George
VI:
The Last
King—Emperor
Tony
This paper describes
one of Britain's
some of the major events in the life of
most successful
VI, King of England, Emperor
this year. It also attempts
character,
Skevington
and popular
monarchs,
George
of India, who died fifty years ago
to give a brief account
of the King's
(in as far as it is known from published
sources), and
how it affected
his role as monarch.
Introduction
February
2002 marks
the 50th anniversary
of the death of King
George VI and the beginning of the reign of his daughter
Elizabeth
II.
In Britain the golden jubilee year is bound to focus on the Queen and
changes which have taken place during her reign, but the anniversary
of her accession
also offers an opportunity
on the life of one of Britain's
archs, her father
to remember
most respected
and predecessor,
and reflect
and successful
mon-
George VI.
Childhood
The man who would
Emperor
residence,
one day become
King of England
and
of India was born on December 14th, 1895, in the same royal
Sandringham,
He was christened
in which he would die fifty-six
Albert, Frederick,
years later.
Arthur, George, but was known
to his family as Bertie. In 1895 this family was headed by his great- 47
George VI: The Last King Emperor
grandmother,
Queen Victoria,
who presided over the greatest
empire
the world had known, covering over 25% of the earth's land surface;
much of the other 75% was ruled by Bertie's European
relatives.
Prince Albert, as he was officially known, was not expected
to become
George
King as he was the second son of his father,
V (r. 1910-1936). For someone
privilege
children,
were rather
and
happy. This was mainly
cold and distant
and George V was especially
19th Century standards,
the future
born into such wealth
his childhood was not particularly
because both his parents
ever
with all their
strict with his sons, even by
he once remarked,
"My father was afraid of
his mother, I was afraid of my father, and I'm going to make damned
sure that my children are afraid of me."
Another
scholastic
blight on Prince
aptitude,
Albert's
in the politically
would be described as "intellectually
age of 13, he was educated
and later
at Dartmouth
intellectualism,
childhood
correct
was his lack
language
challenged."
he was invariably
College,
not exactly
at the bottom
naval college the slender, extremely
he
When, up until the
at home he was the despair
Naval
of today
of
of his tutors,
a hotbed
of
of his class. At the
shy boy was badly bullied both
verbally
and physically,
and it was
during
stammer
he had had from the age of about
these
years
that
seven really
the
became
noticeable.
Personality
and Sibling Rivalry
All his life the King was what used to be called "highly strung,"
but which in modern parlance
reasons
for this probably
would be referred
lie in his emotionally
— 48 —
to as neurotic.
deprived
The
childhood.
George VI: The Last King Emperor
Two other factors
may have added to his neurosis : One was that he
lived for the first forty years of his life in the shadow of his charismatic elder brother,
Edward,
Prince of Wales,
later
King Edward
VIII, and later still, the Duke of Windsor. For much of his life George
hero-worshipped
his brother
more importantly,
of Edward's
the Abdication,
and
that the King began to break free
spell. Even after he became King George still had feel-
ings of inferiority
towards his brother
war he was always
afraid
England and overshadow
his nervous disposition
difficult
and it was only after his marriage,
that
Edward
would return
to live in
him. The other factor which contributed
to
was that he was called upon to do a very
job for which he was neither
either intellectually
and until at least the end of the
trained,
nor it seems, suited,
or temperamentally.
During the First World War Prince Albert saw active service in
the Royal Navy and took part in one of the few sea battles
of the
War, Jutland in 1916. It was during the battle that one of the Prince's
greatest
virtues,
courage, came to the fore. Throughout
George was to show that, whatever
his life King
his other failings, he never lacked
courage, either physical or moral.
Marriage
One courtier
who knew the Prince wrote in 1921, "He is a man
who will be made or marred
by his marriage."
In the past British
royalty had usually found their spouses in Germany, but in the post1918 world this was no longer possible. Prince Albert was apparently
attracted
to a number of upper-class
in the early post-war
women that he socialized
with
years, but in 1920 he met a young woman with
— 49 —
George VI: The Last King Emperor
whom he immediately
feelings
fell in love, Lady Elizabeth
were not reciprocated
courting
and twice
marrying
Elizabeth
and it was
being rejected
Bowes-Lyon
that
Bowes-Lyon.
only after
affected
the Queen Mother,
an air of feminine
may well be a large part
engaged.
king made
decision of his life, for she was to prove a remarkable
life Queen Elizabeth
two years
they became
the future
the wisest
woman. All her
of her character.
and amiability,
However,
and this
beneath
affable veneer there has always been a very strong, extremely
sible, shrewd and, some would say, ruthless
diplomats
and politicians
States, France
but they all commented
the
sen-
woman. It is interesting
before World War Two foreign
from countries
and Germany
In
as she is known today, has
charm, naivete
to note that in the years immediately
His
as different
as the United
dismissed the King as a dull nonentity,
on the Queen's steely character
and the need
to treat her with caution.
Throughout
their married
life King George and Queen Elizabeth
seem to have been devoted to each other. She gave him tremendous
encouragement
engagements,
before and during his much dreaded public speaking
and later in life was one of the few people who could
handle his more and more frequent
temper tantrums.
George VI was
deeply in love with his wife from their early courting
feelings never changed, in fact they grew stronger
days and his
as the years went
by, as he wrote to his daughter Elizabeth on her wedding day in 1947,
"You know for me mummy is simply the most wonderful person in
the world."
During the 1920s and 30s the Duke of York, as he had become,
spent his time carrying
out the public engagements
— 50 —
of royalty
and
George VI: The Last King Emperor
leading the life of a rich country gentleman
of the time. In his official
capacity
welfare
he became
involved in providing
facilities for industrial
workers
and recreational
and in running summer camps where
working-class
boys and public school boys could mix. Today these
"do -gooder" activities may strike us as incredibly patronizing and
cringe making,
functions
but at that time they were considered
the normal
of royalty.
Two children
were born to the Yorks, Elizabeth
Queen) in 1926 and Princess Margaret
extremely
continue
pleasant
course indefinitely,
when George V died in January
The Abdication
Rose in 1930. It seemed that the
life of the Duke and Duchess
on its smooth
(the present
of York
but everything
would
changed
1936.
and its Aftermath
The new King, Edward VIII, was idolized by the public at large,
but those who had to deal with him on a daily basis were not so
enamored.
Although
the mood, he was
biggest
he could be very charming
also lazy, arrogant
and affable when in
and selfish.
However,
problem was that, not only was he not married,
was deeply
divorced,
in love with a twice married,
American
lady, Wallis Simpson.
those "in the know" that Edward
monarch.
been accepted
government
but that he
and soon to be twice
In his first few months as King it quickly became
constitutional
his
VIII was totally
unsuited
to
to be a
Since the middle of the 19th Century it had
that a British sovereign
ministers,
apparent
only acts on the advice of
and although they had, as the writer Walter
Bagehot pointed out, "the right to be informed, the right to encourage
— 51 —
George VI: The Last King Emperor
and the right to warn", on public affairs, they certainly
to dictate
Edward
government
had no right
policy. From the very beginning
VIII, who was not a very intelligent
of his reign
or well-educated
man,
seemed ignorant of his very limited powers under the British constitution. He made
ministers
his pro-fascist
sympathies
and others, he commented
of his government's
promote,
social
known
to government
publicly and critically
on aspects
policy, and he conspicuously
or even follow, the observances
failed to
of the Church of England,
of which he was the head. It could be said that the King's relationship
with Mrs. Simpson was to prove a godsend to the government
Prime Minister,
Stanley
Baldwin, for it eventually
provided
of the
a legiti-
mate excuse to get rid of a king that many in the Establishment
did
not like or want.
In October 1936 the King told Baldwin that he intended to marry
Mrs. Simpson after her second divorce became absolute.
Minister,
his cabinet
and all the governments
known
as the Dominions
Africa
and the Irish Free State)
Simpson
(Canada, Australia,
as Queen. (De Valera,
The Prime
of what were then
New Zealand,
South
said they would not accept
Mrs.
the Irish leader, was very scathing
about the whole affair and said it had nothing to do with Ireland. He
also took the opportunity
remaining
links between
of the Abdication
Crisis to sever the few
the Free State and the British Crown.)
The King had to choose between
Mrs. Simpson and his crown, he
chose the former, and on December
10th there was the first "volun-
tary"
abdication
in the history
of the British monarchy.
1936, the year of the three kings, left a great psychological
scar
on the British royal family; it was the first time in the 20th Century
— 52 —
George VI: The Last King Emperor
that the private
matter
life of a member
of the Royal Family
of general public discussion and prefigured,
became
a
in very mild form,
what was to lie ahead for the House of Windsor in the last decades
of the century.
The Abdication
was especially
traumatic
who now became George VI, King-Emperor.
responsibility
of the job and the amount
for the Duke of York
He was terrified
of public attention
of the
it would
entail. As noted earlier, he was a very shy and private person, and all
his life had a great horror
of appearing,
and especially
public. During the 1920s and 30s he had undertaken
help with his stammer
performances,
and this had greatly
but he always
went through
speaking,
in
speech therapy
to
improved
great
his public
emotional
stress
whenever he had to give speeches. However, unlike his elder brother,
he did have a great sense of what the Royal Family call "duty", i.e.
the belief that responsibility
to carry out the functions
of the monar-
chy should come before one's personal wishes. George VI and Queen
Elizabeth
were determined
to the monarchy
to do all they could to restore the damage
which they thought
had been inflicted
on it by the
former king.
King George's
from the Abdication
as the years
Windsor
relations
with his brother
Crisis, and in fact became more and more bitter
went by. The King's refusal
the title Royal Highness
when he was "swanning around"
the threat
sympathies
to grant
the Duchess of
was a running sore with the Duke
for the rest of his life. The Duke's behaviour
ing pro-Axis
never really recovered
in the summer
in Spain and Portugal
of 1940,
and express-
and refusing to return to London, brought
of court-martial
from
his former
— 53 —
champion,
Winston
GeorgeVI: The Last King Emperor
Churchill, now Prime Minister. His relations with his brother brought
out the worst in the King's character and in that of other members of
the Royal Family, for despite the fact that they were sorely tried by
the Windsors, the King and Queen's treatment of the couple often
came across as petty and spiteful.
The King and his Prime Ministers
Although George VI had had no training in the role of kingship,
from the beginning of his reign he demonstrated
a much better
understanding of his rights and duties as a constitutional monarch
than had Edward VIII. In his fifteen year reign he had three prime
ministers, with each of whom he established a very good working
relationship. His first prime minister, Neville Chamberlain (18691940), was very popular with the King and Queen, who gave him their
whole-hearted support. Some historians maintain that their support
went beyond constitutional correctness when they invited Chamberlain to greet the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace
immediately on his return from Munich in September 1938, after the
Czechoslovakian Crisis which saved the peace of Europe, (for a time).
The King and Queen were very upset when Chamberlain was forced
to resign in May 1940 as a result of his lackluster performance as a
war leader. Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the King's second prime
minister, was very different from Chamberlain in both background
and temperament. Although at first relations between the King and
the Prime Minister were cool, [see below] the King always acted
correctly. After the war the King had two Prime Ministers, Clement
Attlee (1883-1967), of the Labour Party and, for the last few months
— 54—
George VI: The Last King Emperor
before the King's death, Churchill
again. The King's relations
with
Attlee were always cordial but never warm; this was partly because
of Attlee's aloof personality
out many policies, both
and partly because Attlee was carrying
domestically
which the King did not approve,
independence
and in foreign
e.g. nationalization,
relations,
of
high taxation,
for India.
The Second World War
For Britain the Second World War began in September
the King and Queen, although
Appeasement
they had been great
1939 and
supporters
of
(as had most of the British public), threw themselves
into the war effort and were to emerge at the end of the war in 1945
with their popularity
greatly
enhanced.
During the war the King and Queen did much to boost public
morale by staying
and being visible in London during the Blitz, and
by travelling throughout
course
available
the country during the whole of the war. Of
the Royal Family
had many
privileges
and comforts
to most British people during these years, and attempts
the time and later to portray
line are clearly
ludicrous.
not
at
them as just another family in the front
However,
both the King and Queen did
come very close to being killed at least once, it was during a daylight
air raid on Buckingham
German relatives,
Palace
in 1940 (carried
out by one of his
according to the King!) when a bomb exploded just
outside the King's office.
The Post-War
Years
In 1945 Labour's
landslide victory in the general election greatly
— 55 —
George VI: The Last King Emperor
upset the King for two reasons.
time, he was naturally
many
upper-class
government
Minister,
conservative
and wealthy
would introduce
ests. Secondly,
as a man of his class and
in character
people
measures
he had become
and politics.
he feared
that
Like
a socialist
inimical to his financial inter-
very
close to his wartime
Prime
Winston Churchill.
This is somewhat
surprising
1940, when Neville Chamberlain
for both
personal
resented
the support
Abdication
as in the government
crisis of May
was forced to resign, the King and
Queen were very much against
summer
Firstly,
Churchill becoming
and political
Churchill
reasons.
Prime Minister,
The royal couple greatly
had given Edward
VIII during the
Crisis. Also, like many other Establishment
of 1940, they were doubtful whether
job of leading the country.
were sometimes
However,
Churchill was up to the
during the war, although there
strains between the monarch and his Prime Minister,
the King came to like and admire Churchill
The years
figures in the
after
1945 were
very much.
very difficult
as Britain
tried to
recover from the war, and often the King did not cope very well with
the alarums
and excursions
to which the country was subjected. He
took things far too seriously and personally.
badly he would become very depressed
sions of temper
or have sudden violent explo-
(which his family called "gnashes"
from the public). These reactions
the behaviour
When things were going
to pressure
and tried to hide
are in sharp contrast
of both his wife and his elder daughter,
Queen, who apparently,
the present
have much more sanguine personalities,
the ability to escape from and lay aside the problems
life; this no doubt is one of the factors
— 56 —
contributing
to
with
of their public
to their robust
George VI: The Last King-Emperor
health
and longevity.
George VI always had a weak constitution
especially
as a young man. His heavy smoking and drinking
highly emotional
stress,
and was constantly
personality,
led to a rapid
September
coupled with twelve
decline
in his health
1951 he had an operation
the public were told was a cancerous
it proved to be a short respite
the night of 5th-6th
ill,
and his
years of intense
in the late
1940s. In
to remove what neither
he nor
lung. He seemed to recover, but
and the King died in his sleep during
February
1952.
When a King dies it is usual to eulogize him, and this certainly
happened on the death of George VI. Of course his real character
personality
genuinely
were known to only a few people, but it seems that he was
liked, respected
and admired
whom he reigned. Although
that
might be thought
monarch:
by most of the people over
George VI lacked many of the qualities
essential
a deep knowledge
to be a successful
of history
ease, he did have qualities
dignity, dedication
For Further
constitutional
and the constitution,
confidence, ability to make endless small-talk
self-
and put people at their
that shone through
the lack of charisma:
to duty as he saw it, and, above all, courage.
Reading
Sarah Bradford,
George VI (Harper
Collins,1991)
Anne
Matriarch:
Mary
Windsor
and
Edwards,
(Hodder
Queen
and
the
House
of
& Stoughton,1984)
Sir Harold Nicholson, King George V: His Life and Reign, (Doubleday, 1952)
57—
George VI: The Last King Emperor
Ben Pimlott,
The
Queen: A Biography
of Elizabeth
II (John
Wigley & Sons, 1997)
Andrew Roberts, Eminent Churchillians
John W Wheeler-Bennett,
(Macmillan,
(Orian Books Ltd., 1995)
King George VI: His Life & Reign
1958)
Phillip Ziegler, King Edward
VIII (Sutton Publishing,
— 58 —
2001)