As Queen Elizabeth II looks forward to celebrating her Golden Jubilee later
this year, Call Sign's Anniversary Page looks back to the reign of her father,
King George VI, who died fifty years ago this month, on February 6, 1952...
Few monarchs could have experienced such a turbulent tenure and in
quieter moments George VI might well have pondered over the events that brought
him to the Throne and a global war that ravaged the world for almost six of his
fifteen year reign.
Prince Albert (Bertie), Duke of York, was born in London on
December 14, 1895, the second son of George V and Mary of Teck. He had a shy,
thoughtful personality, having been dominated by his father. As a young man he
spent five years in the Navy, which boosted his confidence somewhat, but it was
the patience and understanding of his beloved wife, the former Lady Elizabeth
Bowes-Lyon whom he married in 1923 and known to us as the present Queen's Mum,
who helped him largely overcome a nervous stutter.
It was the Abdication of his elder brother Edward VIII in 1936, in
favour of marrying "the woman I love" - divorcee Wallis Simpson,
which brought Albert to the throne. It was a position he did not seek and it
caused a family rift that never really healed.
In 1939, Britain found itself plunged into war and the Kings' leadership,
firmly supported by his family, gave Britain's citizens inspiration to continue
to fight for both freedom and survival. Never more was this so than during the
Blitz, when large areas of London were heavily bombed.
|
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
The Royal Family refused to leave the capitol for a safer
haven, and when Buckingham Palace sustained bomb damage, the Queen
famously commented that at last the Family "could look the East End
in the face."
On January 31 1952, the-then Princess Elizabeth, accompanied
by her husband, Prince Philip, left Heathrow on a goodwill trip overseas.
The miserable weather did nothing to hide the King's drawn and haggard
features as he waved them off. It was to be the last time the young
Princess would see her father alive.
During the early hours of February 6, the King died
peacefully in his sleep at Sandringham and the woman who had left these
shores a Princess, hurriedly returned a Queen.
Long may it be so Ma'm...!
Alan Green
(c)Call Sign Magazine 2002 |
