King George VI (1895-1952)

[Tsaritsa]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

How tall or short was George VI? At the beginning of this thread there are a lot of quotes from people who met him mentioning his height. He always seems rather tall to me but in most pix I have seen he is by himself or next to his wife. I always thought George and Edward were about the same height.
Anyway, I like George VI and Edward VIII, I feel sorry for George but I really admire him for facing his fear and doing it for 12yrs even.

Please refer to post 70.

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by Kataryn

...London only "burned" from 7.9.1940 when the first bombs fell onto London soil till the 31.10.1940 when the bombings of London ended.

The Blitz might have only gone on during 1940-41 but London was still be bombed into 1945.

I don't know where you get the date of the 31st October from as the worst air raid was nearly two months later 29th December, 1940. Worst air raid on London — History.com This Day in History — 12/29/1940 On the evening of December 29, 1940, London suffers its most devastating air raid when Germans firebomb the city. Hundreds of fires caused by the exploding bombs engulfed areas of London, but firefighters showed a valiant indifference to the bombs falling around them and saved much of the city from destruction. The next day, a newspaper photo of St. Paul's Cathedral standing undamaged amid the smoke and flames seemed to symbolize the capital's unconquerable spirit during the Battle of Britain.

I had three relatives killed by German bombs in 1943 and 1944 in raids on London - so I will say that the raids were continuing into 1945 - with the V1 and V2 attacks at the end of the war.

The Blitz of British cities lasted for 9 months - not two.

There was further heavy bombing of London in May 1941.

April 1942 the Germans begin the air raids against the Cathedral cities of Britain.

British cities were bombed throughout the war by the Germans.

[IloveCP]

So sad that he never wanted to be king.

[IloveCP]

I wonder what Elizabeth II is doing for his birthday today.I would love to know what she does for his birthday every year.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Often you hear about what cold and traumatizing parents Mary and George were. It's quite fascinating that despite his upbringing that George VI turned out to be such a loving father to his daughters. Sometime you hear about the child ending up just like their own mother or father.

[IloveCP]

Actually,I read somewhere that Mary and George,when in private,that they were loving parents.Mary was very caring and sometimes showed a funloving side to her children.

[Kasumi]

Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | Express Yourself :: King George VI with his daughter Princess Elizabeth

v King George VI & Princess Elizabeth

[IloveCP]

That's a nice photo of father and daughter.

[Kasumi]

Eight days that we grieved for the King
IT is 60 years ago today since King George VI passed away and a young Queen Elizabeth took to the throne.
It made headlines across the globe — including here in Bolton.
For eight days the Bolton Evening News ran front page stories about the King’s death and the Queen’s accession.
The death of King George VI at the age of 57, and 16 years into his reign, came as a shock.

[CarolynHarris]

George VI played a key role in Britain's decision to host the olympics in London in 1948

http://www.royalhistorian.com/royals-at-the-olympics-the-involvement-of-european-royalty-in-the-modern-olympic-games/

[Tiggersk8]

Originally Posted by CarolynHarris

George VI played a key role in Britain's decision to host the olympics in London in 1948

Royals at the Olympics: The Involvement of European Royalty in the Modern Olympic Games | Carolyn Harris: Royal Historian

I fixed your link for you Carolyn. To post a link, you need to put [ url ] the address to the article/picture/whatever [ /url ], but w/out the spaces in the code.

Looking forward to checking that article out as it's about two of my favourite hobbies. Royalty and the Olympic Games.

[Grandduchess24]

Do you guys think that the movie "the King's speech" portrays the late king well ? I am thinking about watching it in order to learn a little more about King George VI.

[Tiggersk8]

Wish I could answer you Grandduchess, as I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I got the DVD a couple of weeks ago, but due to blocked kitchen sink pipes, the access to said pipes being through the ceiling of my bedroom, but my bedroom needing to undergo a complete redo and overhaul, me going through what's going on w/me health wise and now w/the World Figure Skating Championships starting tomorrow and we getting live coverage in Canada and...

Yeah...Been *slightly* occupied.

I can say this however. Because my love of Royal History, I knew about Bertie's speech problems and seeing Dr. Logue to overcome them. I always thought *if* the story got to the right people and then *if* the right actors were cast, it would make an incredable movie and one that deserved to be made in order to get the story out there.

From all I've heard, sometimes dreams do come true. :o) I am beyond looking forward to finally getting a chance to sit down and watch TKS. It's looking like it might be many days down the road however. :oD

Carolyn, thank you so much for sharing your article w/us. I never knew the reason the Marathon is the length that it is, is due to Princess Mary asking it to start under the Windsor Nursery window. I went "Awwww!!!" after reading that.

Just one thing...One Royal I didn't see mentioned in the article is Princess Nathalie of Berleburg-et al. She helped Denmark win a Bronze Medal in Team Dressage at the Beijing Olympics. Also ended up producing one of my favourite Beijing moments too.

King Constantine in his capacity of IOC Member gave out those medals. Princess Nathalie was the last one of the team to recieve her Medal and as the others were given theirs it was, "Thank you Your Majesty...Yes Your Majesty, it wasn't easy to achieve that pattern and Thank you so much...Etc..."

When he got to Nathalie? She just threw her arms open and squealed, "UNCLE TINO!!!" and then gave him this huge hug. :oD

As I said...One of my favourite Beijing memories. :o)

[Constance59]

Originally Posted by Grandduchess24

Do you guys think that the movie "the King's speech" portrays the late king well ? I am thinking about watching it in order to learn a little more about King George VI.

It is a good movie to watch...not so sure about how it portrays George VI but I don't think they did a terrible job.

From the various bios I've read and documentaries I have seen, George VI was a pretty solemn guy, shy and reserved, who never wanted to be center stage. When he was, he did his best, which turned out to be pretty good and in my opinion, just what was needed for the time. His wife was a strong-minded woman, who did her best to make sure they both were always proper and on-course.

Of course he did not look like the actor :)

Youtube has some documentaries and clips of George VI and Elizabeth, as well as other Royals, that show the actual Kings and Queens and their mannerisms and speech, etc...

[purple_Lulu]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/cr/B00...3591049&sr=8-1

I'm going to get this DVD. It's a good price and looks a good factual backup to The King's Speech which made a good entertaining drama.

Or even better, this link!
Bertie and Elizabeth [DVD]:Amazon:Film & TV

v cover
reproduced for promotional purposes

[Royal Smurfness]

Originally Posted by Roderick

Not only did King George VI die prematurely from a heavy smoking habit

Wasn't he acctually advised to smoke by his doctors who thought it would help him overcome his stammer?
I saw the film about him and he tells his speach trainer so.
Is it true that as a child king George was maltreated by his nanny because she didn't like the boy?

[anarchyfps]

Hi everyone,


This is my first post on this forum.


Anyways, I'd just like to say that George VI has been a personal hero of mine for quite a while now..


I've always had an interest in the british monarchy and it's history.

I first got interested in Edward longshanks(admittedly after watching Braveheart) but then moved onto Henry VIII and so on.

But what got me so interested in George VI was the fact that this was a man who was very shy, never wanted to become king and had a speech impediment. He is by far my favourite British monarch of all time because he overcame these problems at a time when his country needed him the most.

I think his story is one of inspiration and I'm glad that this shy but Selflessness king got the recognition he deserved in the king's speech.

[Tsar bobo Iv]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lv...0umko1_500.jpg the queen mum looks so relaxed ut king george looks so serious

[Muhler]

I need a little help.

I understand King George VI served at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 as a young prince.
Could anyone please tell me on which ship he served?

Then I'll track down the movements of that ship during the battle and learn what happened.

[Artemisia]

Prince Albert (later George VI) served on HMS Collingwood as a sub-lieutenant in 'A' turret.
Brief history of the battleship from Forces War Records:

HMS Collingwood was a St. Vincent-class battleship of the Royal Navy. The ship was launched 7 November 1908, and completed in 1910, serving in the 1st Division of the British Home Fleet. In February, 1911 Collingwood grounded on an uncharted rock off Ferrol. She became flagship of the 1st Battle Squadron in June 1912, joined the Grand Fleet in August 1914, and participated at the Battle of Jutland. Prince Albert (later King George VI) served on Collingwood at Jutland. In 1916, Collingwood joined the Fourth Battle Squadron and later served as a gunnery training ship at Portsmouth. The ship was sold for scrap in 1922