George VI

Previous king: Edward VIII (brother)       Reigned: 1936-1952       Next king: Elizabeth II (daughter)

George VI George VI married Elizabeth (see left) in 1923. There was a suggestion that the ceremony was broadcast on radio by the BBC, but the Archbishop of Canterbury said not because "men in public houses may listen to the ceremony with their hats on". After George died, and Elizabeth II became queen, George's wife was known as Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, as otherwise there would have been two Queen Elizabeths.

St Paul's Cathedral during the London Blitz The main event of the reign of George VI was World War II. George and Elizabeth stayed in England, throughout the war. They were in Buckingham Palace when it was hit by a bomb during the London Blitz (see right) when German bombers destroyed a lot of London.

After the war, the British Empire was gradually breaking up. George gave up his title of Emperor of India when India and Pakistan became independent in 1947.

In June 1948, the ship Empire Windrush sailed from Jamaica carrying people who wanted to start a new life in the United Kingdom. This was the first large group of West Indian immigrants to come to the UK after the Second World War.

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