Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor
MilitaryIWM, Roger Freeman Collection
At 6pm on 3 September 1939, King George VI spoke to the people of Britain and the Empire. In his radio broadcast, he talked of the difficult times ahead and urged his people to stand firm.
The King held the ranks of Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He and Queen Elizabeth inspected troops and visited work places. On these occasions the King always appeared in uniform.
During the Blitz, the King and Queen visited bombed areas to see the damage caused by enemy air raids. On these visits, the Queen took a keen interest in what was being done to help people who had lost their homes. After Buckingham Palace was bombed on 13 September 1940, she said she felt she could 'look the East End in the face'.
In 1940 the King instituted the George Cross and George Medal to be awarded for acts of bravery by citizens.
The King and Queen also took a real interest in the work that people were doing, and conducted Royal visits to British and American personnel, troops and places involved in supporting the war effort. This often raised morale and gave workers a renewed enthusiasm for their work. The Ministry of Supply studied the effects of royal visits and found that, in most cases, production figures dropped on the day of the visit but the weekly production figures invariably rose.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: British
- Role/Job: Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Died |
16 February 1952 |
Revisions
IWM Article: What the Royal Family did during the Second World War, and Royal Encyclopaedia entry at royal.uk