““Dear Bertie, I was delighted to get your letter this morning, & to know that you apprciate that I have given you that fine old title of Duke of York which I bore for more than 9 years & is the oldest Dukedom in this country. I know that you behaved very well, in a difficult sitatuiion for a young man & that you have done what I asked you to do. I feel that this splendid old title will be safe in your hands & that you will never do anything which could in any way tarnish it. I hope that you will always look upon me as yr. best friend & always tell me everything & you will find me ever ready to help you & give you good advice. Looking forward to seeing your to-morrow. Ever my dear boy, Yr. very devoted Papa”
—A letter by George V, to his son, Prince Albert, now the Duke of York, who would later be George VI, after making him the Duke of York(viaroyalwatcher)
King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, were crowned at Westminster Abbey, London, on 12 May 1937.
Some years later, on 24 October 1946, the Bodleian Libraries hosted the King and Queen when they came to officially open the New Bodleian, now the Weston Library. It was an occasion so momentous that something simply had to go wrong.
So it did, and the ceremonial silver key that King George VI was given to open the library door broke off in the lock.
Somehow, Mr GW Beesley, the then secretary to the University of Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor and the Bedel of Arts, managed to get purchase on the key’s broken shaft and turn it, unlocking the door and allowing the King inside.
The broken key is now kept as one of the Bodleian’s most personal treasures; that’s it you can see at the head of this post. It was designed personally by Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect of the New Bodleian.
The door has seen very little use of any kind since but remains ‘The George VI door’ in tribute.
This Pathe video shows newsreel footage from the day. Unfortunately it doesn’t work too well as a recap of key-breaking drama but it does offer some very vivid glimpses of the Oxford of 1946.
In 1920, Albert Windsor met for the first time since childhood Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. He became determined to marry her. She rejected his proposal twice, in 1921 and 1922, reportedly because she was reluctant to make the sacrifices necessary to become a member of the royal family. Eventually, in January 1923, Elizabeth agreed to marry Albert, despite her misgivings about royal life. Later in 1936, they became King and Queen consort following the abdication of Bertie’s older brother, King Edward VIII. Together, they ruled side by side until Bertie’s death in 1952. She died 50 years later in 2002.
The Duke and Duchess of York (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) and Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) arrive in Southampton, 1939
The Duke and Duchess of York (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) with baby Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) at their home at 145 Piccadilly wave to well-wishers after their Empire tour, 1927
The Duke and Duchess of York (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) with golden lab Glen and the stationmaster of Glamis, Scotland, 1926
The Duke and Duchess of York (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) receive a cradle made for Princess Margaret during a visit to the Royal Orthopedic Hospital in Bath, May 1933
