George VI: The Dutiful King - Sarah Bradford
George VI: The Dutiful King - Sarah Bradford
Non-Fiction
Pages: 704
Several months ago I read Deborah Cadbury's Princes At War, about the Royal Family and more specifically King George VI and the Duke of Windsor during WW2, and I remember thinking at the time that England dodged a bullet when Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson. Reading Sarah Bradford's marvellous biography of George VI only confirms that feeling. As Bradford quotes the French Ambassador at the time at both the beginning and end of this book, "if the 'greatness' of a King can be measured by the extent to which his qualities correspond to the needs of a nation at any given moment in its history, then George VI was a great King, and perhaps a very great King."
George VI, or Prince Albert, Duke of York, as he was before the Abdication, comes across in these pages as an immensely sympathetic figure - a man overshadowed by his charming and charismatic brother almost his entire life, a man more suited to a private family life who never had any desire to be King, who nevertheless bound by honour and duty stepped up to the throne when his brother's selfish actions disrupted the family, the government, the monarchy and the country. George VI faced a challenge unprecedented in the history of the British monarchy - there had never been an ex-King still alive and causing trouble before - and he did all this and more whilst leading his country through the greatest war the world has ever known, pulling his peoples together and serving as a figurehead of quiet decency and courage throughout.
Reading this book, learning about George VI, made me see our current queen Elizabeth II in a new light. It is arguably impossible to truly understand Elizabeth without understanding her father first, from whom she learned so much and how much she takes after. Like him the hallmarks of her reign have been stability, continuity, a sense of duty, a respect for constitutional principles. Anyone who has ever speculated o whether the Queen would abdicate in favour of Charles or William displays a complete lack of understanding of the Queen's character and of British history - Elizabeth saw what instability Edward VII's abdication caused and what it did to her father to step up unexpectedly - I'd say it's all but impossible she would for a moment contemplate risking that again.
This is no hagiography, but it's hard to come away from these pages without feeling a real sense of affection for the King and grief at his death. The text is peppered throughout with quotes from letters, diaries, telegraphs, government papers and reports, many in the King and Queen's own words. Sarah Bradford really brings George VI to life, and this book was a pleasure to read. I came away from it with a real respect for George VI and a deeper understanding of Elizabeth II as well.
Non-Fiction
Pages: 704
Several months ago I read Deborah Cadbury's Princes At War, about the Royal Family and more specifically King George VI and the Duke of Windsor during WW2, and I remember thinking at the time that England dodged a bullet when Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson. Reading Sarah Bradford's marvellous biography of George VI only confirms that feeling. As Bradford quotes the French Ambassador at the time at both the beginning and end of this book, "if the 'greatness' of a King can be measured by the extent to which his qualities correspond to the needs of a nation at any given moment in its history, then George VI was a great King, and perhaps a very great King."
George VI, or Prince Albert, Duke of York, as he was before the Abdication, comes across in these pages as an immensely sympathetic figure - a man overshadowed by his charming and charismatic brother almost his entire life, a man more suited to a private family life who never had any desire to be King, who nevertheless bound by honour and duty stepped up to the throne when his brother's selfish actions disrupted the family, the government, the monarchy and the country. George VI faced a challenge unprecedented in the history of the British monarchy - there had never been an ex-King still alive and causing trouble before - and he did all this and more whilst leading his country through the greatest war the world has ever known, pulling his peoples together and serving as a figurehead of quiet decency and courage throughout.
Reading this book, learning about George VI, made me see our current queen Elizabeth II in a new light. It is arguably impossible to truly understand Elizabeth without understanding her father first, from whom she learned so much and how much she takes after. Like him the hallmarks of her reign have been stability, continuity, a sense of duty, a respect for constitutional principles. Anyone who has ever speculated o whether the Queen would abdicate in favour of Charles or William displays a complete lack of understanding of the Queen's character and of British history - Elizabeth saw what instability Edward VII's abdication caused and what it did to her father to step up unexpectedly - I'd say it's all but impossible she would for a moment contemplate risking that again.
This is no hagiography, but it's hard to come away from these pages without feeling a real sense of affection for the King and grief at his death. The text is peppered throughout with quotes from letters, diaries, telegraphs, government papers and reports, many in the King and Queen's own words. Sarah Bradford really brings George VI to life, and this book was a pleasure to read. I came away from it with a real respect for George VI and a deeper understanding of Elizabeth II as well.