George VI

1895 - 1952. King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions (1936 - 1952). Succeeded to the throne after his older brother, Edward VIII, had abdicated in order to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson (Abdication Crisis).

Born Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George of York on 14 December 1895. He was the second son of Mary of Teck and George V (Bradford 1). Albert, generally also known as Bertie, considered the unprecedented abdication of his popular brother as a personal tragedy and feared "that dreadful day" to become a monarch. To his cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten, he said: "Dickie, it is absolutely terrible. I never wanted this to happen; I'm quite unprepared for it. David has been trained for this all his life, I've never even seen a State Paper. I'm only a Naval Officer, it's the only thing I know about" [source??].

Despite being unprepared for the throne, despite his several physical and mental handicaps (George was very reticent and had a spoke with a stammer) as well as turbulent external circumstances later on (Second World War) he grew steadily into the kingship and became the standard by which the monarchy itself was to be measured. He also helped to restore the monarchy to a popularity which had not been witnessed for many reigns and left his daughter, Elizabeth, a stable throne.

As already mentioned Albert had several mental and physical handicaps, e.g. shyness and timidity, self-doubt, nerviness, agitation, irascibility and "gnashing", frequent feelings of physical and mental exhaustion, jealousy, inner imbalance, stutter, gastritis. On the other hand he was popular as "the People's King" through all social classes and through all political parties due to his character. He was famous for his kindness for people regardless their social pedigree and care for his subordinates and their families. He was also known for his sensitiveness and tactfulness, his modesty, humor (so-called "chaffing"), for his reliability, helpfulness and comradeship, but especially for his ethos/understanding of the king's duties, his diligence and devotion.

His ability to stabilise the throne during unstable and militant times (abdication of his brother and WWII) is worth to be mentioned. He promoted the importance of the Crown as a unifying symbol of the nation and Empire and was anxious to strengthen the bond between the monarch and his subjects.

After his death he was characterised as a great King. French Ambassador, René Massigli put it like this: "If the greatness of a King can be measured by the extent to which his qualities correspond to the needs of a nation at a given moment in its history, then George VI was a great King, and perhaps a very great King" [source??].

Father and predecessor of Elizabeth II.

Sources

• Gordon, P. Royal education: past, present, and future. [place??] Frank Cass Publishers, 2003.
• Wende, P. Englische Könige und Königinnen der Neuzeit. Von Heinrich VII. bis Elisabeth II.. München: C. H. Beck Verlag, 2002.