Countdown to the Coronation VII: Co-Kings & Consorts

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Coronations may be performed for a person other than the reigning monarch. In 1170, Henry the Young King, heir apparent to the throne, was crowned as a second king of England, subordinate to his father Henry II; such coronations were common practice in mediaeval France and Germany, but this is only one of two instances of its kind in England (the other being that of Ecgfrith of Mercia in 796, crowned whilst his father, Offa of Mercia, was still alive).

More commonly, a king’s wife is crowned as queen consort. If the king is already married at the time of his coronation, a joint coronation of both king and queen may be performed. The first such coronation was of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1154; seventeen such coronations have been performed, including that of the join sovereigns King William III and Queen Mary II.

I did some research to see if King Felipe II of Spain had a coronation in his capacity as King of England and Ireland. According to Harry Kelsey the author of “Philip of Spain, King of England, The Forgotten Sovereign” reports that the English Parliament’s unwillingness to agree to a coronation ceremony ultimately restricted Philip’s ability to govern England and he was never officially confirmed as King.

The most recent coronation of a King and Queen was that of King George VI and the former Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1937. If the king married, or remarried, after his coronation, or if his wife was not crowned with him for some other reason, she might be crowned in a separate ceremony.

The first such separate coronation of a queen consort in England was that of Matilda of Flanders in 1068 the wife of King William I the Conqueror and the last was Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn in 1533. The most recent king to wed post-coronation was, King Charles II, and he did not have a separate coronation for his bride, Catherine of Braganza.

Owing to her devotion to the Roman Catholic faith in which she had been raised, Catherine was unpopular in England. Catherine was not a particularly popular choice of queen, and since she was a Roman Catholic her religion prevented her from being crowned, as Roman Catholics were forbidden to take part in Anglican services.

In some instances, the king’s wife was simply unable to join him in the coronation ceremony due to circumstances preventing her from doing so. In 1821, George IV’s estranged wife Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was not invited to the ceremony; when she showed up at Westminster Abbey anyway, she was denied entry and turned away.

Following the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell declined the crown but underwent a coronation in all but name in his second investiture as Lord Protector in 1657.

Countdown to the Coronation III: The Imperial State Crown

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From the Emperor’s Desk: Although St. Edward’s Crown is the focal point of the coronation, the Imperial State Crown also plays a role in this ancient ceremony.

A State Crown has existed in various forms since the 15th century. The current version was made in 1937 and is worn by the monarch after a coronation (St Edward’s Crown having been used to crown the monarch) and used at the State Openings of Parliament.

The crown is adorned with 2,901 precious stones, including the Cullinan II diamond, St Edward’s Sapphire, the Stuart Sapphire, and the Black Prince’s Ruby.

St Edward’s Crown, used to crown English monarchs, was considered to be a holy relic, kept in the saint’s shrine at Westminster Abbey and therefore not worn by monarchs at any other time. Instead, a “great crown” with crosses and fleurs-de-lis, but without arches (an open crown), was a king’s usual headgear at state occasions until the time of Henry V, who is depicted wearing an imperial crown of state with gold arches (a closed crown).

Arches were a symbol of sovereignty, and by this point in history, the king of England was being celebrated as rex in regno suo est imperator – an emperor of his own domain – owing obedience to no one but God, unlike some continental rulers, who owed fealty to more powerful kings or the Holy Roman Emperor.

Henry VII or his son and successor Henry VIII may have commissioned a more elaborate version of the state crown which is first described in detail in an inventory of royal jewels in 1521, and again in 1532, 1550, 1574 and 1597, and was included in a painting by Daniel Mytens of Charles I in 1631.

The Tudor Crown had more pearls and jewels than its medieval predecessor, and the centre petals of each of the fleurs-de-lis had images of Christ, the Virgin Mary and St George. The crown weighed 3.3 kg (7 lb 6 oz) and was set with 168 pearls, 58 rubies, 28 diamonds, 19 sapphires and 2 emeralds. Following the abolition of the monarchy and the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Tudor Crown was broken up by Oliver Cromwell during the Interregnum, and its valuable components were sold for £1,100.

Restoration to present day

Upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, a new state crown was made for Charles II by Sir Robert Vyner. About 10 versions of the crown have existed since the restoration. The one made for Queen Victoria in 1838 is the basis for today’s crown. Made by Rundell and Bridge in 1838 using old and new jewels, it had a crimson velvet cap with ermine border and a lining of white silk. It weighed 39.25 troy ounces (43.06 oz; 1,221 g) and was decorated with 1,363 brilliant-cut, 1,273 rose-cut and 147 table-cut diamonds, 277 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 4 rubies, and the Black Prince’s Ruby (a spinel).

At the State Opening of Parliament in 1845, the Duke of Argyll was carrying the crown before Queen Victoria when it fell off the cushion and broke. Victoria wrote in her diary, “it was all crushed and squashed like a pudding that had sat down”.

The gems in the crown were remounted for the coronation of George VI in 1937 by Garrard & Co. The crown was adjusted for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, with the head size reduced and the arches lowered by 25 mm (1 inch) to give it a more feminine appearance.
Description

Notable stones are St Edward’s Sapphire on the top cross, reputedly taken from the ring of Edward the Confessor when he was re-interred at Westminster Abbey in 1163, and the Black Prince’s Ruby (a large spinel) on the front cross. In 1909, the 104-carat (21 g) Stuart Sapphire, set in the front of the crown, was moved to the back and replaced by the 317-carat (63 g) Cullinan II. Below the monde hang four pearls, three of which are often said to have belonged to Queen Elizabeth I, but the association is almost certainly erroneous.
Usage

The crown is worn by the monarch on leaving Westminster Abbey at the end of his or her coronation. It is usually also worn at State Openings of Parliament, although Elizabeth II wore a hat in March 1974, June 2017 and December 2019 after snap general elections, and in October 2019 she wore the State Diadem, while the Imperial State Crown was carried beside her.

Usually, it is taken to the Palace of Westminster under armed guard in its own carriage and placed in the Robing Room, where the monarch dons the robes and puts on the crown before giving the monarchs speech to Parliament. If a State Opening occurs before a coronation, the crown is placed on a cushion beside the monarch.

In 1689, one week after being proclaimed king, William III wore his crown in Parliament to pass the Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689.

However, what is interesting is that wearing the Imperial State Crown for the State Opening of Parliament is a recent Twentieth Century development that began only as recently as George V (1910-1936). After the World War I which saw the toppling of many European thrones and with a country that was war weary, his advisers decided to brighten up the ceremony surrounding the event to increase visibility and respect for the monarchy, and one way this was achieved was by wearing the Imperial State Crown during the reading of the Monarch’s Speech.

Queen Victoria and Edward VII and monarchs before them did not wear a crown during the State Opening of Parliament. This makes the opening of the movie, “The Madness of King George III” (known simply as “The Madness of King George” in the United States) which depicts the king wearing a crown at the opening of Parliament very inaccurate. In her seclusion Queen Victoria rarely opened Parliament herself, but on those rare occasions she did open Parliament, Victoria wore her small diamond crown whilst Edward wore a plumed hat.

When not in use, the Imperial State Crown is on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.

The Imperial State Crown was also removed from the Tower of London to be altered for King Charles III. The Arches were lowered for Queen Elizabeth II to give the crown a more feminine look. I am very interested to see what modifications were made for King Charles III.

History of the Title Duke of Edinburgh

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Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produce any revenue for the title holder.

1726 Creation

HRH Prince Frederick Louis, Duke of Edinburgh

The title was first created in the Peerage of Great Britain on July 26, 1726 by King George I of Great Britain, who bestowed it on his grandson Prince Frederick Louis, who also became Prince of Wales the following year.

The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Eltham, in the County of Kent, Viscount of Launceston, in the County of Cornwall, and Baron of Snowdon, in the County of Caernarvon, all of which were also in the Peerage of Great Britain.

The marquessate was gazetted as Marquess of the Isle of Wight, apparently erroneously. In later editions of the London Gazette the Duke is referred to as the Marquess of the Isle of Ely.

After Prince Frederick Louis was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester and had inherited all the other titles associated with the Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester titles: Duke of Cornwall (as heir to the throne in England) titles: Duke of Rothesay (heir apparent to the King of Scots), High Steward of Scotland and Lord of the Isles, he still remained Duke of Edinburgh.

Upon Frederick Louis death in 1751 the titles were inherited by his son Prince George. When Prince George became King George III in 1760, the titles merged in the Crown and ceased to exist.

1866 Creation

HRH Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh

Queen Victoria re-created the title, this time in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, on 24 May 1866 for her second son Prince Alfred, instead of Duke of York, the traditional title of the second son of the monarch. The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Kent and Earl of Ulster, also in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

When Alfred became the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1893, he retained his British titles. His only son that survived birth, Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, committed suicide in 1899, so the Dukedom of Edinburgh and subsidiary titles became extinct upon the elder Alfred’s death in 1900.

1947 Creation

HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The title was created for a third time on November 19, 1947 by King George VI, who bestowed it on his son-in-law Philip Mountbatten, when he married Princess Elizabeth. Subsequently, Elizabeth was styled “HRH The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh” until her accession in 1952.

The subsidiary titles of the dukedom were Earl of Merioneth and Baron Greenwich, of Greenwich in the County of London; all these titles were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Earlier that year, Philip had renounced his Greek and Danish royal titles (he was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, being a male-line grandson of King George I of the Hellenes and male-line great-grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark) along with his rights to the Greek throne. In 1957, Philip became a Prince of the United Kingdom in his own right.

Upon Philip’s death on April 9, 2021, his eldest son Charles, Prince of Wales, succeeded to all of his hereditary titles. Upon Charles’s accession to the throne on September 8, 2022, the peerages merged in the Crown and ceased to exist.

2023 Creation

HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh

It was announced in 1999, at the time of the wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, that he would eventually follow his father as Duke of Edinburgh.

It was expected that a new, fourth creation would be bestowed on Prince Edward after the third creation reverted to the Crown when Charles III acceded to the throne. In July 2021, The Times reported that Charles had decided not to give the title to his brother upon accession. Clarence House stated that “all stories of this nature are speculation, no final decisions have been taken” and declined to comment further.

The title was created for a fourth time on March 10, 2023 by King Charles III, who bestowed it on his brother Prince Edward, when he turned 59. The title will be held by Prince Edward for his lifetime, as a non-hereditary peerage title.

February 6, 1952: Death of King George VI of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India.

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George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; December 14, 1895 – February 6, 1952) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from December 11, 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, and the first Head of the Commonwealth following the London Declaration of 1949.

King George VI of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India

The future George VI was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

His father was Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), the second and only surviving son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, Princess of Denmark).

His mother, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, the Duchess of York (later Queen Mary), was the eldest child and only daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck.

Queen Victoria with her great-grandchildren. In front is Prince Albert.

Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge was a daughter of Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge the tenth child and seventh son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte (born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz).

King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (right) together with his son Prince George, the Prince of Wales, later George V (left), and his grandsons, Prince Edward of Wales, later Edward VIII, and Prince Albert of Wales, later George VI.

Prince Adolphus Frederick was married to Princess and Landgravine Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, third daughter of Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Cassel, and his wife, Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen. Through her father, Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, was a great-granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain, her grandmother being George II’s daughter Mary.

Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge

This made Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge a first cousin to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, Duchess of Cambridge

Prince Albert’s birthday, December 14, 1895, was the 34th anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather Albert, Prince Consort, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Prince George, Duke of York (George V)

Victoria Mary of Teck, Duchess of York (Queen Mary)

Uncertain of how the Prince Consort’s widow, Queen Victoria, would take the news of the birth, the Prince of Wales wrote to the Duke of York that the Queen had been “rather distressed”. Two days later, he wrote again: “I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name Albert to her.”

Albert and Elizabeth, Duke and Duchess of York

The Queen was mollified by the proposal to name the new baby Albert, and wrote to 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.”

Consequently, he was baptised “Albert Frederick Arthur George” at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham on February 17, 1896. Formally he was His Highness Prince Albert of York; within the royal family he was known informally as “Bertie”. On May 28, 1898 Queen Victoria issued Letters Patent elevating the styles of the children of the Duke of York (including Prince Albert) from His/Highness to His/Her Royal Highness.

Albert and Elizabeth, Duke and Duchess of York

The Duchess of Teck did not like the first name her grandson had been given, and she wrote prophetically that she hoped the last name “may supplant the less favoured one”. Albert was fourth in line to the throne at birth, after his grandfather, father and elder brother, Edward.

His father ascended the throne as King George V in 1910. As the second son of the king, Albert was not expected to inherit the throne.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the time of thier Coronation

Prince Albert spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Prince Edward, the heir apparent. Albert attended naval college as a teenager and served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during the First World War. In 1920, he was made Duke of York.

He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923. Lady Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter and the ninth of ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in the Peerage of Scotland, and his wife, Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. Her mother was descended from British Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, and Governor-General of India Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, who was the elder brother of another prime minister, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

They had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. In the mid-1920s, he engaged speech therapist Lionel Logue to treat his stammer, which he learned to manage to some degree.

King George VI and his daughters The Princess Margaret and The Princess Elizabeth

His elder brother ascended the throne as King Edward VIII after their father died in 1936, but Edward abdicated later that year to marry the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. As heir presumptive to Edward VIII, Albert thereby became the third monarch of the House of Windsor, taking the regnal name George VI to show continuity within the Monarchy.

In September 1939, the British Empire and most Commonwealth countries—but not Ireland—declared war on Nazi Germany. War with the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan followed in 1940 and 1941, respectively. King George VI was seen as sharing the hardships of the common people and his popularity soared.

King George VI and his daughters The Princess Elizabeth and The Princess Margaret

Buckingham Palace was bombed during the Blitz while the King and Queen were there, and his younger brother the Prince George the Duke of Kent was killed on active service. King George VI became known as a symbol of British determination to win the war. Britain and its allies were victorious in 1945, but the British Empire declined.

Ireland had largely broken away, followed by the independence of India and Pakistan in 1948. King George VI relinquished the title of Emperor of India in June 1948 and instead adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth.

King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

King George VI was beset by smoking-related health problems in the later years of his reign and died of a coronary thrombosis in 1952. He was succeeded by his elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

King Charles III of the United Kingdom is his grandson.

January 20, 1936: Death of King George V of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India.

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George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; June 3, 1865 – January 20, 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from May 6, 1910 until his death in 1936.

King George V’s relationship with his eldest son and heir, Edward, deteriorated in the later years. George was disappointed in Edward’s failure to settle down in life and appalled by his many affairs with married women. In contrast, he was fond of his second son, Prince Albert (later George VI), and doted on his eldest granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth; he nicknamed her “Lilibet”, and she affectionately called him “Grandpa England”.

In 1935, George said of his son Edward: “After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself within 12 months”, and of Albert and Elizabeth: “I pray to God my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne.”

The First World War took a toll on George’s health: he was seriously injured on October 28, 1915 when thrown by his horse at a troop review in France, and his heavy smoking exacerbated recurring breathing problems.

He suffered from chronic bronchitis. In 1925, on the instruction of his doctors, he was reluctantly sent on a recuperative private cruise in the Mediterranean; it was his third trip abroad since the war, and his last. In November 1928, he fell seriously ill with septicaemia, and for the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties.

King George V and Queen Mary with Princess Elizabeth

In 1929, the suggestion of a further rest abroad was rejected by the King “in rather strong language”. Instead, he retired for three months to Craigweil House, Aldwick, in the seaside resort of Bognor, Sussex. As a result of his stay, the town acquired the suffix Regis – Latin for “of the King”.

A myth later grew that his last words, upon being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit the town, were “Bugger Bognor!”

George never fully recovered. In his final year, he was occasionally administered oxygen. The death of his favourite sister, Victoria, in December 1935 depressed him deeply.

On the evening of January 15, 1936, the King took to his bedroom at Sandringham House complaining of a cold; he remained in the room until his death. He became gradually weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin later said:

… each time he became conscious it was some kind inquiry or kind observation of someone, some words of gratitude for kindness shown. But he did say to his secretary when he sent for him: “How is the Empire?” An unusual phrase in that form, and the secretary said: “All is well, sir, with the Empire”, and the King gave him a smile and relapsed once more into unconsciousness.

By January 20, he was close to death. His physicians, led by Lord Dawson of Penn, issued a bulletin with the words “The King’s life is moving peacefully towards its close.” Dawson’s private diary, unearthed after his death and made public in 1986, reveals that the King’s last words, a mumbled “God damn you!”, were addressed to his nurse, Catherine Black, when she gave him a sedative that night. Dawson, who supported the “gentle growth of euthanasia”, admitted in the diary that he ended the King’s life:

At about 11 o’clock it was evident that the last stage might endure for many hours, unknown to the Patient but little comporting with that dignity and serenity which he so richly merited and which demanded a brief final scene.

Hours of waiting just for the mechanical end when all that is really life has departed only exhausts the onlookers & keeps them so strained that they cannot avail themselves of the solace of thought, communion or prayer. I therefore decided to determine the end and injected (myself) morphia gr.3/4 [grains] and shortly afterwards cocaine gr.1 [grains] into the distended jugular vein … In about 1/4 an hour – breathing quieter – appearance more placid – physical struggle gone.

Dawson wrote that he acted to preserve the King’s dignity, to prevent further strain on the family, and so that the King’s death at 11:55 pm could be announced in the morning edition of The Times newspaper rather than “less appropriate … evening journals”.

Neither Queen Mary, who was intensely religious and might not have sanctioned euthanasia, nor the Prince of Wales was consulted. The royal family did not want the King to endure pain and suffering and did not want his life prolonged artificially but neither did they approve Dawson’s actions. British Pathé announced the King’s death the following day, in which he was described as “for each one of us, more than a King, a father of a great family”.

On his death in January 1936, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII. Edward abdicated in December of that year and was succeeded by his younger brother Albert, who took the regnal name George VI.

December 14, 1895: Birth of George VI, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Emperor of India

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George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was concurrently the last Emperor of India until August 1947, when the British Raj was dissolved.

King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Emperor of India

The future George VI was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria. His father was Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V), the second and only surviving son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra).

His mother, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, the Duchess of York (later Queen Mary), was the eldest child and only daughter of Francis, Duke of Teck, and Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck.

His Maternal grandmother, Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, was the daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel.
Prince Adolphus was the seventh son of King George III and Queen Charlotte.

His birthday, December 14, 1895, was the 34th anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather Albert, Prince Consort. Uncertain of how the Prince Consort’s widow, Queen Victoria, would take the news of the birth, the Prince of Wales wrote to the Duke of York that the Queen had been “rather distressed”. Two days later, he wrote again: “I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name Albert to her.”

The Queen was mollified by the proposal to name the new baby Albert, and wrote to 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.”

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Duchess of York, Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother

Consequently, he was baptised “Albert Frederick Arthur George” at St Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham on February 17, 1896. Formally he was His Highness Prince Albert of York; within the family he was known informally as “Bertie”. The Duchess of Teck did not like the first name her grandson had been given, and she wrote prophetically that she hoped the last name “may supplant the less favoured one”. Albert was fourth in line to the throne at birth, after his grandfather, father and elder brother, Edward.

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, and the Prince of Wales succeeded her as King Edward VII. Prince Albert moved up to third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother.

King Edward VII reigned for 9 years and died on May 6, 1910. Prince Albert’s father ascended the throne as George V. As the second son of the king, Albert was not expected to inherit the throne. He spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Prince Edward, the heir apparent.

Albert attended naval college as a teenager and served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during the First World War. In 1920, he was made Duke of York. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923, and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. In the mid-1920s, he engaged speech therapist Lionel Logue to treat his stammer, which he learned to manage to some degree.

The Duke and Duchess of York

His elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII after their father died in 1936, but Edward abdicated later that year to marry the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. As heir presumptive to Edward VIII, Albert thereby became the third monarch of the House of Windsor, taking the regnal name George VI.

In September 1939, the British Empire and most Commonwealth countries—but not Ireland—declared war on Nazi Germany. War with the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan followed in 1940 and 1941, respectively.

George VI was seen as sharing the hardships of the common people and his popularity soared. Buckingham Palace was bombed during the Blitz while the King and Queen were there, and his younger brother, Prince George, the Duke of Kent was killed on active service.

King George VI with his eldest daughter and heiress presumptive, The Princess Elizabeth

King George VI became known as a symbol of British determination to win the war. Britain and its allies were victorious in 1945, but the British Empire declined. Ireland had largely broken away, followed by the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. George relinquished the title of Emperor of India in June 1948 and instead adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth.

He was beset by smoking-related health problems in the later years of his reign and died of a coronary thrombosis in 1952. He was succeeded by his elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

June 22, 1948: King George VI formally gives up the title “Emperor of India” Part II.

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When Edward VII ascended to the throne on January 22, 1901, he continued the imperial tradition laid down by his mother, Queen Victoria, by adopting the title Emperor of India. Three subsequent British monarchs followed in his footsteps.

The first emperor to visit India was George V. For his imperial coronation ceremony at the Delhi Durbar, the Imperial Crown of India was created. The Crown weighs 920 g (2.03 lb) and is set with 6,170 diamonds, 9 emeralds, 4 rubies, and 4 sapphires. At the front is a very fine emerald weighing 32 carats (6.4 g). The king wrote in his diary that it was heavy and uncomfortable to wear: “Rather tired after wearing my crown for 3+1⁄2 hours; it hurt my head, as it is pretty heavy.”

The title “Emperor of India” did not disappear when British India became the Dominion of India (1947–1950) and Dominion of Pakistan (1947–1952) after independence in 1947.

George VI retained the title until June 22, 1948, the date of a Royal Proclamation made in accordance with Section 7 (2) of the Indian Independence Act 1947, reading: “The assent of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is hereby given to the omission from the Royal Style and Titles of the words “Indiae Imperator” and the words “Emperor of India” and to the issue by His Majesty for that purpose of His Royal Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Realm.”

Thereafter, George VI remained monarch of Pakistan until his death in 1952 and of India until it became the Republic of India in 1950.

March 30, 2002: Death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

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Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the last Empress of India from her husband’s accession as King-Emperor in 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947. After her husband died, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

Early life

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter and the ninth of ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis (later the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne in the Peerage of Scotland), and his wife, Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck. Her mother was descended from British Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, and Governor-General of India Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, who was the elder brother of another prime minister, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

Wedding of Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Prince Albert, Duke of York—”Bertie” to the family—was the second son of King George V. He initially proposed to Elizabeth in 1921, but she turned him down, being “afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to”. When he declared he would marry no other, his mother, Queen Mary, visited Glamis to see for herself the girl who had stolen her son’s heart.

She became convinced that Elizabeth was “the one girl who could make Bertie happy”, but nevertheless refused to interfere. At the same time, Elizabeth was courted by James Stuart, Albert’s equerry, until he left the Prince’s service for a better-paid job in the American oil business.

In February 1922, Elizabeth was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Albert’s sister, Princess Mary, to Viscount Lascelles. The following month, Albert proposed again, but she refused him once more.

Eventually, in January 1923, Elizabeth agreed to marry Albert, despite her misgivings about royal life. Albert’s freedom in choosing Elizabeth, not a member of a royal family, though the daughter of a peer, was considered a gesture in favour of political modernisation; previously, princes were expected to marry princesses from other royal families. They selected a platinum engagement ring featuring a Kashmir sapphire with two diamonds adorning its sides.

They married on April 26, 1923, at Westminster Abbey. Unexpectedly, Elizabeth laid her bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior on her way into the abbey, in memory of her brother Fergus.

Elizabeth became styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York. Following a wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace prepared by chef Gabriel Tschumi, the new Duchess and her husband honeymooned at Polesden Lacey, a manor house in Surrey owned by the wealthy socialite and friend Margaret Greville. They then went to Scotland, where she caught “unromantic” whooping cough.

Elizabeth came to prominence in 1923 when she married the Duke of York. The couple and their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret embodied traditional ideas of family and public service. The Duchess undertook a variety of public engagements and became known for her consistently cheerful countenance.

In 1936, Elizabeth’s husband unexpectedly became king when his older brother, Edward VIII, abdicated in order to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson.

Elizabeth then became queen consort. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic tours to France and North America before the start of the Second World War. During the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. After the war, her husband’s health deteriorated, and she was widowed at the age of 51. Her elder daughter, aged 25, became the new queen.

After the death of Queen Mary in 1953, Elizabeth was viewed as the matriarch of the British royal family. In her later years, she was a consistently popular member of the family, even when other members were suffering from low levels of public approval. She continued an active public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101, which was seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret.

March 24, 1953: Death of Mary of Teck, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India

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Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Duke of Kent, King George V of the United Kingdom, King George VI of the United Kingdom, Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Prince Albert Victor, Prince Francis, Princess Mary of Teck, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; May 26, 1867 – March 24, 1953) was Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from May 6, 1910 until January 29, 1936 as the wife of King-Emperor George V.

HSH Princess Victoria Mary of Teck with her parents HRH Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge and HSH Prince Francis, Duke of Teck

Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Her father was Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, the son of Duke Alexander of Württemberg by his morganatic wife, Countess Claudine Rhédey von Kis-Rhéde (created Countess von Hohenstein in the Austrian Empire).

Her mother was Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, a granddaughter of King George III and the third child and younger daughter of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel.

Considered a minor member of the British royal family, she was informally known as “May”, after the month of her birth.At the age of 24, she was betrothed to her second cousin once removed Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark (future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra), but six weeks after the announcement of the engagement, he died unexpectedly during an influenza pandemic.

HRH The Duke of Clarence and Avondale and HSH Princess Victoria Mary of Teck

The following year, she became engaged to Albert Victor’s only surviving brother, George, who subsequently became king. Before her husband’s accession, she was successively Duchess of York, Duchess of Cornwall, and Princess of Wales.

As Queen Consort from 1910, Mary supported her husband through the First World War, his ill health, and major political changes arising from the aftermath of the war. After George’s death in 1936, she became queen mother when her eldest son, Edward VIII, ascended the throne.

To her dismay, he abdicated later the same year in order to marry twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson.She supported her second son, Prince Albert, Duke of York, who assumed the throne as King George VI, in the wake of his brothers Abdication. He was King until his death in 1952.He was succeeded by his eldest daughter and Queen Mary’s granddaughter, Elizabeth II.The death of a third child profoundly affected her.

Mary remarked to Princess Marie Louise: “I have lost three sons through death, but I have never been privileged to be there to say a last farewell to them.”

Portrait of Queen Mary by William Llewellyn, c. 1911

Other than losing her second son George VI in 1952, she lost Prince John (1905 – 1919) her fifth son and youngest of her six children, when he of died at Sandringham in 1919, following a severe seizure, and was buried at nearby St Mary Magdalene Church.

She was also preceded by Prince George, Duke of Kent (1902 – 1942) her fourth son who was killed in a military air-crash on August 25, 1942.

Mary died on March 24, 1953 in her sleep at the age of 85, ten weeks before her granddaughter’s coronation. She had let it be known that should she die, the coronation should not be postponed. Her remains lay in state at Westminster Hall, where large numbers of mourners filed past her coffin.

She is buried beside her husband in the nave of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.Sir Henry “Chips” Channon, (1897 – 1958), was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. He wrote about Queen Mary, that she was “above politics … magnificent, humorous, worldly, in fact nearly sublime, though cold and hard. But what a grand Queen.”

Her Majesty the Queen Celebrates 70 years on the throne

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70 Years, Accession, Commonwealth, King George VI of the United Kingdom, Platinum Jubilee, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Today marks the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II accession to the British throne. Thus begins her Platinum Jubilee Year.

Not only is Her Majesty the longest reigning monarch in Britain History, she is currently the longest reigning monarch in the world.

Her Majesty succeeded to the throne on this date. February 6, 1952 upon the untimely death of her father, King George VI of the United Kingdom.

Biographical Information

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born April 21, 1926) is Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms.

Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth). Her father ascended the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive.

She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark, with whom she had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth—then 25 years old—became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon, as well as Head of the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth has reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United Kingdom, the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, Canadian patriation, and the decolonisation of Africa.

The number of her realms has varied over time as territories have gained independence, and as realms, including South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (renamed Sri Lanka), have become republics. Her many visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes.

Significant events have included her coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees in 1977, 2002, and 2012 respectively. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to reach a Sapphire Jubilee. In April 2021, after 73 years of marriage, her husband, Prince Philip, died at the age of 99.

Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiment and criticism of the royal family, particularly after the breakdown of her children’s marriages, her annus horribilis in 1992, and the 1997 death of her former daughter-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales. However, support for the monarchy in the United Kingdom c been and remains consistently high, as does her personal popularity

Here are some interesting facts (courtesy of Wikipedia)

September 11, 2015, The Queen surpassed Queen Victoria as the longest-reigning monarch in British and Commonwealth history (as well as the longest-reigning female monarch in world history).

February 6, 2022, she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne. At that point she would be 95 years, 291 days old.

May 24, 2024, she will surpass 72 years held by Louis XIV of France as the longest reigning monarch in European history. At that point she would be 98 years, 36 days old.