King George VI(1895-1952)

Albert Frederick Arthur George was born on December 14, 1895, to the future King George V and Queen Mary who was born a Princess of Teck. It was the anniversary of the death of Queen Victoria's husband Albert the Prince Consort, his great-grandfather, so it was obvious that his name would start with Albert. He had a nervous stammer, possibly because his father made him write with his right hand when he was naturally left-handed. In 1920 he was created Duke of York, and in 1923 he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother), the daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. In 1926 they had their first child, a daughter named Elizabeth, and four years later another daughter named Margaret. Albert's father died in January 1936, making his brother King Edward VIII. Edward abdicated in December 1936 to marry a twice-divorced American woman, putting England in a crisis. Albert then became King George VI, taking his father's regnal name, and his wife became Queen Elizabeth. His first act as King was to make his brother the Duke of Windsor. A few years later World War II broke out; the royal family stayed in Buckingham Palace even after it was bombed. A lifelong heavy smoker, the King died in 1952; at the time no connection was realised between smoking and the lung cancer that caused his death.

Of his six grandchildren, only two had been born before his death: Charles, who became Prince of Wales, and Anne, who became Princess Royal. His elder daughter, Elizabeth, became Queen Elizabeth II, and his wife became styled Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.