King George VI

Albert Frederick Arthur George was born 14th December 1895, the second son of King George V, and a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. He was given the name Albert in recognition of his great-grandfather, Prince Albert, the Prince Consort, who died on that day in 1861. He served as an officer in the Royal Navy during the Great War, and was mentioned in despatches for his action as a turret officer on board HMS Collingwood in the Battle of Jutland in 1916. He later transferred to the Royal Air Force.

As Prince Albert, Duke of York, and after two rejections in 1921 and 1922, he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in Westminster Abbey on 26th April 1923. The Duke and Duchess of York had two children - Elizabeth (later to become Queen Elizabeth II), and Margaret.

On the death of his father King George V in January 1936, Prince Albert became second in line to the throne. However, with the abdication of his older brother Edward, Prince Albert became King on the 11th December 1936, taking the regnal name King George VI. The ‘reluctant’ King gained great respect from his subjects during the second World War, and in so doing, restored faith in the monarchy. Sadly, the pressures of the war and the hardships of the post-war period took their toll, and the King’s health deteriorated. The King failed to recover from a lung operation, and died in his sleep at Sandringham on 6th February 1952.