May 12: George VI

On this date in 1937 King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey along with his consort, Queen Elizabeth. Here are ten things you might not know about him:

1. His first name wasn't actually George. He was born on the Sandringham Estate on 14 December 1895, which happened to be the 34th anniversary of the death of his great grandfather, Prince Albert. His father, Prince George, Duke of York, was somewhat concerned how his grandmother, Queen Victoria, would react. She was said to have been "rather distressed", but seemed happier when she was told the child was to be named after Albert. Hence his name was Albert, known to the family as Bertie - although George was one of his middle names.
2. In the usual scheme of things, he wasn't expected to become king, either, as he had an older brother, Edward, who was the heir. King George V had his doubts about how Edward would fare as king and once said, "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne." Edward did inherit the throne, and did marry - but since he'd chosen to marry a divorced woman, Wallis Simpson, he was forced to abdicate. George V didn't live to see it, but his wish that Bertie would become king was granted.
3. Bertie wasn't keen on the idea of being king, but reluctantly took the throne. It was then that he took George VI as his regnal name, in an attempt to restore confidence in the monarchy.
4. He was naturally left handed, but forced as a child to write with his right hand.
5. He had knock knees which required corrective splints, and a stammer, which he never quite overcame. Because of this, and being naturally shy, he dreaded having to give speeches. He had speech therapy with Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue in the 1920s, which did help. His speech therapy was the subject of the film, The King's Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George.
6. As a young man, George, too had an interest in an unsuitable woman, Lady Loughborough, who was married. His father persuaded him to stop seeing her. Later in the same year, he met Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. He proposed to her twice and was turned down, but he persisted and it was third time lucky - they were married on 26 April 1923 in Westminster Abbey. That he was marrying someone not of royal birth was unusual for the time.
7. He played at Wimbledon in the Men's Doubles with Louis Greig in 1926, losing in the first round.
8. He was the first member of the royal family to qualify as a pilot.
9. George wasn't keen on Winston Churchill at first. He would have preferred Churchill's rival Lord Halifax; but later George and Churchill became friends and met for lunch once a week to discuss the war.
10. The king was a heavy smoker and the war caused him a lot of stress. He developed lung cancer and was in such poor health that his Opening of Parliament speech in 1951 had to be read out by someone else, and his Christmas broadcast was recorded in short sections and edited together. He was advised against going to the airport to see off his daughter, Princess Elizabeth, who was leaving for Australia via Kenya. It would be the last time father and daughter would see each other as he died six days later at the age of just 56.

Related Posts: British Monarchs

Charles I 

Edward III

Edward VI
Edward the Confessor 

Elizabeth I

George III
Henry II 
Henry V 

Henry VIII

Henry VIII's wives

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Victoria

Richard II

Richard III

William and Mary

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