Most people know George VI from the movie The King’s Speech. In it, he’s portrayed, largely accurately, as an earnest young man who overcame a crippling stutter with the help of an unconventional speech therapist and the unwavering support of his wife, Queen Elizabeth. But what are the other dimensions of this man, who died in 1952?
I learned about him as a father when I wrote my biography of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. But I had only fuzzy impressions of him as a loving husband and as a key figure during Britain’s fight for survival during World War II. A fuller view of the man took shape after Queen Elizabeth II granted me special access to the papers of George VI and his wife (later popularly known as the Queen Mum) in the Royal Archives, at Windsor Castle.
