Editing George VI (section)

==Reign==
===Reluctant king===
{{Main|Abdication of Edward VIII}}

King George V had severe reservations about Prince Edward, saying "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in twelve months" and "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne."<ref>Ziegler, p. 199</ref> On 20 January 1936, [[George V died]] and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. In the [[Vigil of the Princes]], Prince Albert and his three brothers (the new king, [[Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester]], and [[Prince George, Duke of Kent]]) took a shift standing guard over their father's body as it [[lay in state]], in a closed casket, in [[Westminster Hall]].

As Edward was unmarried and had no children, Albert was the [[heir presumptive]] to the throne. Less than a year later, on 11 December 1936, Edward [[Edward VIII abdication crisis|abdicated]] in order to marry [[Wallis Simpson]], who was divorced from her first husband and divorcing her second. Edward had been advised by British prime minister [[Stanley Baldwin]] that he could not remain king and marry a divorced woman with two living ex-husbands. He abdicated and Albert, though he had been reluctant to accept the throne, became king.<ref>Judd, p. 140</ref> The day before the abdication, Albert went to London to see his mother, Queen Mary. He wrote in his diary, "When I told her what had happened, I broke down and sobbed like a child."<ref>Wheeler-Bennett, p. 286</ref>

On the day of Edward's abdication, the [[Oireachtas]], the parliament of the [[Irish Free State]], [[Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936|removed all direct mention of the monarch]] from the [[Constitution of the Irish Free State|Irish constitution]]. The next day, it passed the [[External Relations Act]], which gave the monarch limited authority (strictly on the advice of the government) to appoint diplomatic representatives for Ireland and to be involved in the making of foreign treaties. The two acts made the Irish Free State a republic in essence without removing its links to the Commonwealth.<ref>Townsend, p. 93</ref>

Across Britain, gossip spread that Albert was physically and psychologically incapable of being king. No evidence has been found to support the contemporaneous rumour that the government considered bypassing him, his children and his brother Prince Henry, in favour of their younger brother Prince George, Duke of Kent.<ref>Bradford, p. 208; Judd, pp. 141–142</ref> This seems to have been suggested on the grounds that Prince George was at that time the only brother with [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent|a son]].<ref>Howarth, p. 63; Judd, p. 135</ref>

===Early reign===
[[File:1 crown George VI 1937.png|thumb|[[Crown (British coin)|Crown coin]] with George in profile, 1937]]
[[File:Coronation of H.M. George VI and Queen Elizabeth.jpg|thumb|222x222px|Painting of the Coronation in 1937]]
Albert assumed the [[regnal name]] "George VI" to emphasise continuity with his father and restore confidence in the monarchy.<ref>Howarth, p. 66; Judd, p. 141</ref> The beginning of George VI's reign was taken up by questions surrounding his predecessor and brother, whose titles, style and position were uncertain. He had been introduced as "His Royal Highness Prince Edward" for the abdication broadcast,<ref>Judd, p. 144; Sinclair, p. 224</ref> but George VI felt that by abdicating and renouncing the succession, Edward had lost the right to bear royal titles, including "Royal Highness".<ref>Howarth, p. 143</ref> In settling the issue, George's first act as king was to confer upon Edward the title "[[Duke of Windsor]]" with the style "Royal Highness", but the [[letters patent]] creating the dukedom prevented any wife or children from bearing royal styles. George VI was forced to buy from Edward the royal residences of [[Balmoral Castle]] and [[Sandringham House]], as these were private properties and did not pass to him automatically.<ref>Ziegler, p. 326</ref> Three days after his accession, on his 41st birthday, he invested his wife, the new [[queen consort]], with the [[Order of the Garter]].<ref>Bradford, p. 223</ref>
[[File:Radio Times - 1937-05-07 - front cover - Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson.png|thumb|upright|Cover of the 7 May 1937 edition of ''[[Radio Times]]'', drawn by [[C. R. W. Nevinson]], marking the first coronation to be broadcast, and partially televised, live ]]
[[George VI's coronation]] at Westminster Abbey took place on 12 May 1937, the date previously intended for [[Abandoned coronation of Edward VIII|Edward's coronation]]. In a break with tradition, Queen Mary attended the ceremony in a show of support for her son.<ref>Bradford, p. 214</ref> There was no [[durbar (court)|Durbar]] held in Delhi for George VI, as had occurred for his father, as the cost would have been a burden to the [[British Raj|Government of India]].<ref>Vickers, p. 175</ref> Rising [[Indian independence movement|Indian nationalism]] made the welcome that the royal party would have received likely to be muted at best,<ref>Bradford, p. 209</ref> and a prolonged absence from Britain would have been undesirable in the tense period before the Second World War. Two overseas tours were undertaken, to France and to North America, both of which promised greater strategic advantages in the event of war.<ref>Bradford, pp. 269, 281</ref>

The growing likelihood of war in Europe dominated the early reign of George VI. The King was constitutionally bound to support British prime minister [[Neville Chamberlain]]'s [[appeasement]] of [[Hitler]].<ref name="matthew"/><ref>Sinclair, p. 230</ref> When the King and Queen greeted Chamberlain on his return from negotiating the [[Munich Agreement]] in 1938, they invited him to appear on the balcony of [[Buckingham Palace]] with them. This public association of the monarchy with a politician was exceptional, as balcony appearances were traditionally restricted to the royal family.<ref name="matthew" /> While broadly popular among the general public, Chamberlain's policy towards Hitler was the subject of some opposition in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]], which led historian and politician [[John Grigg]] to describe George's behaviour in associating himself so prominently with a politician as "the most unconstitutional act by a British sovereign in the present century".<ref>[[Hitchens, Christopher]] (1 April 2002), [https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/apr/01/queenmother.monarchy9 "Mourning will be brief"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028043217/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/apr/01/queenmother.monarchy9 |date=28 October 2017 }}, ''The Guardian'', retrieved 1 May 2009</ref>
[[File:FDR-George-VI-Potomac-June-9-1939-2-detail-crop.jpg|thumb|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin]] and [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, on the [[USS Potomac (AG-25)|USS ''Potomac'']], 9 June 1939]]
In May and June 1939, the [[1939 royal tour of Canada|King and Queen toured Canada]] and the United States; it was the first visit of a reigning British monarch to North America, although George had been to Canada prior to his accession. From [[Ottawa]], George and Elizabeth were accompanied by Canadian prime minister [[Mackenzie King]],<ref>{{citation| url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/king/023011-1070.06-e.html| last=Library and Archives Canada| author-link=Library and Archives Canada| title=Biography and People > A Real Companion and Friend > Behind the Diary > Politics, Themes, and Events from King's Life > The Royal Tour of 1939| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=12 December 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030064730/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/king/023011-1070.06-e.html| archive-date=30 October 2009| df=dmy-all}}</ref> to present themselves in North America as [[King and Queen of Canada]].<ref>{{citation| last=Bousfield| first=Arthur| author2=Toffoli, Garry| title=Royal Spring: The Royal Tour of 1939 and the Queen Mother in Canada| publisher=Dundurn Press| year=1989| location=Toronto| pages=60, 66| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Go5p_CN8UQC| isbn=978-1-55002-065-6| access-date=21 September 2020| archive-date=18 March 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318025506/https://books.google.com/books?id=1Go5p_CN8UQC| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation| last=Lanctot| first=Gustave| author-link=Gustave Lanctot| title=Royal Tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Canada and the United States of America 1939| publisher=E.P. Taylor Foundation| year=1964| location=Toronto}}</ref> Both Mackenzie King and the Canadian governor general, [[Lord Tweedsmuir]], hoped that George's presence in Canada would demonstrate the principles of the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], which gave full sovereignty to the [[British Dominions]]. On 19 May, George personally accepted and approved the [[letter of credence]] of the new U.S. ambassador to Canada, [[Daniel Calhoun Roper]]; gave [[royal assent]] to nine parliamentary bills; and ratified two   international treaties with the [[Great Seal of Canada]]. The official royal tour historian, [[Gustave Lanctot]], wrote "the Statute of Westminster had assumed full reality" and George gave a speech emphasising "the free and equal association of the nations of the Commonwealth".<ref>{{citation| last=Galbraith| first=William| title=Fiftieth Anniversary of the 1939 Royal Visit| journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review| volume=12| issue=3| pages=7–9| year=1989| url=http://www.revparl.ca/english/issue.asp?art=820&param=130| access-date=24 March 2015| archive-date=7 August 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807152733/http://www.revparl.ca/english/issue.asp?art=820&param=130| url-status=live}}</ref>

The trip was intended to soften the strong [[isolationist]] tendencies among the North American public with regard to the developing tensions in Europe. Although the aim of the tour was mainly political, to shore up Atlantic support for the United Kingdom in any future war, the King and Queen were enthusiastically received by the public.<ref>Judd, pp. 163–166; Rhodes James, pp. 154–168; Vickers, p. 187</ref> The fear that George would be compared unfavourably to his predecessor was dispelled.<ref>Bradford, pp. 298–299</ref> They visited the [[1939 New York World's Fair]] and stayed with President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] at the [[White House]] and at [[Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site|his private estate]] at [[Hyde Park, New York]].<ref>''The Times'' Monday, 12 June 1939 p. 12 col. A</ref> A strong bond of friendship was forged between Roosevelt and the royal couple during the tour, which had major significance in the relations between the United States and the United Kingdom through the ensuing war years.<ref>{{citation |last=Swift |first=Will |title=The Roosevelts and the Royals: Franklin and Eleanor, the King and Queen of England, and the Friendship that Changed History |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2004}}</ref><ref>Judd, p. 189; Rhodes James, p. 344</ref>

===Second World War===
[[File:Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. CH20901.jpg|thumb|King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princess Elizabeth with RAF personnel during World War II]]
Following the [[German invasion of Poland]] in September 1939, the United Kingdom and the self-governing Dominions [[Irish neutrality during World War II|other than Ireland]] declared war on [[Nazi Germany]].<ref>Judd, pp. 171–172; Townsend, p. 104</ref> The King and Queen resolved to stay in London, despite German [[The Blitz|bombing raids]]. They officially stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war, although they usually spent nights at [[Windsor Castle]].<ref>Judd, p. 183; Rhodes James, p. 214</ref> The first night of the Blitz on London, on 7 September 1940, killed about one thousand civilians, mostly in the [[East End]].<ref>{{citation|last=Arnold-Forster|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Arnold-Forster|year=1983|orig-year=1973|title=The World at War|location=London|publisher=Thames Methuen|isbn=978-0-423-00680-3|page=303}}</ref> On 13 September, the couple narrowly avoided death when two German bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace while they were there.<ref>{{citation |last=Churchill |first=Winston |author-link=Winston Churchill |title=The Second World War |publisher=Cassell and Co. Ltd |year=1949 |volume=II |page=334}}</ref> In defiance, the Queen declared: "I am glad we have been bombed. It makes me feel we can look the East End in the face."<ref>Judd, p. 184; Rhodes James, pp. 211–212; Townsend, p. 111</ref> The royal family were portrayed as sharing the same dangers and deprivations as the rest of the country. They were subject to [[British rationing]] restrictions, and the U.S. first lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] remarked on the rationed food served and the limited bathwater that was permitted during a stay at the unheated and boarded-up Palace.<ref>{{citation|last=Goodwin|first=Doris Kearns|author-link=Doris Kearns Goodwin|title=No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1994|page=380}}</ref> In August 1942, the King's brother, the Duke of Kent, was killed on active service.<ref>Judd, p. 187; Weir, p. 324</ref>

[[File:King George VI with Sir Bernard Montgomery.jpg|thumb|left|With Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery]] (right), near the front lines in the Netherlands, October 1944]]

In 1940, [[Winston Churchill]] replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister, though personally George would have preferred to appoint [[Lord Halifax]].<ref>Judd, p. 180</ref> After the King's initial dismay over Churchill's appointment of [[Lord Beaverbrook]] to the Cabinet, he and Churchill developed "the closest personal relationship in modern British history between a monarch and a Prime Minister".<ref>Rhodes James, p. 195</ref> Every Tuesday for four and a half years from September 1940, the two men met privately for lunch to discuss the war in secret and with frankness.<ref>Rhodes James, pp. 202–210</ref> George related much of what the two discussed in his diary, which is the only extant first-hand account of these conversations.<ref>Weisbrode, Kenneth (2013), ''Churchill and the King'', New York: Viking, pp. 107, 117–118, 148, 154–155, 166. {{ISBN|978-0670025763}}.</ref>

Throughout the war, George and Elizabeth provided morale-boosting visits throughout the United Kingdom, visiting bomb sites, munitions factories, and troops. George visited military forces abroad in France in December 1939, North Africa and [[Malta]] in June 1943, [[Operation Overlord|Normandy]] in June 1944, southern Italy in July 1944, and the Low Countries in October 1944.<ref>Judd, pp. 176, 201–203, 207–208</ref> Their high public profile and apparently indefatigable determination secured their place as symbols of national resistance.<ref>Judd, p. 170</ref> At a social function in 1944, the [[Chief of the Imperial General Staff]], [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Alan Brooke]], revealed that every time he met Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery]], he thought Montgomery was after his job. George replied: "You should worry, when I meet him, I always think he's after mine!"<ref>{{citation|author=Reagan, Geoffrey|year=1992|title=Military Anecdotes|page=25|publisher=Guinness|isbn=978-0-85112-519-0}}</ref>

In 1945, crowds shouted "We want the King!" in front of Buckingham Palace during the [[Victory in Europe Day]] celebrations. In an echo of Chamberlain's appearance, the King invited Churchill to appear with the royal family on the balcony to public acclaim.<ref>Judd, p. 210</ref> In January 1946, George addressed the [[United Nations General Assembly|United Nations]] at its first assembly, which was held in London, and reaffirmed "our faith in the equal rights of men and women and of nations great and small".<ref>Townsend, p. 173</ref>

===Empire to Commonwealth===
[[File:Attlee with GeorgeVI HU 59486.jpg|thumb|With Clement Attlee (left) at Buckingham Palace, July 1945]]

George VI's reign saw the acceleration of the dissolution of the [[British Empire]]. The Statute of Westminster 1931 had already acknowledged the evolution of the Dominions into separate [[sovereignty|sovereign]] states. The process of transformation from an empire to a voluntary association of independent states, known as the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], gathered pace after the Second World War.<ref>Townsend, p. 176</ref> During the ministry of [[Clement Attlee]], [[British India]] became the two independent Dominions of [[Dominion of India|India]] and [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]] in August 1947.<ref>Townsend, pp. 229–232, 247–265</ref> George relinquished the title of [[Emperor of India]],<ref>{{Citation |title=A proclamation by the King, 22 June 1948 |author=Published by Authority |journal=Supplement to the Belfast Gazette - Official Public Record |issue=1408 |page=153 |date=18 June 1948 |url= https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Belfast/issue/1408/page/153|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905023508/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Belfast/issue/1408/page/153|archive-date=5 September 2021|url-status=live|mode=cs2}}</ref> and became King of India and King of Pakistan instead. In late April 1949, the Commonwealth leaders issued the [[London Declaration]], which laid the foundation of the modern Commonwealth and recognised George as [[Head of the Commonwealth]].<ref>{{citation| url=https://thecommonwealth.org/sites/default/files/history-items/documents/London%20Declaration%20of%201949.pdf| title=London Declaration 1949| publisher=Commonwealth Secretariat| access-date=2 April 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927031216/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/files/214257/FileName/TheLondonDeclaration1949.pdf| archive-date=27 September 2012| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=The London Declaration of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers, April 28, 1949|author=S. A. de Smith|journal=The Modern Law Review|year=1949|volume=12|issue=3|pages=351–354|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2230.1949.tb00131.x|jstor=1090506|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{citation|page=118|title=Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family: A Glorious Illustrated History|isbn=9780241296653|year=2016|publisher=Dorling Kindersley}}</ref> In January 1950, he ceased to be King of India when it became a republic. He remained King of Pakistan until his death. Other countries left the Commonwealth, such as [[Burma]] in January 1948, [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] (divided between Israel and the Arab states) in May 1948 and the Republic of Ireland in 1949.<ref>Townsend, pp. 267–270</ref>

In 1947, George and his family toured southern Africa.<ref>Townsend, pp. 221–223</ref> The prime minister of the [[Union of South Africa]], [[Jan Smuts]], was facing an election and hoped to make political capital out of the visit.<ref>Judd, p. 223</ref> George was appalled, however, when instructed by the South African government to shake hands only with whites,<ref>Rhodes James, p. 295</ref> and referred to his South African bodyguards as "the [[Gestapo]]".<ref>Rhodes James, p. 294; Shawcross, p. 618</ref> Despite the tour, Smuts lost [[1948 South African general election|the election the following year]], and the new government instituted a [[apartheid|strict policy of racial segregation]].