Basic Information
Name: Albert Frederick Arthur George Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Whew.
Nickname: Bertie
Born: December 14, 1895
Died: February 6, 1952
Nationality: British
Hometown: Norfolk, England
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: soldier, prince, King of the United Kingdom
Education: Royal Naval Academy at Osborne, Royal Naval Academy at Dartmouth, Cambridge (Trinity College)
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: King George V and and Queen Mary (Mary of Teck)
Siblings: Edward, Mary, Henry, George, and John (died at age 14)
Spouse: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Children: Elizabeth, Margaret
Friends: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Neville Chamberlain, Lord Halifax, Winston Churchill (eventually)
Foes: Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill (sometimes), public speaking
Analysis
Nowadays, thanks to Colin Firth, people have some idea who George VI is. Just say "the guy from The King's Speech," and you're in business.
But what about when he wasn't doing vocal exercises with Geoffrey Rush?
Bertie's stint as possibly the most reluctant British monarch of all time oversaw the most cataclysmic events in the country's history.
If you don't count the death of Dumbledore.
Some People Do Put Baby in a Corner
Albert's childhood as a prince (but not the heir to the throne) wasn't exactly a fairy-tale existence. His parents were harsh with him, and he had a tendency to be sick and easily frightened. Which his dad might not have minded actually, since George V apparently once said: "My father was scared of his father, I was scared of my father and I'm damned well going to see that they're scared of me" (source).
Who else is feeling the love?
Young Bertie developed a serious stammer at age eight, had to wear braces to fix his knocked knees, and since he was a leftie, he was forced to learn to write right-handed by his tutors (source). Some people just have all the luck.
He joined the Navy during World War I, despite finishing low in his class at the Royal Navy Academy. He started his studies at Cambridge in 1920, but had to stop after a year because he had to take on too many royal responsibilities as the new Duke of York (source). In other words, he quit college to take over the family business.
The Once and Reluctant King
On January 20, 1936, Bertie's father King George V died. His older brother Edward took the throne, but his reign was short-lived. Within a year, Edward gave up the throne in order to marry his (divorced) American girlfriend, Wallis Simpson. The "abdication crisis" was a shock for a country that loves its monarchs; it was the scandal of the century.
Albert was next in line for the throne. Nothing like some enormous unexpected responsibility to make you feel really secure and good about your life, especially when you can hardly speak in public. He'd never expected to become King. He also had to break the news to his young daughter Elizabeth that some day she'd have to be Queen of England.
Albert took the name George VI to create continuity with his father and restore faith in a monarchy that had been deeply shaken by his brother's abdication. Siblings, right? Always messing things up for the rest of us.
Like many other folks in Britain in the late 1930s, the newly minted King George VI was desperate to avoid war. He supported Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement, and was very buddy-buddy with Chamberlain's foreign secretary Lord Halifax.
Just before Britain entered the war, George VI and his queen made state visits to several soon-to-be-allies, including the United States. In fact, he was the first British monarch to ever visit the U.S. (All the previous ones were probably reluctant because of that whole "Revolutionary War" incident.) FDR, anxious to drum up American sympathies for helping the British war effort, wanted to show the royals as just regular, down-to-earth people whom Americans—an isolationist bunch at the time—could relate to. Many Americans were still angry at the Brits for dragging them into WWI.
After the usual rounds of visits and state dinners in Washington, Roosevelt invited the couple to a picnic at his private home in Hyde Park, NY. The menu? Hot dogs. Seriously. It was a wildly successful scheme. Americans ended up being wowed by the Windsors, and FDR convinced Congress that supplying aid to Great Britain was actually the best way to keep the U.S. out of the war.
War and Winston
George VI and his wife's popularity soared once Britain declared war on Germany. Bertie made that great speech (here's the non-Colin-Firth version) announcing Britain's entry into the war and exhorting his people to stand firmly on the side of freedom and civilization. When London was being bombed nightly by the Germans, the royal family stayed put at Buckingham Palace. It was quite a gesture of solidarity. Do you know how many residences the royal family has? Hint, it's quite a few. Point being: they had options that did not include the risk of being blown up.
When Buckingham Palace itself was bombed, the Queen said, ''I am almost glad we have been bombed. Now I feel I can look the East End in the face'' (source). No wonder the Brits loved the Queen Mum until her dying day. The royal couple visited bombed-out sites around London and comforted wounded soldiers in hospitals. They even went to Normandy after D-Day (source).
After Neville Chamberlain's resignation, George VI appointed Winston Churchill to be Prime Minister. He's referenced a couple times in Churchill's speech, since the king is the one who officially asks the prime minister to form a new government.
At first, George wasn't Winston Churchill's biggest fan, but they quickly learned to trust and respect each other (source). Sometimes you just need a project to bring people together—like a group presentation…or fighting homicidal fascist dictators.
Not-So-Commonwealth
George VI is largely known for his leadership during World War II, however reluctantly his reign began.
But wait, there's more.
He helped speed up the transition from British Empire to British Commonwealth. Basically, that meant that the areas that were under British control were given a lot more autonomy. Under George VI's reign, India became independent, although admittedly a certain Mohandas K. Gandhi had an important hand in that.
George VI is also credited with changing the notion of what the British monarchy is supposed to be. He and his wife's active role during and after the war, as well as his total dedication to his subjects, created a new standard for royalty that's been fiercely upheld by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II (source).
Not every British monarch gets to be played by Colin Firth—although Helen Mirren isn't so bad, either—but George VI's story probably deserves that honor. Overcoming his stammer was quite a feat in and of itself, but staying strong and encouraging in the face of a world war, especially when the odds are stacked against you, is pretty monumental.
King George died in 1952 of smoking-related illnesses. He'd been treated (at least what treatment was available at the time) for lung cancer, and a heart attack killed him in his sleep. His 25-year-old daughter Elizabeth became the second reluctant monarch in the family, but, like her father, she rose to the occasion. In 2015, Elizabeth II bested her great-great-grandma Queen Victoria for the title of longest-reigning British monarch.
George would've been proud.