George VI and Elizabeth: the Marriage That Saved the Monarchy

 

George VI is quickly becoming one of my favorite people to read about, after reading "Churchill and the King" a few years ago. I've always greatly admired Winston Churchill, but it's amazing how brave King George VI was. And he freely admitted he would not have been able to be the king he was without his wife, Elizabeth, by his side. 

George, or "Bertie", as he was known to the family (his given name was Albert), courted Elizabeth Bowes Lyon for years and proposed three times before she finally accepted. George never imagined he would one day be king, but when his older brother David (King Edward VIII) abdicated so he could marry the divorced Wallis Simpson, Bertie and Elizabeth became king and queen. Considering the events that happened not long afterwards, with the start of World War II, Smith argues it was probably for the best. She's not wrong, I can't imagine that David would have been a terrific king during war, since he was always more intent on partying than ruling. But of course the greatest gift George and Elizabeth's marriage gave Britain was their daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II.