The real King George VI & Queen Elizabeth

As promised, here are some images of the real King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (yes, that is the Queen Mother who passed away in 2002, mother of our current Queen Elizabeth II). There are some photos of them in the 1920s, before Edward abdicated and George was forced to take the throne (at that time they were called the Duke & Duchess of York), through to photos of them in war-ravaged London in the early 1940s. I believe the latest photo is 1951 (she is wearing a ballgown, crown and white furs).

The LIFE photograph is of a very young Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, before she married George (she was Scottish nobility). In another photo you might notice Eleanor Roosevelt standing between King George VI and Queen Elizabeth – this was during an inspection of English war conditions in 1942. The photo of the King & Queen, with two young princesses, waving on the balustrade, is VE Day (8 May 1945), announcing and celebrating the end of the war. On the left that is Princess Elizabeth (now our Queen), in military uniform.

The King’s Speech

Well, The King’s Speech is the Golden Globe favourite (which makes it an Academy Award favourite too, of course), with seven nominations. I can’t wait to see it – I adore Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush, how could it not be wonderful? And the story! All us Swing Fashionistas know about Edward VIII, who abdicated to marry the American divorce, Wallis Simpson (since he was such a style icon for the 1920s and 30s, and besides, oh what a love tale!). But I certainly never knew this side of George VI and the Queen Mother’s story. When my mum explained it to me the other day I was very touched. This should be wonderful!

Anyway, plenty of fashion to admire.  I’ll post some images of the real King and Queen, who Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter are depicting, since I can see the film is aiming to be historically accurate.