king reluctantly entrusted the formation of a new government to Winston Churchill , who was prejudiced. However, then their relationship became very warm: the king and the prime minister met every Tuesday at lunch, discussing important issues in a relaxed atmosphere. Subsequently, the monarch said that there could be no better prime minister than Churchill. ^{[6] [7]} The King has related much of what the two discussed in his diary, which is the only extant first-hand account of these conversations. ^[8] .

World War II

During the Second World War, the royal couple constantly visited troops, military enterprises, docks and hospitals throughout the country. In December 1939, the king arrived at the location of the British Army in France , and in June 1943, from the board of the Avro York aircraft, he monitored the Allied forces in North Africa. He also visited Algeria , Tripoli and Malta . In 1944, Georg visited Normandy - 10 days after the Allied troops landed there; in July he was in southern Italy , and in October - in Belgium and Holland ^[9] .

In 1940, the residence of the monarch was repeatedly bombed by air; On September 12, a German bomb exploded 20 meters from Buckingham Palace , which affected the king’s health: he could not read, often looked at the sky with concern ^[10] .

In the event of the occupation of Great Britain, the royal family was supposed to be evacuated to Canada. However, the king himself was not going to leave: he intended to stay in the country and participate in the Resistance. To this end, in the years 1940-1941, the king regularly practiced shooting from various types of weapons.

Despite the fact that Great Britain was an ally of the USSR , the king was very wary of the coalition ally.

In 1943, at the personal instruction of the king, the award (ceremonial) sword of Stalingrad was forged, adorned with precious metals and stones. It was intended for the inhabitants of Stalingrad , whose feat was admired by the royal family and the entire British people. On November 29, 1943, the sword was handed over by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Marshall of the Soviet Union Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin in the presence of US President Franklin Roosevelt and the guard of honor at the ceremony dedicated to the opening of the Tehran Conference . Nowadays it is exhibited in the Museum-Panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" in Volgograd .

Recent years and death

In 1945, after the appointment of Clement Attlee as Prime Minister, the king had a significant influence on the head of government, in particular, insisted that Ernst Bevin, known for his anti-communist views, be appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. Georg was also against the wide nationalization of industry, which began under the Laborites .

On February 1, 1947, George VI, the Queen and Princess, sailed from England by sea on a state visit to South Africa. The last years of the reign of George under the Labor government of Attlee were marked by the accelerated collapse of the British Empire and its transformation into the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1948, India gained full independence, in 1949 - Ireland. Giving India independence caused great discontent George. Reluctantly, he gave his consent in November 1947 to the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth , considering Prince Philip Mountbatten not a very brilliant party.

In 1948, during the reign of George VI, Great Britain hosted the XIV Summer Olympics, which took place for the second time in London . At the same time, he opened these games .

In October 1951, Churchill returned to power, always enjoying the support and favor of the king.

In 1948, the royal couple planned a trip to New Zealand and Australia, which was delayed due to the worsening health status of the king. He was diagnosed with lung cancer (the stress of the time of the war adversely affected the health of the monarch, who, in addition, smoked a lot; in September 1951 he was removed one lung) ^[11] . On January 29, 1952, Georg, despite the advice of doctors, arrived at the airport to spend daughter Elizabeth on vacation in Kenya and told her former nanny: “For my sake, look after Lilibet!” ^[12] .

A week later, on February 6, George VI died in Sandringham in a dream from coronary thrombosis ^[13] . Elizabeth returned from Kenya already as a queen ^[14] .

• Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces (December 11, 1936 - February 6, 1952);
• Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Canadian Air Force and Navy (December 11, 1936 - February 6, 1952);
• British Field Marshal (December 12, 1936);
• Fleet Admiral (December 11, 1936);
• Royal Air Force Marshal (December 11, 1936);
  • Vice Marshal of Aviation (June 3, 1932);
  • Air Marshal (January 1, 1936);
  • Chief Marshal of Aviation (1936);
• Royal Australian Air Force Marshal (1939, honorary title);
• Duke of Normandy ( Guernsey and Jersey ) (December 11, 1936 - February 6, 1952);
• lord of the Isle of Man (December 11, 1936 - February 6, 1952) ^[15] .

British

• Alberta Medal (Royal Society of the Arts) (1951)

Other states

1. Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree with swords ( Russian Empire , 1917).
2. Grand Cross of the Military Order of Italy (Italy, 1917).
3. Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (France, 1917).
4. Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle ( Yugoslavia , 1918).
5. Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold I ( Belgium , 1918).
6. Imperial Order of the Agdas 1st class ( Persia , 1919).
7. Order of Carol I ( Romania , 1922).
8. Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia ( Ethiopia , 1924).
9. A large ribbon of the Order of Muhammad Ali ( Egypt , 1927).
10. Order of the Sun ( Afghanistan , 1928).
11. Order of the Interfluve of the 1st class ( Iraq , 1933).
12. Grand Cross of the Order of the Savior ( Greece , 1936).
13. Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece, 1936).
14. Order of Oyasvi Ryanya ( Nepal , 1937).
15. Order of the Seraphim ( Sweden , 1937).
16. Grand Cross of the Order of St. Charles ( Monaco , 1937).
17. Chain of the Order of Chrysanthemum ( Japan , 1937).
18. Order of the Royal House of Chakri ( Thailand , 1938).
19. Order “Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius” ( Bulgaria , 1938).
20. Grand Cross of the Order of Saints George and Constantine (Greece, 1938).
21. Grand Cross of the Order of Christ ( Portugal , 1939).
22. Grand Cross of the Order of Avissa (Portugal, 1939).
23. Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword of St. Jacob (Portugal, 1939).
24. Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Karageorgia (Yugoslavia, 1939).
25. Large ribbon of the Order of the Hashemites (Iraq, 1943).
26. Legion of Honor Order of the Commander-in-Chief (USA, 1945).
27. Grand Cross of the Order of William ( Netherlands , 1946).
28. Order of Oyasvi Ryanya (Nepal, 1946).
29. Chain of the Order of Hussein ibn Ali ( Jordan , 1949).
30. Large chain of the Order of Pahlavi ( Iran , 1948).
31. Grand Cross of the Order of Danenbrog ( Denmark , 1948).
32. Order of Liberation (France, 1960, posthumous) ^[16] .

• Commemorative coins and postage stamps were issued in honor of George VI.

•  

  Coronation crown of King George VI

•  

  Postage stamp Swaziland , 1938

•  

  Postage stamp Kyrgyzstan , 2005

• “ The king is saying! "- a 2010 film about the deliverance of George VI from stuttering with the help of a speech therapist Lionel Log, in the role of King Colin Firth .
• Hyde Park on the Hudson
• London Vacation is a 2015 movie in the role of King Rupert Everett .
• The Crown, a television series about the history of the British royal family in the mid-20th century, as King Jared Harris
• “Dark Times” is a historical drama of 2017, dedicated mainly to the personality of Winston Churchill . The role of George VI was played by Ben Mendelssohn .

• Royal Family Order of George VI

• George VI (англ.) . - article from Encyclopædia Britannica Online .
• Footage of King George VI stammering in a 1938 speech на YouTube
• Soundtrack of King George VI Coronation speech in 1937 на YouTube