THE KING IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

An interview with Dr Sarah Richardson, Department of History

February 6th 2012 marks the 60th anniversary of the death of King George VI and the succession to the throne of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. The Department of History’s Dr Sarah Richardson looks at his life and the crucial role he played for the institution of the monarchy.

Like his father before him, says Dr Richardson, as a second son, Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor didn’t expect to become King. His older brother, Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, was the playboy Prince who, as King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne in order to marry his American divorcée lover, Wallis Simpson. King Edward VIII, now known as the Duke of Windsor, died childless in 1972. If he hadn’t have abdicated, then Queen Elizabeth II would have waited an extra 20 years to become the monarch.

Instead, it was King George VI who was crowned King on the day previously earmarked for the coronation of his elder brother. Rather than being raised for kingship, Albert (known to his family as Bertie) had trained for a Naval career. “He served in the Navy during World War I, taking part in the Battle of Jutland. He also trained as a pilot for the fledgling RAF, which was formed in 1918,” Dr Richardson explains.

After the war he “spent three terms at Cambridge studying history, then took on royal duties”. This coincided with increasing family responsibilities at home during the century’s third decade. In 1923 he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Together they had two daughters: the future Queen Elizabeth, born in 1926, and Margaret in 1930.

In 1936 Bertie’s life changed irrevocably. The year “witnessed the death of his father, the accession and then abdication of his brother, and his accession to the throne as King - a role for which he was not fully prepared”. The 2010 Bafta Award-winning film The King’s Speech dramatised the difficulties King George VI had in overcoming a speech impediment and finding the confidence for his ubiquitous public speaking engagements.

The King's 'normalcy', modesty and his promotion of homely family values gave an air of stability in a volatile period.

All too soon the spectre of war loomed again. “The first part of his 15-year reign was dominated by World War II and he played an important part in keeping up morale on the Home Front.” The royal couple visited bombed areas of the capital and achieved great popularity by remaining at Buckingham Palace for most of the war. “His decision to stay in London during the Blitz, for example, won him many admirers.” In total the palace was bombed nine times. To recognise the contributions that brave citizens made to the war effort, the King introduced the George Cross and George Medal. On Victory in Europe (VE) day revellers gathered around the gates of Buckingham Palace to celebrate.

Says Dr Richardson: “the last years of his reign were dominated by post-war reconstruction and the formation of a new world order. George VI was the last monarch to hold the title Emperor of India, with partition and independence in 1947”. Throughout this time the King suffered from ill health. His situation took a turn for the worse in 1948 and he had several major operations, leading to a lung cancer diagnosis in 1950. He was a heavy smoker.

In 1952 Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh departed for a tour of New Zealand and Australia, deputising for the King and Queen. “They left England on 31st January and stopped for the first leg of their journey in Kenya. A week later, on 6th February, George VI died and Elizabeth acceded to the throne.”

King George VI was only 56 when he had a coronary thrombosis and died in his sleep. After lying in state until his funeral on February 15, he was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor.

“George VI’s reign was crucially important for the institution of the monarchy,” says Dr Richardson. “He was not naturally at ease with the public or with politicians and acceded to the throne under a haze of controversy surrounding the abdication of Edward VIII (the first abdication since 1688 and the only king not to be crowned). However, his 'normalcy', modesty and his promotion of homely family values gave an air of stability in an extremely volatile period.”

Although his reign was born out of the tumult of King Edward VIII’s abdication, King George VI became a respected and popular monarch. His daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, has continued this reputation and she celebrates her diamond jubilee in June 2012.

Dr Sarah Richardson is an Associate Professor in the Department of History. She has designed a number of courses which draw heavily on e-learning, including an Online MA in History. In 2006 she was given a Warwick award for teaching excellence, and in 2010 received a National Teaching Fellowship.

Her current research projects include women and political culture in late 18th- and early 19th-century; women and political authority in the late 19th century focusing on the papers of the Cobden sisters; and electoral politics and the law.

By Penelope Jenkins