George VI of the United Kingdom

Birth and Family

George VI was born on 14 December 1895 at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate, Norfolk. His father was Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), the second but eldest surviving son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark. His mother was Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York (later Queen Mary), the eldest daughter of Prince Francis, Duke of Teck and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge.

Related Topics:
14 December - 1895 - York Cottage - Sandringham Estate - Norfolk - King George V - Edward VII - Alexandra of Denmark - Queen Mary - Prince Francis, Duke of Teck - Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge

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On 23 June 1894, the Duchess of York gave birth to her eldest son Edward, who was third in line to the throne. The future George VI was the second son of his parents, and was thus fourth in line for the throne at birth.

Related Topics:
23 June - 1894 - Edward

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The future George VI, Prince Albert, had the misfortune to be born on 14 December 1895, the anniversary of the death of the Prince Consort. Uncertain of how the Queen would take this news, Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, wrote to his son, Prince George, Duke of York, that the Queen had been a little distressed and he said: 'I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name Albert to her. This mollified the baby's great-grandmother, who wrote to the baby's mother, the Duchess of York: 'I am all impatience to see the new one, born on such a sad day but rather more dear to me, especially as he will be called by that dear name which is a byword for all that is great and good.' However, his maternal grandmother Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge did not like the first name the baby had been given, and she prophetically wrote that she hoped the last name "may supplant the less favoured one".

Related Topics:
14 December - 1895 - Prince Consort - Queen - Edward VII - Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge

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Although George VI was the son and grandson of Kings of the UK, his accession was the result of a play of circumstances. His father, the future George V, was the younger of the two sons of the then Prince of Wales, and was not expected ever to become king. However, his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, who had been expected to eventually ascend the throne, died unexpectedly at a young age, on 14 January 1892, supposedly of pneumonia. It was this that resulted in the Duke of York later becoming king George V.

Related Topics:
Prince of Wales - Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence - 14 January - 1892 - Pneumonia - Duke of York

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Again, George VI himself was the second son of his parents; and indeed, his elder brother was proclaimed king, as Edward VIII, upon the demise of their father George V. However, Edward VIII chose to abdicate his crown to marry a divorcee; it was by reason of this unforseeable abdication, almost unique in the annals of England, that George VI finally came to the throne.

Related Topics:
Edward VIII

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