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Today marks the 65th Death Anniversary of King George VI of the United Kingdom, who died on this day in 1952. The second son of King George V and Queen Mary (then Duke and Duchess of York) in 1895 during the reign of Queen Victoria, the little Prince was named Albert in honour of his great-grandfather, Prince Albert, who had died on that day in 1861. Second in line to the throne from 1909, after the death of Queen Victoria, in 1901, and his grandfather, King Edward VII, in 1910, Prince Albert, known as ‘Bertie’, served in the Navy during WWI. He also became the first Royal to be qualified as a pilot of the Royal Air Force in 1918. In 1920, he was made the Duke of York, and in 1923, he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The couple had two daughters, Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. In December 1936, the Duke of York’s brother, King Edward VIII abdicated less than a year after becoming King. The Duke and Duchess succeeded to the throne as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Before WWII, the new King and Queen made successful State Visits to France and North America, which were instrumental in cementing their alliance in times of conflict. During the war, the King and Queen visited troops and traveled around the country to raise morale. After peace in 1945, the King’s health started failing after he suffered from lung cancer and several other ailments. In February 1952, King George VI died in his sleep at Sandringham aged 56, just days after his daughter, now Queen Elizabeth had started a long foreign tour. Queen Elizabeth, known as the Queen Mother, died in 2002 at the age of 101.
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The Queen celebrates her Sapphire Jubilee today, to check out our post on that, click HERE.
