List of titles and honours of George VI

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King 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.

Contents

Titles, styles, and honours

A foundation plaque at Manchester Town Hall records the titles of George VI as King-Emperor George VI Manchester City Hall 20051020.jpg
A foundation plaque at Manchester Town Hall records the titles of George VI as King-Emperor
Styles of
King George VI
Royal Cypher of King George VI.svg
Reference style His Majesty
Spoken styleYour 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.

Flag of the Isle of Man.svg Isle of Man
Flag of England.svg 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, [2] [lower-alpha 1] and Duke of Normandy in the sovereign's capacity as head of state of the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. [4] [lower-alpha 2]

Titles held personally

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

Flagge Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (1911-1920).svg House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Commonwealth of Nations

Title in the dominions and India

The Dominions were self-governing entities which had the as their respective head of state the same person as was the British sovereign. [12] [13] 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”, [lower-alpha 4] signifying their reign over said Dominions. [15] 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. [16]

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. [17]

The title of Kaisar-i-Hind was coined in 1876 by the orientalist G. W. Leitner as the imperial title for the sovereign [18] and was also employed in an official capacity, most notably to denote Crown property in India. [19] 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. [20] Its usage is to be so understood as to denote the Government of India per the relevant provisions of the Government Grants Act, [21] read alongside and in the context of the Transfer of Property Act and the Repealing and Amending (Second) Act. [22] [23]

Military ranks

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia

Foreign honours

Appointments
CountryDateAppointmentPost-nominal letters
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 5 June 1917 14 September 1917Knight 4th Class with Swords of the Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir [38]
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Italy 11 August 1917 2 June 1946Knight of the Military Order of Savoy [39]
Flag of Yugoslavia (1918-1943).svg  Yugoslavia 1918 2 December 1945Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the White Eagle [40]
Flag of France (1794-1958).svg  France 1919 6 February 1952Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour [41]
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 30 November 1920 6 February 1952Knight of the Order of the Elephant [42] RE
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 18 October 1922 10 September 1944Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Carol I [43]
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 26 April 1923 6 February 1952Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav [44] StkStOO m kjede
Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 20 February 1937 6 February 1952Grand Cross of the Civil and Military Equestrian Order of Saint Marinus [45]
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 10 May 1937 6 February 1952Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim [46] RSerafO
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 2 February 1938 6 February 1952Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri [47] MCK
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2 May 1939 6 February 1952Grand Cross of the Riband of the Three Military Orders [48] BTO
Flag of Yugoslavia (1918-1941).svg Yugoslavia19 July 1939 2 December 1945Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Karađorđe [49]
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1 July 1946 6 February 1952Grand Cross of the Military William Order [50] MWO
Flag of Monaco.svg  Monaco 13 November 1947 6 February 1952Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles [51]
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark8 May 1951 6 February 1952Grand Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog [52] SKmd
Flag of France.svg France2 April 1960 (posthumous)Member of the Ordre de la Libération [53]

Freedom of the City

Commonwealth realms

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 Dreadnought-class submarine will be named as HMS King George VI. [62]

See also

Notes

  1. The legal basis for the sovereign’s use of the title has been disputed. George VI’s father, George V was given legal advice that it was “extremely unlikely” that he was, in fact, the Duke of Lancaster. [3]
  2. There is no basis in law for the title [5] and the legal basis of the monarch’s sovereignty is as successor to the Dukes of Normandy. [6] Jersey and Guernsey and the other Channel Islands were part of the Duchy of Normandy when the Duke of Normandy was also the king of England. [4] Under the Treaty of Paris (1259) the king of England renounced his claims to the Duchy but retained possession of the islands. [7]
  3. George VI held his German titles by virtue of being a descendant of the Prince Consort. All German degrees, styles, dignities, titles, honors, and appellations were renounced on 17 July 1917 by George V for himself, his descendants, and all other descendants of Queen Victoria. An amendment to the House laws of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha barred any descendant of a member of the ducal house who was in 1917 a national of a country which waged war against the German Empire from succeeding to the ducal throne, effectively removing any remote succession rights that the British royalty still held by virtue of the partial renunciation by Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales.[ citation needed ]
  4. Later dropped in its entirety in favour of “and of Her other Realms and Territories” during the reign of Elizabeth II. [14]

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