George VI - wikipedia George VI For other uses, see George VI ( disambiguation ). George VI Formal photograph, 1940 -- 46 King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions ( more... ) Reign 11 December 1936 -- 6 February 1952 Coronation 12 May 1937 Predecessor Edward VIII Successor Elizabeth II Prime Ministers See list Emperor of India Reign 11 December 1936 -- 15 August 1947 Predecessor Edward VIII ( 1895 - 12 - 14 ) 14 December 1895 York Cottage, Sandringham House, Norfolk, United Kingdom 6 February 1952 ( 1952 - 02 - 06 ) ( aged 56 ) Sandringham House, Norfolk, United Kingdom Burial 15 February 1952 St George 's Chapel, Windsor Castle Spouse Elizabeth Bowes - Lyon ( m. 1923 ) Issue Detail Elizabeth II Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Full name Albert Frederick Arthur George House Windsor ( from 1917 ) Saxe - Coburg and Gotha ( until 1917 ) Father George V Mother Mary of Teck George VI ( Albert Frederick Arthur George ; 14 December 1895 -- 6 February 1952 ) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India and the first Head of the Commonwealth. Known publicly as Albert until his accession, and `` Bertie '' among his family and close friends, George VI was born in the reign of his great - grandmother Queen Victoria, and was named after his great - grandfather Albert, Prince Consort. As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Edward. He attended naval college as a teenager, and served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during the First World War. In 1920, he was made Duke of York. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes - Lyon in 1923 and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. In the mid-1920s, he had speech therapy for a stammer, which he never fully overcame. George 's elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII upon the death of their father in 1936. However, later that year Edward revealed his desire to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry a divorced woman and remain king. Edward abdicated to marry Simpson, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor. During George 's reign, the break - up of the British Empire and its transition into the Commonwealth of Nations accelerated. The parliament of the Irish Free State removed direct mention of the monarch from the country 's constitution on the day of his accession. The following year, a new Irish constitution changed the name of the state to Ireland and established the office of President. From 1939, the Empire and Commonwealth -- except Ireland -- was at war with Nazi Germany. War with Italy and Japan followed in 1940 and 1941, respectively. Though Britain and its allies were ultimately victorious in 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union rose as pre-eminent world powers and the British Empire declined. After the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, George remained king of both countries, but relinquished the title of Emperor of India in June 1948. Ireland formally declared itself a republic and left the Commonwealth in 1949, and India became a republic within the Commonwealth the following year. George adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth. He was beset by health problems in the later years of his reign. He was succeeded by his eldest daughter, Elizabeth II. Contents 1 Early life 2 Military career and education 3 Marriage 4 Reluctant king 5 Early reign 6 Second World War 7 Empire to Commonwealth 8 Illness and death 9 Legacy 10 Titles, styles, honours and arms 10.1 Titles and styles 10.2 Arms 11 Issue 12 Ancestry 13 Notes 14 References 14.1 Bibliography 15 External links Early life Four kings : Edward VII ( far right ), his son George, Prince of Wales, later George V ( far left ), and grandsons Edward, later Edward VIII ( rear ), and Albert, later George VI ( foreground ), c. 1908 George was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great - grandmother Queen Victoria. His father was Prince George, Duke of York ( later King George V ), the second and eldest - surviving son of the Prince and Princess of Wales ( later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra ). His mother was the Duchess of York ( later Queen Mary ), the eldest child and only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Teck. His birthday ( 14 December 1895 ) was the 34th anniversary of the death of his great - grandfather, Albert, Prince Consort. Uncertain of how the Prince Consort 's widow, Queen Victoria, would take the news of the birth, the Prince of Wales wrote to the Duke of York that the Queen had been `` rather distressed ''. Two days later, he wrote again : `` I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name Albert to her ''. Queen Victoria was mollified by the proposal to name the new baby Albert, and wrote to the Duchess of York : `` I am all impatience to see the new one, born on such a sad day but rather more dear to me, especially as he will be called by that dear name which is a byword for all that is great and good ''. Consequently, he was baptised `` Albert Frederick Arthur George '' at St. Mary Magdalene 's Church near Sandringham three months later. Within the family, he was known informally as `` Bertie ''. His maternal grandmother, the Duchess of Teck, did not like the first name the baby had been given, and she wrote prophetically that she hoped the last name `` may supplant the less favoured one ''. Albert was fourth in line to the throne at birth, after his grandfather, father and elder brother, Edward. He often suffered from ill health and was described as `` easily frightened and somewhat prone to tears ''. His parents were generally removed from their children 's day - to - day upbringing, as was the norm in aristocratic families of that era. He had a stammer that lasted for many years. Although naturally left - handed, he was forced to write with his right hand, as was common practice at the time. He suffered from chronic stomach problems as well as knock knees, for which he was forced to wear painful corrective splints. Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, and the Prince of Wales succeeded her as King Edward VII. Prince Albert moved up to third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother. Military career and education From 1909, Albert attended the Royal Naval College, Osborne, as a naval cadet. In 1911, he came bottom of the class in the final examination, but despite this he progressed to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. When his grandfather, Edward VII, died in 1910, Albert 's father became King George V. Edward became Prince of Wales, with Albert second in line to the throne. Albert spent the first six months of 1913 on the training ship HMS Cumberland in the West Indies and on the east coast of Canada. He was rated as a midshipman aboard HMS Collingwood on 15 September 1913, and spent three months in the Mediterranean. His fellow officers gave him the nickname `` Mr. Johnson ''. One year after his commission, he began service in the First World War. He was mentioned in despatches for his action as a turret officer aboard Collingwood in the Battle of Jutland ( 31 May -- 1 June 1916 ), an indecisive engagement with the German navy that was the largest naval action of the war. He did not see further combat, largely because of ill health caused by a duodenal ulcer, for which he had an operation in November 1917. Prince Albert at an RAF dinner in 1919 In February 1918, he was appointed Officer in Charge of Boys at the Royal Naval Air Service 's training establishment at Cranwell. With the establishment of the Royal Air Force two months later and the reassignment of Cranwell from Admiralty to Air Ministry responsibility, Albert transferred from the Royal Navy to the Royal Air Force. He was appointed Officer Commanding Number 4 Squadron of the Boys ' Wing at Cranwell until August 1918, before reporting to the RAF 's Cadet School at St Leonards - on - Sea. He completed a fortnight 's training and took command of a squadron on the Cadet Wing. He was the first member of the royal family to be certified as a fully qualified pilot. Albert was greatly desirous of serving on the Continent while the war was still in progress and was very pleased to be posted to General Trenchard 's staff. On 23 October he flew across the Channel to Autigny. For the closing weeks of the war, he served on the staff of the RAF 's Independent Air Force at its headquarters in Nancy, France. Following the disbanding of the Independent Air Force in November 1918, he remained on the Continent for two months as a staff officer with the Royal Air Force until posted back to Britain. He accompanied the Belgian monarch King Albert I on his triumphal reentry into Brussels on 22 November. Prince Albert qualified as an RAF pilot on 31 July 1919 and gained a promotion to squadron leader on the following day. In October 1919, Albert went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied history, economics and civics for a year, with the historian R.V. Laurence as his `` official mentor ''. On 4 June 1920, he was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney. He began to take on more royal duties. He represented his father, and toured coal mines, factories, and railyards. Through such visits he acquired the nickname of the `` Industrial Prince ''. His stammer, and his embarrassment over it, together with his tendency to shyness, caused him to appear much less impressive than his older brother, Edward. However, he was physically active and enjoyed playing tennis. He played at Wimbledon in the Men 's Doubles with Louis Greig in 1926, losing in the first round. He developed an interest in working conditions, and was President of the Industrial Welfare Society. His series of annual summer camps for boys between 1921 and 1939 brought together boys from different social backgrounds. Marriage See also : Wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes - Lyon In a time when royalty were expected to marry fellow royalty, it was unusual that Albert had a great deal of freedom in choosing a prospective wife. An infatuation with the already - married Australian socialite Sheila, Lady Loughborough, came to an end in April 1920 when the King, with the promise of the dukedom of York, persuaded Albert to stop seeing her. That year, he met for the first time since childhood Lady Elizabeth Bowes - Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. He became determined to marry her. She rejected his proposal twice, in 1921 and 1922, reportedly because she was reluctant to make the sacrifices necessary to become a member of the royal family. In the words of Lady Elizabeth 's mother, Albert would be `` made or marred '' by his choice of wife. After a protracted courtship, Elizabeth agreed to marry him. They were married on 26 April 1923 in Westminster Abbey. Albert 's marriage to someone not of royal birth was considered a modernising gesture. The newly formed British Broadcasting Company wished to record and broadcast the event on radio, but the Abbey Chapter vetoed the idea ( although the Dean, Herbert Edward Ryle, was in favour ). The Duke and Duchess ( centre, reading programmes ) at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane, 1927 From December 1924 to April 1925, the Duke and Duchess toured Kenya, Uganda, and the Sudan, travelling via the Suez Canal and Aden. During the trip, they both went big game hunting. Because of his stammer, Albert dreaded public speaking. After his closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley on 31 October 1925, one which was an ordeal for both him and his listeners, he began to see Lionel Logue, an Australian - born speech therapist. The Duke and Logue practised breathing exercises, and the Duchess rehearsed with him patiently. Subsequently, he was able to speak with less hesitation. With his delivery improved, the Duke opened the new Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, during a tour of the empire in 1927. His journey by sea to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji took him via Jamaica, where Albert played doubles tennis partnered with a black man, Bertrand Clark, which was unusual at the time and taken locally as a display of equality between races. The Duke and Duchess of York had two children : Elizabeth ( called `` Lilibet '' by the family ), and Margaret. The Duke and Duchess and their two daughters lived a relatively sheltered life at their London residence, 145 Piccadilly. They were a close and loving family. One of the few stirs arose when the Canadian Prime Minister, R.B. Bennett, considered the Duke for Governor General of Canada in 1931 -- a proposal that King George V rejected on the advice of the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, J.H. Thomas. Reluctant King George VI holds the Sceptre with the Cross, containing the 530 - carat Cullinan I Diamond. The Imperial State Crown is on the right. Portrait by Sir Gerald Kelly. Main article : Edward VIII abdication crisis King George V had severe reservations about Prince Edward, saying, `` I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne. '' On 20 January 1936, George V died and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. In the Vigil of the Princes, Prince Albert and his three brothers took a shift standing guard over their father 's body as it lay in state, in a closed casket, in Westminster Hall. As Edward was unmarried and had no children, Albert was the heir presumptive to the throne. Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, Edward abdicated in order to marry his mistress, Wallis Simpson, who was divorced from her first husband and divorcing her second. Edward had been advised by British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that he could not remain king and marry a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands. Edward chose abdication in preference to abandoning his marriage plans. Thus Albert became king, a position he was reluctant to accept. The day before the abdication, he went to London to see his mother, Queen Mary. He wrote in his diary, `` When I told her what had happened, I broke down and sobbed like a child. '' On the day of the abdication, the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Irish Free State, removed all direct mention of the monarch from the Irish constitution. The next day, it passed the External Relations Act, which gave the monarch limited authority ( strictly on the advice of the government ) to appoint diplomatic representatives for Ireland and to be involved in the making of foreign treaties. The two acts made the Irish Free State a republic in essence without removing its links to the Commonwealth. Courtier and journalist Dermot Morrah alleged that there was brief speculation as to the desirability of bypassing Albert ( and his children ) and his brother, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in favour of their younger brother Prince George, Duke of Kent. This seems to have been suggested on the grounds that Prince George was at that time the only brother with a son. Early reign Darlington Town Hall decorated for the coronation, 1937 Albert assumed the regnal name `` George VI '' to emphasise continuity with his father and restore confidence in the monarchy. The beginning of George VI 's reign was taken up by questions surrounding his predecessor and brother, whose titles, style and position were uncertain. He had been introduced as `` His Royal Highness Prince Edward '' for the abdication broadcast, but George VI felt that by abdicating and renouncing the succession, Edward had lost the right to bear royal titles, including `` Royal Highness ''. In settling the issue, George 's first act as king was to confer upon his brother the title `` Duke of Windsor '' with the style `` Royal Highness '', but the letters patent creating the dukedom prevented any wife or children from bearing royal styles. George VI was forced to buy from Edward the royal residences of Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House, as these were private properties and did not pass to George VI automatically. Three days after his accession, on his 41st birthday, he invested his wife, the new queen consort, with the Order of the Garter. George VI 's coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on 12 May 1937, the date previously intended for Edward 's coronation. In a break with tradition, Queen Mary attended the ceremony in a show of support for her son. There was no Durbar held in Delhi for George VI, as had occurred for his father, as the cost would have been a burden to the government of India. Rising Indian nationalism made the welcome that the royal party would have received likely to be muted at best, and a prolonged absence from Britain would have been undesirable in the tense period before the Second World War. Two overseas tours were undertaken, to France and to North America, both of which promised greater strategic advantages in the event of war. The growing likelihood of war in Europe dominated the early reign of George VI. The King was constitutionally bound to support Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain 's appeasement of Hitler. However, when the King and Queen greeted Chamberlain on his return from negotiating the Munich Agreement in 1938, they invited him to appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with them. This public association of the monarchy with a politician was exceptional, as balcony appearances were traditionally restricted to the royal family. While broadly popular among the general public, Chamberlain 's policy towards Hitler was the subject of some opposition in the House of Commons, which led historian John Grigg to describe the King 's behaviour in associating himself so prominently with a politician as `` the most unconstitutional act by a British sovereign in the present century ''. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt with George VI and Queen Elizabeth, on the USS Potomac, 9 June 1939 In May and June 1939, the King and Queen toured Canada and the United States. From Ottawa, they were accompanied throughout by Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, to present themselves in North America as King and Queen of Canada. George was the first reigning monarch of Canada to visit North America, although he had been to Canada previously as Prince Albert and as Duke of York. Both Governor General of Canada Lord Tweedsmuir and Mackenzie King hoped that the King 's presence in Canada would demonstrate the principles of the Statute of Westminster 1931, which gave full sovereignty to the British Dominions. On 19 May, George VI personally accepted and approved the Letter of Credence of the new U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Daniel Calhoun Roper ; gave Royal Assent to nine parliamentary bills ; and ratified two international treaties with the Great Seal of Canada. The official royal tour historian, Gustave Lanctot, wrote `` the Statute of Westminster had assumed full reality '' and George gave a speech emphasising `` the free and equal association of the nations of the Commonwealth ''. The trip was intended to soften the strong isolationist tendencies among the North American public with regard to the developing tensions in Europe. Although the aim of the tour was mainly political, to shore up Atlantic support for the United Kingdom in any future war, the King and Queen were enthusiastically received by the public. The fear that George would be compared unfavourably to his predecessor, Edward VIII, was dispelled. They visited the 1939 New York World 's Fair and stayed with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House and at his private estate at Hyde Park, New York. A strong bond of friendship was forged between the King and Queen and the President during the tour, which had major significance in the relations between the United States and the United Kingdom through the ensuing war years. Second World war In September 1939, Britain and the self - governing Dominions other than Ireland declared war on Nazi Germany. George VI and his wife resolved to stay in London, despite German bombing raids. They officially stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war, although they usually spent nights at Windsor Castle. The first night of the Blitz on London, on 7 September 1940, killed about one thousand civilians, mostly in the East End. On 13 September, the King and Queen narrowly avoided death when two German bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace while they were there. In defiance, the Queen famously declared : `` I am glad we have been bombed. It makes me feel we can look the East End in the face. '' The royal family were portrayed as sharing the same dangers and deprivations as the rest of the country. They were subject to rationing restrictions, and U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt remarked on the rationed food served and the limited bathwater that was permitted during a stay at the unheated and boarded - up Palace. In August 1942, the King 's brother, Prince George, Duke of Kent, was killed on active service. George VI ( left ) with Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery ( right ), The Netherlands, October 1944 In 1940, Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as Prime Minister, though personally George would have preferred to appoint Lord Halifax. After the King 's initial dismay over Churchill 's appointment of Lord Beaverbrook to the Cabinet, he and Churchill developed `` the closest personal relationship in modern British history between a monarch and a Prime Minister ''. Every Tuesday for four and a half years from September 1940, the two men met privately for lunch to discuss the war in secret and with frankness. Throughout the war, the King and Queen provided morale - boosting visits throughout the United Kingdom, visiting bomb sites, munitions factories, and troops. The King visited military forces abroad in France in December 1939, North Africa and Malta in June 1943, Normandy in June 1944, southern Italy in July 1944, and the Low Countries in October 1944. Their high public profile and apparently indefatigable determination secured their place as symbols of national resistance. At a social function in 1944, Chief of the Imperial General Staff Sir Alan Brooke, revealed that every time he met Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery he thought Montgomery was after his job. The King replied : `` You should worry, when I meet him, I always think he 's after mine ! '' In 1945, crowds shouted `` We want the King ! '' in front of Buckingham Palace during the Victory in Europe Day celebrations. In an echo of Chamberlain 's appearance, the King invited Churchill to appear with the royal family on the balcony to public acclaim. In January 1946, George addressed the United Nations at their first assembly, which was held in London, and reaffirmed `` our faith in the equal rights of men and women and of nations great and small ''. Empire to Commonwealth George VI ( right ) with British prime minister Clement Attlee, July 1945 George VI 's reign saw the acceleration of the dissolution of the British Empire. The Statute of Westminster 1931 had already acknowledged the evolution of the Dominions into separate sovereign states. The process of transformation from an empire to a voluntary association of independent states, known as the Commonwealth, gathered pace after the Second World War. During the ministry of Clement Attlee, British India became the two independent dominions of India and Pakistan in 1947. George relinquished the title of Emperor of India, and became King of India and King of Pakistan instead. In 1950 he ceased to be King of India when it became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations and recognised his new title of Head of the Commonwealth ; he remained King of Pakistan until his death. Other countries left the Commonwealth, such as Burma in January 1948, Palestine ( divided between Israel and the Arab states ) in May 1948 and the Republic of Ireland in 1949. In 1947, the King and his family toured Southern Africa. The Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, Jan Smuts, was facing an election and hoped to make political capital out of the visit. George was appalled, however, when instructed by the South African government to shake hands only with whites, and referred to his South African bodyguards as `` the Gestapo ''. Despite the tour, Smuts lost the election the following year, and the new government instituted a strict policy of racial segregation. Illness and death Profile portrait by Humphrey Paget on a 1951 farthing The stress of the war had taken its toll on the King 's health, made worse by his heavy smoking and subsequent development of lung cancer among other ailments, including arteriosclerosis and Buerger 's disease. A planned tour of Australia and New Zealand was postponed after the King suffered an arterial blockage in his right leg, which threatened the loss of the leg and was treated with a right lumbar sympathectomy in March 1949. His elder daughter Elizabeth, the heir presumptive, took on more royal duties as her father 's health deteriorated. The delayed tour was re-organised, with Elizabeth and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, taking the place of the King and Queen. The King was well enough to open the Festival of Britain in May 1951, but on 23 September 1951, his left lung was removed by Clement Price Thomas after a malignant tumour was found. In October 1951, Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh went on a month - long tour of Canada ; the trip had been delayed for a week due to the King 's illness. At the State Opening of Parliament in November, the King 's speech from the throne was read for him by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Simonds. His Christmas broadcast of 1951 was recorded in sections, and then edited together. On 31 January 1952, despite advice from those close to him, the King went to London Airport to see off Princess Elizabeth, who was going on her tour of Australia via Kenya. On the morning of 6 February, George VI was found dead in bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk. He had died from a coronary thrombosis in his sleep at the age of 56. His daughter flew back to Britain from Kenya as Queen Elizabeth II. From 9 February for two days his coffin rested in St. Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, before lying in state at Westminster Hall from 11 February. His funeral took place at St. George 's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on the 15th. He was interred initially in the Royal Vault until he was transferred to the King George VI Memorial Chapel inside St. George 's on 26 March 1969. In 2002, fifty years after his death, the remains of his widow, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the ashes of his younger daughter Princess Margaret, who both died that year, were interred in the chapel alongside him. Legacy Statue of George VI at Carlton Gardens, London See also : Cultural depictions of King George VI In the words of Labour Member of Parliament George Hardie, the abdication crisis of 1936 did `` more for republicanism than fifty years of propaganda ''. George VI wrote to his brother Edward that in the aftermath of the abdication he had reluctantly assumed `` a rocking throne '' and tried `` to make it steady again ''. He became king at a point when public faith in the monarchy was at a low ebb. During his reign his people endured the hardships of war, and imperial power was eroded. However, as a dutiful family man and by showing personal courage, he succeeded in restoring the popularity of the monarchy. The George Cross and the George Medal were founded at the King 's suggestion during the Second World War to recognise acts of exceptional civilian bravery. He bestowed the George Cross on the entire `` island fortress of Malta '' in 1943. He was posthumously awarded the Ordre de la Libération by the French government in 1960, one of only two people ( the other being Churchill ) to be awarded the medal after 1946. A number of geographical features, roads, and institutions are named after George VI. These include King George Hospital in London ; King George VI Reservoir in Surrey, United Kingdom ; King George VI Highway and King George Boulevard in Surrey, British Columbia ; Kingsway in Edmonton ; George VI Sound in Antarctica ; and the King George VI Chase, a horse race in the United Kingdom. Colin Firth won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as George VI in The King 's Speech, a 2010 film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Titles, styles, honours and arms Main article : List of titles and honours of King George VI Titles and styles Royal cypher ( monogram ), 1949 14 December 1895 -- 28 May 1898 : His Highness Prince Albert of York 28 May 1898 -- 22 January 1901 : His Royal Highness Prince Albert of York 22 January 1901 -- 9 November 1901 : His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Cornwall and York 9 November 1901 -- 6 May 1910 : His Royal Highness Prince Albert of Wales 6 May 1910 -- 4 June 1920 : His Royal Highness The Prince Albert 4 June 1920 -- 11 December 1936 : His Royal Highness The Duke of York 11 December 1936 -- 6 February 1952 : His Majesty The King 11 December 1936 -- 14 August 1947 : His Imperial Majesty The King, Emperor of India ( for British India ) George held a number of titles throughout his life, as successively great - grandson, grandson and son of the monarch. As sovereign, he was referred to most often as simply The King or His Majesty. In his position as sovereign, George automatically held the position of Commander - in - Chief. Arms As Duke of York, George bore the royal arms of the United Kingdom differenced with a label of three points argent, the centre point bearing an anchor azure -- a difference earlier awarded to his father, George V, when he was Duke of York, and then later awarded to his grandson Prince Andrew, Duke of York. As king, he bore the royal arms undifferenced. Coat of arms as Duke of York Coat of arms as King of the United Kingdom ( except Scotland ) Coat of arms in Scotland Coat of arms in Canada Issue Name Birth Death Marriage Date Spouse Children Queen Elizabeth II 21 April 1926 20 November 1947 Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark Prince Charles, Prince of Wales Princess Anne, Princess Royal Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon 21 August 1930 9 February 2002 6 May 1960 Divorced 11 July 1978 Antony Armstrong - Jones David Armstrong - Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon Lady Sarah Chatto Ancestry Ancestors of George VI 16. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha 8. Prince Albert of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha 17. Princess Louise of Saxe - Gotha - Altenburg 4. Edward VII of the United Kingdom 18. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn ( son of 28 ) 9. Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom 19. Princess Victoria of Saxe - Coburg - Saalfeld 2. George V of the United Kingdom 20. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig - Holstein - Sonderburg - Glücksburg 10. Christian IX of Denmark 21. Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse - Kassel 5. Princess Alexandra of Denmark 22. Prince William of Hesse - Kassel 11. Princess Louise of Hesse - Kassel 23. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark 1. George VI of the United Kingdom 24. Duke Louis of Württemberg 12. Duke Alexander of Württemberg 25. Princess Henriette of Nassau - Weilburg 6. Francis, Duke of Teck 26. Count László Rhédey von Kis - Rhéde 13. Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis - Rhéde 27. Baroness Ágnes Inczédy von Nagy - Várad 3. Princess Mary of Teck 28. George III of the United Kingdom ( father of 18 ) 14. Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge 29. Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg - Strelitz 7. Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge 30. Prince Frederick of Hesse - Kassel 15. Princess Augusta of Hesse - Kassel 31. Princess Caroline of Nassau - Usingen Notes Jump up ^ His godparents were : Queen Victoria ( his great - grandmother, for whom his grandmother the Princess of Wales stood proxy ) ; the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg ( his maternal great - aunt and great - uncle, for whom his grandfather the Duke of Teck and his paternal aunt Princess Maud of Wales stood proxy ) ; Empress Frederick ( his paternal great - aunt, for whom his paternal aunt Princess Victoria of Wales stood proxy ) ; the Crown Prince of Denmark ( his great - uncle, for whom his grandfather the Prince of Wales stood proxy ) ; the Duke of Connaught ( his great - uncle ) ; the Duchess of Fife ( his paternal aunt ) ; and Prince Adolphus of Teck ( his maternal uncle ). Jump up ^ Renamed Heathrow Airport in 1966. 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Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. Retrieved July 6, 2017. Jump up ^ Velde, François ( 19 April 2008 ), Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family, Heraldica, retrieved 22 April 2009 Bibliography Bradford, Sarah ( 1989 ), King George VI, London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ISBN 0 - 297 - 79667 - 4 Howarth, Patrick ( 1987 ), George VI, Hutchinson, ISBN 0 - 09 - 171000 - 6 Judd, Denis ( 1982 ), King George VI, London : Michael Joseph, ISBN 0 - 7181 - 2184 - 8 Matthew, H.C.G. ( 2004 ), `` George VI ( 1895 -- 1952 ) '', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press Rhodes James, Robert ( 1998 ), A Spirit Undaunted : The Political Role of George VI, London : Little, Brown and Co, ISBN 0 - 316 - 64765 - 9 Shawcross, William ( 2009 ), Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother : The Official Biography, Macmillan, ISBN 978 - 1 - 4050 - 4859 - 0 Sinclair, David ( 1988 ), Two Georges : the Making of the Modern Monarchy, Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN 0 - 340 - 33240 - 9 Townsend, Peter ( 1975 ), The Last Emperor, London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ISBN 0 - 297 - 77031 - 4 Vickers, Hugo ( 2006 ), Elizabeth : The Queen Mother, Arrow Books / Random House, ISBN 978 - 0 - 09 - 947662 - 7 Wheeler - Bennett, Sir John ( 1958 ), King George VI : His Life and Reign, New York : Macmillan Weir, Alison ( 1996 ), Britain 's Royal Families : The Complete Genealogy, Revised Edition, London : Random House, ISBN 0 - 7126 - 7448 - 9 Windsor, The Duke of ( 1951 ), A King 's Story, London : Cassell & Co Ltd Ziegler, Philip ( 1990 ), King Edward VIII : The Official Biography, London : Collins, ISBN 0 - 00 - 215741 - 1 External links Listen to this article ( info / dl ) This audio file was created from a revision of the article `` George VI '' dated 12 July 2014, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ( Audio help ) More spoken articles Find more aboutGeorge VIat Wikipedia 's sister projects Media from Commons Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Data from Wikidata Footage of King George VI stammering in a 1938 speech on YouTube Soundtrack of King George VI Coronation speech in 1937 on YouTube `` Archival material relating to George VI ''. UK National Archives. Portraits of King George VI at the National Portrait Gallery, London George VI House of Windsor Born : 14 December 1895 Died : 6 February 1952 Regnal titles Preceded by Edward VIII King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions Emperor of India 1936 -- 1952 Succeeded by Elizabeth II New title Head of the Commonwealth 1949 -- 1952 Masonic offices Preceded by Iain Colquhoun Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland 1936 -- 1937 Succeeded by Norman Orr - Ewing Honorary titles Preceded by Edward VIII Air Commodore - in - Chief of the Auxiliary Air Force Royal Auxiliary Air Force from 1947 1936 -- 1952 Succeeded by Elizabeth II New title Air Commodore - in - Chief of the Air Training Corps 1941 -- 1952 Succeeded by The Duke of Edinburgh Notes and references 1. Indian Empire dissolved 15 August 1947. Title abandoned 22 June 1948 ( `` No. 38330 ''. The London Gazette. 22 June 1948. p. 3647. ) Articles and topics related to George VI English, Scottish and British monarchs Monarchs of England before 1603 Monarchs of Scotland before 1603 Æthelstan Edmund I Eadred Eadwig Edgar the Peaceful Edward the Martyr Æthelred the Unready Sweyn Edmund II Cnut Harold I Harthacnut Edward the Confessor Harold II Edgar Ætheling William I William II Henry I Stephen Matilda Henry II Henry the Young King Richard I Henry III Edward I Edward II Edward III Richard II Henry IV Henry V Henry VI Edward IV Edward V Richard III Henry VII Henry VIII Edward VI Jane Mary I and Philip Elizabeth I Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I Áed Giric Eochaid Donald II Constantine II Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I Alexander II Alexander III Margaret of Norway First Interregnum John Balliol Second Interregnum Robert I David II Edward Balliol Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI Monarchs of England and Scotland after the Union of the Crowns in 1603 James I & VI Charles I Commonwealth Charles II James II & VII William III & II and Mary II Anne British monarchs after the Acts of Union 1707 Anne George I George II George III George IV William IV Victoria Edward VII George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics. Monarchs of Canada House of Hanover ( 1867 -- 1901 ) Victoria House of Saxe - Coburg - Gotha ( 1901 -- 1917 ) Edward VII George V House of Windsor ( 1917 -- present ) George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II Emperors of India Victoria Edward VII George V Edward VIII George VI British princes The generations indicate descent from George I, who formalised the use of the titles prince and princess for members of the British royal family. 1st generation King George II 2nd generation Frederick, Prince of Wales Prince George William Prince William, Duke of Cumberland 3rd generation King George III Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn Prince Frederick 4th generation King George IV Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany King William IV Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn King Ernest Augustus of Hanover Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge Prince Octavius Prince Alfred Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh 5th generation Albert, Prince Consort King George V of Hanover Prince George, Duke of Cambridge 6th generation King Edward VII Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover 7th generation Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale King George V Prince Alexander John of Wales Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Prince Arthur of Connaught Prince Charles Edward, Duke of Albany and of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Prince George William of Hanover Prince Christian of Hanover Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick 8th generation King Edward VIII King George VI Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Prince George, Duke of Kent Prince John Alastair, 2nd Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Johann Leopold, Hereditary Prince of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Prince Hubertus of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Prince Ernest Augustus of Hanover Prince George William of Hanover 9th generation Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince William of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Edward, Duke of Kent Prince Michael of Kent 10th generation Charles, Prince of Wales Prince Andrew, Duke of York Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex 11th generation Prince William, Duke of Cambridge Prince Henry of Wales James, Viscount Severn 12th generation Prince George of Cambridge Not a British prince by birth, but created Prince Consort. Not a British prince by birth, but created a Prince of the United Kingdom. Status debatable ; see his article. Dukes of York Edmund of Langley ( 1385 -- 1402 ) Edward of Norwich ( 1402 -- 1415 ) Richard Plantagenet ( 1415 -- 1460 ) Edward of York ( 1460 -- 1461 ) Richard of Shrewsbury ( 1474 -- 1483 ) Henry ( 1494 -- 1509 ) Charles ( 1605 -- 1625 ) James ( 1633 / 1644 -- 1685 ) Dukes of York and Albany ( 18th century ) George ( 1892 -- 1910 ) Albert ( 1920 -- 1936 ) Andrew ( 1986 -- present ) Princes of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Generations are numbered by descent from Duke Francis. 1st generation Ernest I ^ Prince Ferdinand ^ King Leopold I of the Belgians ^ 2nd generation Ernest II ^ Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom ^ * Koháry : King Fernando II of Portugal ^ ¶ Prince August ^ Prince Leopold ^ Belgium : Crown Prince Louis Philippe # King Leopold II # Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders # 3rd generation United Kingdom : King Edward VII * Alfred I * Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn * Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany * Braganza : King Pedro V ¶ King Luís I ¶ Infante João, Duke of Beja ¶ Infante Fernando ¶ Infante Augusto, Duke of Coimbra ¶ Koháry : Prince Philipp Prince Ludwig August Tsar Ferdinand I of the Bulgarians † Belgium : Prince Leopold, Duke of Brabant # Prince Baudouin # King Albert I # 4th generation United Kingdom : Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale * King George V * Prince Alexander John of Wales * Hereditary Prince Alfred * Prince Arthur of Connaught * Charles Edward I * Braganza : King Carlos I ¶ Infante Afonso, Duke of Porto ¶ Koháry : Prince Leopold Clement Prince Pedro Augusto Prince August Leopold Prince Joseph Ferdinand Prince Ludwig Gaston Bulgaria : Tsar Boris III † Kiril, Prince of Preslav † Belgium : King Leopold III # Prince Charles, Count of Flanders # 5th generation United Kingdom : King Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor * King George VI * Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester * Prince George, Duke of Kent * Prince John * Prince Alastair of Connaught * Hereditary Prince Johann Leopold * Prince Hubertus * Friedrich Josias, Prince of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Braganza : Luís Filipe, Prince Royal ¶ King Manuel II ¶ Koháry : Prince August Clemens Prince Rainer Prince Philipp Prince Ernst Prince Antonius Bulgaria : Tsar Simeon II † Belgium : King Baudouin I # King Albert II # Prince Alexandre # 6th generation Andreas, Prince of Saxe - Coburg and Gotha Prince Adrian Koháry : Prince Johannes Heinrich Bulgaria : Kardam, Prince of Turnovo † Kyril, Prince of Preslav † Kubrat, Prince of Panagyurishte † Konstantin - Assen, Prince of Vidin † Belgium : King Philippe # Prince Laurent # 7th generation Hereditary Prince Hubertus Prince Alexander Koháry : Prince Johannes Bulgaria : Boris, Prince of Turnovo † Prince Beltrán † Prince Tassilo † Prince Mirko † Prince Lukás † Prince Tirso † Prince Umberto † Belgium : Prince Gabriel # Prince Emmanuel # Prince Nicolas # Prince Aymeric # 8th generation Prince Philipp ^ Prince of Saxe - Coburg - Saalfeld until 1826 * also a prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland # also a prince of Belgium ¶ also a member of the Portuguese royal family † also a member of the Bulgarian royal family also a member of the Brazilian imperial family Edward VIII abdication crisis Edward VIII Wallis Simpson People Prince Albert ( Edward VIII 's brother, later George VI ) Stanley Baldwin ( Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ) Alfred Blunt ( Bishop of Bradford ) John Theodore Goddard ( Mrs. Simpson 's solicitor ) Alec Hardinge ( Edward VIII 's private secretary ) J.B.M. Hertzog ( Prime Minister of South Africa ) Cosmo Gordon Lang ( Archbishop of Canterbury ) Joseph Lyons ( Prime Minister of Australia ) William Lyon Mackenzie King ( Prime Minister of Canada ) Queen Mary ( Edward VIII 's mother ) Walter Monckton ( advisor to Edward VIII ) Michael Joseph Savage ( Prime Minister of New Zealand ) Ernest Simpson ( Mrs. Simpson 's husband ) Éamon de Valera ( President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State ) Legal documents His Majesty 's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 ( United Kingdom ) Executive Authority ( External Relations ) Act 1936 ( Ireland ) His Majesty King Edward the Eighth 's Abdication Act, 1937 ( South Africa ) Succession to the Throne Act 1937 ( Canada ) Cultural depictions Edward & Mrs. Simpson ( 1978 ) The Woman He Loved ( 1988 ) Wallis & Edward ( 2005 ) The King 's Speech ( 2010 ) W.E. ( 2012 ) Heads of State of Ceylon and Sri Lanka Monarch of Ceylon ( 1948 -- 1972 ) George VI Elizabeth II President of Sri Lanka ( from 1972 ) Gopallawa Jayewardene Premadasa Wijetunga Kumaratunga Rajapaksa Sirisena Heads of State of India King ( 1947 -- 1950 ) George VI † President ( from 1950 ) Prasad Radhakrishnan Hussain Giri * Hidayatullah * Giri Ahmed Jatti * Reddy Singh Venkataraman Sharma Narayanan Kalam Patil Mukherjee † Formerly Emperor of India until 22 June 1948 * Acting President Heads of State of Pakistan Monarch ( 1947 -- 1956 ) George VI Elizabeth II President ( from 1956 ) Mirza A. Khan § Y. Khan § Bhutto Chaudhry Zia § G. Khan Sajjad * Leghari Sajjad * Tarar Musharraf § Soomro * Zardari Hussain § Head of the military regime * Acting President Heads of State of South Africa Monarch ( 1910 -- 1961 ) George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II State President ( 1961 -- 1994 ) ( under Apartheid ) Swart Dönges Naudé * Fouché J. de Klerk * Diederichs Viljoen * Vorster Viljoen Botha F.W. de Klerk President ( from 1994 ) ( post-Apartheid ) Mandela Mbeki Matsepe - Casaburri * Motlanthe Zuma * Acting President Biography portal Monarchy portal United Kingdom portal British Empire portal World War II portal `` The template below ( Authority control ) is being considered for deletion. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. '' Authority control VIAF : 8330386 LCCN : n50024182 ISNI : 0000 0004 1024 9563 GND : 118690477 SELIBR : 214480 SUDOC : 084554436 BNF : cb140374066 ( data ) BIBSYS : 90266903 ULAN : 500356596 MusicBrainz : 65213ed3 - 8453 - 48e8 - 918f - 828dc11dc6b5 NLA : 36542954 NDL : 001115765 IATH : w6k45ndm Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_VI&oldid=810479022 '' Categories : George VI 1895 births 1952 deaths 19th - century British people 20th - century British monarchs Monarchs of the United Kingdom Monarchs of Australia Heads of state of Canada Emperors of India Heads of state of India Heads of state of Ireland Heads of state of New Zealand Heads of state of Pakistan Monarchs of South Africa Monarchs of Ceylon Heads of the Commonwealth House of Windsor Dukes of York Princes of the United Kingdom Royal Navy admirals of the fleet British field marshals Marshals of the Royal Air Force Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War I World War II political leaders People of the Victorian era British Freemasons Knights of the Garter Knights of the Thistle Knights of St Patrick Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Royal Victorian Chain Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Eagle ( Serbia ) Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ ( Portugal ) Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint James of the Sword Chief Commanders of the Legion of Merit Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of William Grand Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog Knights of the Military Order of Savoy Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix ( Greece ) Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint - Charles Collars of the Order of Saints George and Constantine Recipients of the Order of Al Rafidain Companions of the Liberation Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from Sandringham, Norfolk Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from thrombosis People with speech impediment Edward VIII abdication crisis Burials at St George 's Chapel, Windsor Castle Royalty and nobility with disabilities British Empire in World War II People educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne Hidden categories : Use British English from October 2012 Spoken articles Articles with hAudio microformats Featured articles Use dmy dates from October 2012 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Wikisource Afrikaans Aragonés Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge Gàidhlig Galego 客家 語 / Hak - kâ - ngî 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית ქართული Қазақша Kernowek لۊری شومالی Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar Македонски मराठी مصرى مازِرونی Bahasa Melayu Mirandés Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Nouormand Occitan پنجابی Polski Português Română Русский Gagana Samoa संस्कृतम् Scots Sicilianu සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt Winaray ייִדיש Yorùbá 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 November 2017, at 14 : 28. 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Question: who was the king of england in the second world war
Answer: George VI