Weir, Alison (1996). Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy, Revised Edition. London: Random House. ISBN 978-0-7126-7448-5. In 1940, Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister, though personally George would have preferred to appoint Lord Halifax. [82] After the King's initial dismay over Churchill's appointment of Lord Beaverbrook to the Cabinet, he and Churchill developed "the closest personal relationship in modern British history between a monarch and a Prime Minister". [83] Every Tuesday for four and a half years from September 1940, the two men met privately for lunch to discuss the war in secret and with frankness. [84] George related much of what the two discussed in his diary, which is the only extant first-hand account of these conversations. [85] On the eve of my Coronation, an event which I look upon as one of the most solemn and important in my life [owing to its great solemnity], a feeling which I am convinced the nation shares with me, I am anxious to take advantage of this opportunity to express to my people at home, and in the Colonies and in India, my heart felt thanks and appreciation of the deep sympathy which they have manifested towards me during the time when my life was in such imminent danger. King George V had severe reservations about Prince Edward, saying "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in twelve months" and "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne." [49] On 20 January 1936, George V died and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. In the Vigil of the Princes, Prince Albert and his three brothers (the new king, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Prince George, Duke of Kent) took a shift standing guard over their father's body as it lay in state, in a closed casket, in Westminster Hall. The BBC and CBC jointly transmitted the proclamation of George VI. In the lead up to the Coronation, the BBC organised talks by Ministers to be broadcast under the name Responsibilities of Empire, and also broadcast The Empire's Homage featuring messages from colonial officers and citizens from across the Empire. [62] The BBC's Empire Service broadcast the whole service, lasting two-and-a-half hours. [63] Television [ edit ]

Coronations and the Royal Archives". www.royal.uk. The Royal Family. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023 . Retrieved 5 April 2023. Wrightson, Hay. "Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother at the coronation with her six maids of honour, May 1937". National Portrait Gallery . Retrieved 13 August 2021. Brooks, Xan (28 February 2011), "Colin Firth takes the best actor crown at the Oscars", The Guardian , retrieved 17 August 2022Petrocelli, P. (2007). William Walton and the Violin Concerto in England between the 1900 and 1940, Universal Publishers ( ISBN 1-59942-654-4) a b " Supplement to the London Gazette, 10 November 1937 issue no. 34453, p. 7037" . Retrieved 26 May 2014.

Princess and Prince Arthur of Connaught, the King's first cousin and her husband, the King's first cousin once removed The coronation service of George VI was the first to be filmed; the 40 camera crew inside the Abbey were required to wear evening dress. It was later shown in edited form as a newsreel in cinemas across the British Empire. The service was later broadcast from these recordings, with the authorities censoring only one small section: a clip of Queen Mary wiping a tear from her eye. [65] Honours and official commemorations [ edit ] Programme of celebrations and royal events [ edit ] The Ribbon of King George's Coronation MedalBeginning in 1909, Albert attended the Royal Naval College, Osborne, as a naval cadet. In 1911 he came bottom of the class in the final examination, but despite this he progressed to the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. [12] When his grandfather Edward VII died in 1910, his father became King George V. Prince Edward became Prince of Wales, with Albert second in line to the throne. [13] The coronation service itself began once the procession into the abbey was over and the King and Queen were seated. Beginning with the recognition, the King then took an oath and was anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, before being crowned king. As a remnant of the coronation ceremony's feudal origins, the King then received homage from the peers and peeresses of the realm in attendance. The Archbishop met the King and Queen on the evening before their coronation, running through the ceremony and explaining the most important parts. He was also concerned about King George's stutter and discussed the matter with Lord Dawson of Penn and Lord Wigram; Lionel Logue was then the King's speech therapist and the Archbishop discussed replacing him, but decided to monitor the King's improvement and Logue remained his therapist. As it happened, the King delivered his speech without stuttering. [9] Construction [ edit ] Tierney, Tom (2001). Elizabeth the Queen Mother Paper Dolls, Courier Dover Publications ( ISBN 978-0-486-41771-4) The Royal Mint issued two special 1937 coin sets comprising the coinage for that year and commemorative issues. 5,501 gold Sovereigns and half-Sovereigns were minted (the only ones of George VI's reign). Additionally, over 400,000 Coronation crowns were issued, plus over 26,000 at proof grade. [71] The Post Office had planned to issue special commemorative stamps to mark the coronation of Edward VIII, but, on his abdication, were uncertain as to whether a new design could be prepared in time, but invited Eric Gill to submit designs for a 1½d stamp. Another artist, Edmund Dulac, also submitted two plans. The King accepted Dulac's and they were printed in brown with a hint of violet the day after the Coronation. [72] Other celebrations and commemorations [ edit ] United Kingdom [ edit ]

Mass Observation, a research programme aimed at curating a record of everyday life in Britain, had been launched in January 1937. Contributors across the country were invited to record the details of the day of the Coronation in a diary for the project, whether the events of the Coronation were part of this day for them or not. The same exercise was repeated every 12th May in following years, and again when Mass Observation was relaunched in 1981. It continues to be an annual initiative into the 2020s, open to anyone to contribute. [76] Commemorative rail services [ edit ] Bousfield, Arthur; Toffoli, Garry (1989), Royal Spring: The Royal Tour of 1939 and the Queen Mother in Canada, Toronto: Dundurn Press, pp.60, 66, ISBN 978-1-55002-065-6, archived from the original on 18 March 2021 , retrieved 21 September 2020 S. A. de Smith (1949), "The London Declaration of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers, April 28, 1949", The Modern Law Review, 12 (3): 351–354, doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2230.1949.tb00131.x, JSTOR 1090506 The Coronation Committee had been delayed when it met for the first time on 24 June 1936: Ramsay MacDonald, the Lord President of the Council, met the Duke of Norfolk to discuss the proceedings; MacDonald would chair the Coronation Committee as a whole, and the Duke would chair the Executive Committee. While Edward VIII was away, cruising on the Nahlin with Wallis Simpson, his brother, Albert, Duke of York (the future George VI) sat in his place on the committees. [3] Edward VIII had initially been reluctant to have a coronation at all (asking the Archbishop of Canterbury whether it could be dispensed with), but conceded that a shorter service would be acceptable; his desire for a lower-key event led to the planned abandonment of the royal procession through London the following day, the thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral and the dinner with London dignitaries. [5]a b " Supplement to the London Gazette, 10 November 1937 issue no. 34453, p. 7038" . Retrieved 26 May 2014. Princess Paul of Yugoslavia and the Prince Regent of Yugoslavia, the King's second cousin and her husband (representing his first cousin once removed, the King of Yugoslavia)

George VI's coronation at Westminster Abbey took place on 12 May 1937, the date previously intended for Edward's coronation. In a break with tradition, his mother Queen Mary attended the ceremony in a show of support for her son. [60] There was no Durbar held in Delhi for George VI, as had occurred for his father, as the cost would have been a burden to the Government of India. [61] Rising Indian nationalism made the welcome that the royal party would have received likely to be muted at best, [62] and a prolonged absence from Britain would have been undesirable in the tense period before the Second World War. Two overseas tours were undertaken, to France and to North America, both of which promised greater strategic advantages in the event of war. [63] After the abdication of Edward VIII, the coronation committee continued to plan the event for George VI with minimal disruption; according to Sir Roy Strong, at the next meeting after the abdication "no reference was made at all to the change of sovereign, everything immediately being assumed to have been done for the new king." [6] After the abdication, though, many of the traditional elements that Edward VIII cared less for were restored, with Queen Mary taking an interest in the design of furniture and insisting on a more traditional appearance; indeed, much of the service and the furnishings were to closely resemble those of the 1911 coronation of George V. [7] Archbishop of Canterbury [ edit ] Archbishop Cosmo Lang, painted in 1937 with his coronation cope and mitre by Philip de László. Weisbrode, Kenneth (2013), Churchill and the King, New York: Viking, pp. 107, 117–118, 148, 154–155, 166. ISBN 978-0670025763.Published by Authority (18 June 1948), "A proclamation by the King, 22 June 1948", Supplement to the Belfast Gazette - Official Public Record (1408): 153, archived from the original on 5 September 2021 British Choral Tradition Volume Two – Choirs Royal – Choral Music from the 1937 Coronation". Amphion Recordings. Lady Elizabeth Ivy Percy (1916–2008), daughter of the Duke of Northumberland; she later became the Duchess of Hamilton.