King George VI was born Albert Frederick Arthur George Saxe-Coburg Gotha 129 years ago, on December 14, 1895, to his parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, and future King George V and Queen Mary.
Prince Albert Developed A Stammer When He Was A Child
The young man was known as “His Highness Prince Albert of York.” However, his family nicknamed him “Bertie.” He was the second son and the spare, as his older brother, Edward VIII, was meant to be King.
The Prince had five siblings: Prince Edward, Prince John, Prince George, Prince Henry, and Princess Mary.
When Albert was eight, he developed a stammer and was forced to wear leg braces to correct his knocked knees. Prince Albert was an emotional child, often throwing temper tantrums and crying.
He carried his emotional nature into adulthood. When his brother Edward abdicated, and Albert found out he’d be King, he broke down and sobbed hysterically on his mother’s shoulder for at least an hour. He was forty-one years old at this time.
Albert’s childhood was plagued with various illnesses, including gastrointestinal issues. He was also terrified of his father, who often lost his temper with Albert. Due to his small frame, the young Prince was nicknamed “Sardine.”
In 1909, Albert graduated from the Royal Naval Academy at Osbourne. He unceremoniously finished at the bottom of his class.
That being said, he served in World War I and was the first royal family member to become a fully certified pilot after transferring to the Royal Air Force, which was an impressive achievement.
The Queen Mary Sought The Help Of A Speech Therapist For Albert
Even though Edward was heir to the throne, he was a wild child. During the Roaring Twenties, he would often attend parties, date married women, and was a very heavy drinker.
Edward was totally unsuitable as the future King. Royal historian Alexander Larman said Albert was relieved he wasn’t under the same pressure Edward was, which is why his brother’s abdication hit him so hard. He never wanted to be King.
After the war, Albert enrolled at Trinity College but only stayed one year. In 1920, he was made Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killarney, and he carried out royal duties for his father.
In 1920, Albert started dating Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, whom he first met as a child. Their families were close, and when he saw her again as an attractive eighteen-year-old, he developed an intense crush on her.
The couple were married in April 1923 at Westminster Abbey. They had two little girls, Princess Elizabeth, born in 1926, and Princess Margaret, born in 1930.
Elizabeth was sensitive to Albert’s difficulty with his stammering, and he dreaded public speaking. She sought the help of a speech therapist, and with his teacher’s exercises, Albert’s speech improved, and he worked with this person for the next twenty years.
Edward Abdicated The Throne
The relationship between Albert and his speech therapist inspired the film, “The King’s Speech.” Unfortunately for Albert, Edward met American socialite and divorcee Wallis Simpson. His family disapproved of her, so Edward abdicated the throne in 1936 and married Simpson.
Edward formally signed abdication papers with his brothers, Albert, Duke of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent. Albert and Edward’s relationship never again was the same.
Albert was crowned as King George VI in May 1937 in Westminster Abbey. In September 1939, at the start of World War I!, King George VI gave one of the most important speeches of his life to the nation of Britain.
It read,
“In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, for the second time in the lives of most of us, we are at war.”
“Over and over again, we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies,”
He exclaimed.
“But it has been in vain. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war is no longer confined to the battlefield.”
On September 13, 1940, the palace was under attack, and the Queen Mother famously said,
“I am glad we have been bombed. Now I can look East End in the eye.”
Albert’s health went downhill as he had lung cancer. He passed away in February 1952 from a fatal blood clot in the heart.
Princess Elizabeth secretly wept in an airplane bathroom on the way home from Kenya after she learned the news of her father’s death. The Princess was subsequently crowned Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953.
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