Editing George VI (section)

==Marriage==
{{see also|Wedding of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon}}
[[File:StateLibQld 1 110084 Duke and Duchess of York at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane, 1927.jpg|thumb|The Duke and Duchess of York (centre, reading programmes) at [[Eagle Farm Racecourse]], Brisbane, Queensland, 1927]]
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 Chisholm|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.<ref>{{Citation |last=Henderson |first=Gerard |title=Sheila: The Australian Ingenue Who Bewitched British Society – review |date=31 January 2014 |url=http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/457107/Sheila-The-Australian-Ingenue-Who-Bewitched-British-Society-review |work=Daily Express |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123341/http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/457107/Sheila-The-Australian-Ingenue-Who-Bewitched-British-Society-review |access-date=15 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}; {{Citation |last=Australian Associated Press |title=A Sheila who captured London's heart |date=28 February 2014 |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/28/sheila-who-captured-londons-heart |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106071743/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/28/sheila-who-captured-londons-heart |publisher=Special Broadcasting Service |access-date=14 March 2015 |archive-date=6 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> That year, he met for the first time since childhood [[Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]], the youngest daughter of the [[Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne|Earl]] and [[Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne|Countess of Strathmore]]. He became determined to marry her.<ref>Rhodes James, pp. 94–96; Vickers, pp. 31, 44</ref> Elizabeth 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.<ref>Bradford, p. 106</ref> In the words of Lady Strathmore, Albert would be "made or marred" by his choice of wife. After a protracted courtship, Elizabeth agreed to marry him.<ref>Bradford, p. 77; Judd, pp. 57–59</ref>

Albert and Elizabeth were married on 26 April 1923 in [[Westminster Abbey]]. Albert's marriage to someone not of royal birth was considered a modernising gesture.<ref>{{Citation |last=Roberts |first=Andrew |title=The House of Windsor |pages=57–58 |year=2000 |editor-last=Antonia Fraser |place=London |publisher=Cassell & Co. |isbn=978-0-304-35406-1 |editor-link=Antonia Fraser}}</ref> The newly formed [[British Broadcasting Company]] wished to record and broadcast the event on radio, but the Abbey [[Dean and Chapter of Westminster|Chapter]] vetoed the idea (although the [[Dean of Westminster|Dean]], [[Herbert Edward Ryle]], was in favour).<ref>{{Citation |last=Reith |first=John |title=Into the Wind |page=94 |year=1949 |place=London |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |author-link=John Reith, 1st Baron Reith}}</ref>

[[File:TIMEMagazine12Jan1925.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|On the [[1929 Time magazine covers|cover of ''Time'']], January 1925]]

From December 1924 to April 1925, the Duke and Duchess toured [[Kenya Colony|Kenya]], [[Uganda Protectorate|Uganda]], and the [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan|Sudan]], travelling via the [[Suez Canal]] and [[Aden]]. During the trip, they both went [[big-game hunting]].<ref>Judd, pp. 89–93</ref>

Because of his stutter, Albert dreaded public speaking.<ref>Judd, p. 49</ref> 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,<ref>Judd, pp. 93–97; Rhodes James, p. 97</ref> 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.<ref>Judd, p. 98; Rhodes James, p. 98</ref> Subsequently, he was able to speak with less hesitation.<ref>''Current Biography 1942'', pp. 294–295; Judd, p. 99</ref> With his delivery improved, Albert opened the new [[Old Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] in [[Canberra]], Australia, during a tour of the empire with his wife in 1927.<ref>Judd, p. 106; Rhodes James, p. 99</ref> Their journey by sea to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji took them 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.<ref>Shawcross, p. 273</ref>

The Duke and Duchess had two children: [[Elizabeth II|Elizabeth]], the future Elizabeth II (called "Lilibet" by the family), was born in 1926, and [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Margaret]] in 1930. The family lived at [[White Lodge, Richmond Park]], and then at 145 [[Piccadilly]], rather than one of the royal palaces.<ref>Judd, pp. 111, 225, 231</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://www.richmond.gov.uk/media/6327/local_history_white_lodge.pdf|title=White Lodge, Richmond Park|work=London Borough of Richmond upon Thames|accessdate=30 March 2023|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331000959/https://www.richmond.gov.uk/media/6327/local_history_white_lodge.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1931, the [[Canadian prime minister]], [[R. B. Bennett]], considered Albert for [[Governor General of Canada]]—a proposal that King George V rejected on the advice of the [[Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs]], [[J. H. Thomas]].<ref>Howarth, p. 53</ref>