List of titles and honours of George VI explained

George VI received numerous decorations and honorary appointments, both during and before his time as monarch of the United Kingdom and the dominions. Of those listed below; where two dates are shown, the first indicates the date of receiving the award or title, and the second indicates the date of its loss or renunciation.

Titles, styles, and honours

Royal Name:King George VI
Dipstyle:His Majesty
Offstyle:Your Majesty

Titles and styles

George VI was from birth a Prince of the United Kingdom, and was subsequently created a royal duke. It was as a duke that he succeeded his brother, King Edward VIII, to the throne.

Titles vested in the Crown

Certain titles are borne and held by the reigning sovereign.

Isle of Man
Church of England

Other titles traditionally attributed to the reigning sovereign are Duke of Lancaster, to reflect that the Duchy of Lancaster is a private estate of the sovereign,[1] and Duke of Normandy in the sovereign's capacity as head of state of the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey.[2]

Titles held personally

George VI has held certain titles in a personal capacity, either by virtue of birth, or otherwise.

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Commonwealth of Nations

Title in the dominions and India

See also: Dominion and British Raj. The Dominions were self-governing entities which had the as their respective head of state the same person as was the British sovereign.[6] [7] These Dominions typically used the style and title of the sovereign as proclaimed in the United Kingdom, which, from the reign of Edward VII came to include the phrase, “and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas”, signifying their reign over said Dominions.[8] However, the sovereign reigned in these Dominions in a capacity independent from their position as monarch of the United Kingdom, similar in meaning and usage to, but not the same as modern-day Commonwealth realms, in that they lacked a separate title for each Dominion, until the reign of Elizabeth II. George VI's reign in the Dominions does not completely match his reign in the United Kingdom and his role as monarch in the Irish Free State is debated.[9]

Per the terms of the Indian Independence Act, the imperial title was to be abolished. However, George VI issued a royal proclamation for that purpose and to that effect only on 22 June 1948, effectively reigning as king in the newly created Dominions of India and Pakistan whilst still bearing the imperial title for himself and his consort.[10]

The title of Kaisar-i-Hind was coined in 1876 by the orientalist G. W. Leitner as the imperial title for the sovereign[11] and was also employed in an official capacity, most notably to denote Crown property in India.[12] This title continues to persist as a placeholder to the modern day in official records dating to the British era, despite the prohibition and deprecation of the use of the said title and all its variants for any and all purposes.[13] Its usage is to be so understood as to denote the Government of India per the relevant provisions of the Government Grants Act,[14] read alongside and in the context of the Transfer of Property Act and the Repealing and Amending (Second) Act.[15] [16]

Military ranks

FlagDateRankBranchRef
2 June 1938Admiral of the FleetRoyal Australian Navy[17]
Field MarshalAustralian Army
Marshal of the Royal Australian Air ForceRoyal Australian Air Force
15 May 1916Sub-LieutenantRoyal Navy
29 December 1918Temporary Captain and Staff Officer (3rd Class, Air)Royal Air Force
1 August 1919Flight Lieutenant
1 November 1919Squadron Leader
31 December 1920CommanderRoyal Navy
1 June 1920Wing CommanderRoyal Air Force
30 June 1921Group Captain
3 June 1932Rear AdmiralRoyal Navy
Major GeneralBritish Army
Air Vice-MarshalRoyal Air Force
1 January 1936Vice AdmiralRoyal Navy
Lieutenant GeneralBritish Army
Air MarshalRoyal Air Force
21 January 1936AdmiralRoyal Navy
GeneralBritish Army
11 December 1936Admiral of the FleetRoyal Navy
Field MarshalBritish Army
Marshal of the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
8 October 1948Captain General Royal MarinesRoyal Marines

Orders and decorations

British

Orders of Chivalry

Campaign Medals

Coronation/Jubilee medals

Foreign

Appointments

Decorations

Undress ribbons

The undress ribbons worn by George VI in undress uniform were as follows:

Order of the BathOrder of the Star of IndiaOrder of St Michael and St George
Order of the Indian EmpireRoyal Victorian OrderOrder of the British Empire1914–15 Star
British War MedalVictory Medal with Mention in Despatches1939-1945 StarItaly Star
France and Germany StarDefence MedalWar Medal 1939-1945Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal
King Edward VII Coronation MedalKing George V Coronation MedalKing George V Silver Jubilee MedalNorwegan War Cross
Greek Cross of ValourAmerican European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign MedalCroix de Guerre 1939–1945 with bronze palmRussian Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir

Honorary appointments

Civil

Privy Counsellor

Freedom of the City

Honorary degrees

Honorific eponyms

A number of geographical features, roads, and institutions are named after George VI. These include King George Hospital in London; King George VI Reservoir in Surrey, United Kingdom; King George Highway and King George Boulevard in Surrey, British Columbia; Kingsway in Edmonton; George VI Sound in Antarctica; and the King George VI Chase, a horse race in the United Kingdom.

The fourth future will be named as .[41]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Duchy of Lancaster. 4 September 2021. Lancaster Castle.
  2. News: 2018-06-04. Crown Dependencies. The Royal Family. 2021-09-04.
  3. Web site: SCG – UNITED KINGDOM. 23 August 2021. Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
  4. Web site: Archives. The National. 17 July 2017. The National Archives – Wettin to Windsor: changing the royal name. 4 September 2021. The National Archives blog.
  5. Web site: 22 August 2013. How we are run. 3 September 2021. The Commonwealth.
  6. Book: Inter-Imperial Relations Committee Report, Proceedings and Memoranda. His Britannic Majesty’s Government. 1926. 2–6.
  7. Book: Statute of Westminster, 1931. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. England. 1–3.
  8. Web site: Page 7137 Issue 27372, 5 November 1901 London Gazette The Gazette. 2021-09-07. www.thegazette.co.uk.
  9. Book: McMahon, Deirdre. Republicans and imperialists : Anglo-Irish relations in the 1930s. 1984. New Haven : Yale University Press. Internet Archive. 978-0-300-03071-6.
  10. Web site: Page 153 Issue 1408, 18 June 1948 Belfast Gazette The Gazette. 2021-09-07. www.thegazette.co.uk.
  11. B.S. Cohn, "Representing Authority in Victorian India", in E. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger (eds.), The Invention of Tradition (1983), 165–209, esp. 201-2.
  12. Web site: Naresh Kumar vs The State Of Jharkhand on 8 December, 2020. 5 September 2021. Indian Kanoon.
  13. Book: Rajguru, Bharat Prabhakar. Law of Nazul, Lease and Bhu Mafia Sarkar. 2020-07-11. Blue Rose Publishers. en.
  14. Web site: The Government Grants Act, 1895.
  15. Web site: The Transfer of Property Act, 1882.
  16. Web site: The Repealing and Amending (Second) Act, 2017. 5 January 2018 .
  17. News: 2 June 1938 . No. 84 . . 1651.
  18. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30108577
  19. Book: Acović, Dragomir . Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima . Službeni Glasnik . 2012 . Belgrade . 595.
  20. Book: Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1944 . J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri . 1944 . Bille-Hansen . A. C. . Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender . Copenhagen . 17 . da . State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1944 . 16 September 2019 . Holck . Harald . . 1st pub.:1801.
  21. Web site: Ordinul Carol I . Order of Carol I . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210506011333/https://familiaregala.ro/ordine-si-decoratii/ordinul-carol-i . 6 May 2021 . . ro . Bucharest.
  22. Web site: The Equestrian Order of San Marino . 21 February 2021 . Consulate of the Republic of San Marino to the UK.
  23. News: Royal Thai Government Gazette . 21 February 1937 . ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง ถวายเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์แด่พระบาทสมเด็จพระมหากษัตริย์แห่งอังกฤษ . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304212144/http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2480/D/2903.PDF . 4 March 2016 . 8 May 2019 . Royal Thai Government Gazette . Thai.
  24. "Banda da Grã-Cruz das Três Ordens: Jorge VI (Rei do Reino Unido, da Grã-Bretanha, Irlanda e dos Territórios Britânicos e Imperador das Índias)" (in Portuguese), Arquivo Histórico da Presidência da República. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  25. Book: Acović, Dragomir . Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima . Službeni Glasnik . 2012 . Belgrade . 364.
  26. Web site: 1 July 1946 . Militaire Willems-Orde: Winsor, Albert Frederick Arthur George of . Military William Order: Windsor, Albert Frederick Arthur George of . Ministerie van Defensie . nl.
  27. https://journaldemonaco.gouv.mc/var/jdm/storage/original/application/a804ebe47dfb83b9942febe5f26ffdca.pdf Journal de Monaco
  28. Book: Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1952 . J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri . 1952 . Bille-Hansen . A. C. . Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender . Copenhagen . 18 . da . State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1952 . PDF . Holck . Harald . . 1st pub.:1801.
  29. Web site: George Vi .
  30. Book: Denis, Judd. George VI . I.B.Tauris. 978-0-85773-041-1. 49. 8 March 2012.
  31. Web site: Prince Albert receives freedom to the city (1919). https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/OW3ECFzs9Dk . 2021-12-15 . live. British Pathé. 23 August 2021. YouTube.
  32. News: Freedom of city was last granted in 1963. .
  33. Web site: Freedom of the City Recipients . Glasgow City Council . 26 June 2015. 23 August 2021.
  34. Web site: The Calgary Daily Herald – Google News Archive Search. news.google.com.
  35. Web site: Duke And Duchess Of York (1928). https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/1CKOwaIZxgc . 2021-12-15 . live. British Pathé. 23 August 2021. YouTube.
  36. Web site: ROYAL: Duke of York receives Freedom of Borough of Ilford (1929). https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/ewwZYNdWqQE . 2021-12-15 . live. British Pathé. 23 August 2021. YouTube.
  37. Web site: The Glasgow Herald – Google News Archive Search. news.google.com.
  38. Web site: His Royal Highness the Duke of York. University of Sydney. 23 November 2024.
  39. Web site: The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, to receive honorary degree. University of Glasgow. 8 March 2001. 23 November 2024.
  40. Web site: King George to get degree. Brown University. 25 March 1939. 23 November 2024.
  41. Web site: Defence Secretary praises 50 years of nuclear service as new submarine is named . 4 May 2019.

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