HAPPY 100TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO KING GEORGE VI AND QUEEN ELIZABETH

On April 26, 1923 Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon married Prince Albert, the Duke of York, at Westminster Abbey. In honor of the Centennial, here are some thoughts and rare images for my subscribers.

In my new book, George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy, I describe the the events leading up to the big day, as well as many new details of the wedding itself. The future king and queen’s joyful ceremony witnessed by 1,780 guests reinvigorated a dynasty that would continue to embody vital British values and traditions throughout their nearly three decades of marriage followed by the seventy-year reign of their daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, supported by her devoted husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Less than two weeks from now, George VI and Elizabeth’s grandson, King Charles III, will be the 40^th monarch to be crowned in the same sacred setting, with Queen Camilla, the twenty-seventh consort to be crowned.  The solidity of the succession will be evident in the prominent presence of two more heirs, William, the Prince of Wales, and his son Prince George.

In the weeks before the wedding of Lady Elizabeth to Prince Albert (“Bertie”), newspapers  and magazines filled their pages with photographs of the thousands of gifts sent to the couple.

Here is a sampling of what Bertie and Elizabeth received:

A porcelain lamp from the King and Queen of Denmark, silver candalabra from King George V, along with Queen Mary’s gift of silver baskets and canteens of cutlery

Gold fruit knives from the King and Queen and Crown Prince of Norway, a gold cigarette case from the King and Queen of Spain

Pretty sumptuous, yes?

And then there was the jewelry…..