King George VI acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom in December, 1936. Due to the outbreak of World War II and his poor health in post-War years, he only received a few state visits from foreign heads of state during his reign, all of whom were from European countries.
No. | Date | Country | Regime | Guests | Venue for State Banquet |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16–19 November 1937 [1] [2] | Belgium | Monarchy | King Leopold III | Buckingham Palace |
2 | 15–18 November 1938 [3] [4] | Romania | Monarchy | King Carol II | Buckingham Palace |
3 | 21–24 March 1939 [5] [6] | France | Republic | President Albert Lebrun Mme Marguerite Lebrun | Buckingham Palace |
4 | 7–10 March 1950 [7] [8] | France | Republic | President Vincent Auriol Mme Michelle Auriol | Buckingham Palace |
5 | 21–24 November 1950 [9] [10] | Netherlands | Monarchy | Queen Juliana Prince Bernhard | Buckingham Palace |
6 | 8–11 May 1951 [11] [12] | Denmark | Monarchy | King Frederik IX Queen Ingrid | Buckingham Palace |
7 | 5–8 June 1951 [13] [14] [lower-alpha 1] | Norway | Monarchy | King Haakon VII [lower-alpha 2] | Buckingham Palace |
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was also the last Empress of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved on 15 August 1947. After her husband died, she was officially known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter Queen Elizabeth II.
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of India from 1936 until the British Raj was dissolved in August 1947, and the first head of the Commonwealth following the London Declaration of 1949.
Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George VI. Prince George served in the Royal Navy in the 1920s and then briefly as a civil servant. He became Duke of Kent in 1934. In the late 1930s he served as an RAF officer, initially as a staff officer at RAF Training Command and then, from July 1941, as a staff officer in the Welfare Section of the RAF Inspector General's Staff. He was killed in the Dunbeath air crash on 25 August 1942.
Prince Arthur of Connaught was a British military officer and a grandson of Queen Victoria. He served as Governor-General of the Union of South Africa from 20 November 1920 to 21 January 1924.
Maud of Wales was Queen of Norway as the wife of King Haakon VII. The youngest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom, she was known as Princess Maud of Wales before her marriage, as her father was the Prince of Wales at the time.
George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, styled The Honourable George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was a British classical music administrator and author, and an extended Member of the British Royal Family, as a maternal grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, and thus a first-cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He served as director of the Royal Opera House, chairman of the board of the English National Opera (ENO) (1986–1995); managing director of the ENO (1972–1985), managing director of the English National Opera North (1978–81), governor of the BBC (1985–1987), and president of the British Board of Film Classification (1985–1996).
Brigadier Lewis Pugh Evans, was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Top Cottage, also known as Hill-Top Cottage, in Hyde Park, New York, was a private retreat designed by and for Franklin D. Roosevelt. Built in 1938-39, during Roosevelt's second term as President of the United States, it was designed to accommodate his need for wheelchair accessibility. It was one of the earliest such buildings in the country, and the first significant building designed by a person with a disability.
Edward VIII, later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in December of the same year.
Since 1786, members of the Canadian royal family have visited Canada, either as an official tour, a working tour, a vacation, or a period of military service. The first member to visit was the future King William IV in 1786. In 1939, King George VI became the first reigning monarch to tour the country.
Gustaf VI Adolf was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf Adolf acceded to the throne, he had been crown prince for nearly 43 years during his father's reign. As king, and shortly before his death, he gave his approval to constitutional changes which removed the Swedish monarchy's last political powers. He was a lifelong amateur archeologist particularly interested in Ancient Italian cultures.
The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, Emperor and Empress consort of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. George VI ascended the throne upon the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, on 11 December 1936, three days before his 41st birthday. Edward's coronation had been planned for 12 May and it was decided to continue with his brother and sister-in-law's coronation on the same date.
Peter Victor Ferdinand Cazalet DL was a British cricketer, jockey, racehorse owner and trainer from Shipbourne, Kent. He played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club and the Marylebone Cricket Club. He served in the Guards Armoured Division during the Second World War, reaching the rank of Major. Post-war, he trained many horses owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and other notable owners. He was British jump racing Champion Trainer on three occasions.
State and official visits to the United Kingdom are formal visits by the head of state of one country to the United Kingdom, during which the British Sovereign acts as official host of the visitor. It is a royal event that involves all the assets in the Civil Service, the Royal Household and the Household Division. It also involves other members of the Royal family and is centred in London, the national capital. Invitations for state visits are sent by the Royal Household with supervision by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.