George VI, king of Great Britain and Ireland

George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George), 1895–1952, king of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1936–52), second son of George V; successor of his elder brother, Edward VIII Edward VIII, 1894–1972, king of Great Britain and Ireland (1936), known in later years as the duke of Windsor; eldest son of George V . He attended the naval colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth and Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1911 he was made prince of Wales.
..... Click the link for more information. . He attended the royal naval colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth and served in World War I. Later he served in the Royal Air Force. He studied at Cambridge for a time after the war, was created duke of York in 1920, and married (1923) Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. They had two daughters: Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II, 1926–, queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1952–), elder daughter and successor of George VI . At age 18 she was made a State Counsellor, a confidante of the king.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and Princess Margaret Margaret, 1930–2002, British princess, second daughter of King George VI and sister of Queen Elizabeth II , b. Glamis, Scotland. In 1960 she married a commoner, the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was created earl of Snowdon in 1961.
..... Click the link for more information. . When Edward VIII abdicated on Dec. 11, 1936, George became king. He and his consort were crowned on May 12, 1937. They made a state visit to France in July, 1938, and an unprecedented royal voyage to Canada and the United States in 1939. During World War II the king worked to keep up British morale by visiting bombed areas, inspecting war plants, and touring theaters of war action. In 1947 the royal family made a state visit and tour of South Africa. A tour of Australia and New Zealand, scheduled for 1949, was postponed indefinitely because of the king's illness at the end of 1948. Like his father, George was held in deep affection by his people. He was succeeded by Elizabeth II.

Bibliography

See biography by S. Bradford (1989).

George VI

orig. Albert Frederick Arthur George

George VI.

(credit: Keystone)

(born Dec. 14, 1895, Sandringham, Norfolk, Eng.—died Feb. 6, 1952, Sandringham) King of the United Kingdom (1936–52). The second son of George V, he was proclaimed king following the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. He was an important symbolic leader of the British people during World War II, supporting the wartime leadership of Winston Churchill and visiting his armies on several battlefronts. In 1949 he was formally recognized as head of the Commonwealth by its member states. He earned the respect of his people by scrupulously observing the responsibilities of a constitutional monarch and by overcoming the handicap of a severe stammer. He was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth II.

George VI

1895--1952, king of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1936--52) and emperor of India (1936--47). The second son of George V, he succeeded to the throne after the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII