King George VI

In Britain the phrase ‘an heir and a spare’ refers to the imperative for members of the royal family to provide both an heir to take on their title and a spare. In this equation King George VI was ‘the spare’, the second son of King George V and Mary, and never expected to sit on the throne. King George VI, or Albert as he was known prior to his kingship, had a career in the Royal Navy and served during the First World War before King Edward VIII’s decision to abdicate his throne. Determined to restore the British Royal Family in the eyes of the people, King George VI played a pivotal role in the victory of the allied nations in the Second World War.