George VI (1895-1952) was king of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1936 to 1952. He guided his country through World War II and the years of rapid transformation that followed.

Prince Albert, as George VI was generally known during his early years, was the second son of the Duke of York (later George V); he was born at York Cottage, Sandringham, on Dec. 15, 1895. Although a sensitive, shy, and at times nervous child, he was happy and possessed a determined spirit. In 1909 he entered the Royal Naval College at Osborne and 2 years later went on to Dartmouth. At both institutions he won the respect of his teachers and his classmates. Afterward he entered the navy professionally.

During the first years of World War I the prince served on the battleship Collingwood and later on the Malaya and while on the former participated in the Battle of Jutland (May 1916). Periods of...