On this day in royal history, Elizabeth said yes! 💍

"He has wanted to marry Elizth for nearly 3 years, & she had refused him quite steadfastly, but lately I noticed that she liked dancing & talking to him more than anyone else - so when he came suddenly to St Paul's Walden last week I felt pretty certain she wd say yes. She is very happy & he is radiant - & we are (at last) quite happy about it - I like him immensely."

Lady Strathmore (Elizabeth's mother) to her daughter-in-law Lady Christian about Elizabeth's engagement to the Duke of York.

KING GEORGE VI and QUEEN ELIZABETH wearing life jackets aboard the ocean liner Empress of Australia as it sails to Canada, May 1939.

The gallantry and chivalry with which the King surrounded the Queen were marked not only every day at sea, but throughout the tour in Canada, the United States and Newfoundland. There was the routine lifeboat drill after divine service. Their Majesties lined up like the other passengers when the siren sounded. The King scrutinized the manner in which the Queen’s life belt was adjusted. Himself a sailor, and trained in the fashion and discipline of the Royal Navy, His Majesty quickly saw that the Queen’s efforts would not pass muster.

‘This is the way you do it,’ said the King, as he adjusted the straps and tightened them.

‘Now, I think they will pass you,’ he added. They laughed heartily. His Majesty’s adjustment passed inspection.

AND THE PEOPLE CHEERED by R. K. CARNEGIE (1940)

In 1945 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth visited Imperial College to commemorate the centenary of the Royal College of Science. The King gave a memorable speech that was extremely well received by the students. And then, quite unplanned, they made an appearance at the College’s Centenary Ball in the Albert Hall. Here's what happened...

"There came a moment when six of us girls found ourselves talking to the Royal couple on our own. We knew that the King and Queen loved ballroom dancing and I said “would your majesties like to join us?” and she looked at him with a sparkle in her eye and said “It would be fun wouldn’t it!” On that spontaneous invitation they came with us – out of the back door of the room and across to the Albert Hall! " --- Gwyneth Rankin (BSc ARCS Botany 1944)

"By pure chance we found ourselves dancing on a sparsely populated promenade arena when the King and Queen appeared in the stalls immediately above us. I retain the vivid image of a smiling King then turning to the Queen, proffering his hand in an invitation to dance [❤️!!] and how they began to dance, with not a single security person in attendance, in a close proximity to a few couples – including ourselves." --- Manfred Kosten (Mining Geology 1949)

On the King's remarks that day...

"...We students were all standing in the centre of the hall and we showed the then normal sign of student approval at appropriate times, by stamping noisily on the floor. This interrupted his speech, but noticed that he started laughing and became visibly more relaxed and a rapport developed. Some days later, we heard that the College authorities had intended to give us a major dressing down for this but had been snookered by a personal message form the King, saying that he had not enjoyed an evening so much for some time! " --- Alan Burdett (Mechanical Engineering 1950)

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Some thoughts....

I wish there were photos or film of Bertie & Elizabeth dancing - I long to see them do so! It is often repeated that they were both elegant and accomplished dancers.

Bertie seemed to particularly enjoy interacting with young people. I think they appealed to the lighter, boyish part of his character. What a keeper, he was!

Here's something just a little fun for Valentine's Day -- The King & Queen being just a normal couple trying to figure out what they are supposed to do with this trophy presentation. 🥰 (sound on! 🔊)

Oh Bertie & Elizabeth! You silly things! ❤️❤️

This is London. It is with the greatest sorrow that we make the following announcement. It was announced from Sandringham, at 10:45 today, February the 6th, 1952, that the King, who retired to rest last night in his usual health, passed peacefully away in his sleep, earlier this morning.

The BBC offers profound sympathy to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family.

“Queen Elizabeth and the King were always together. I remember one Easter, I was just knocking a ball about the golf course when I spotted them walking quietly together, totally at ease. There was a terrific sweetness about them. He had an elegance - an elegance of mind. After he died, there was a huge gap. It was a terrible loss and it was never quite the same again.”

KING GEORGE VI with his grandson PRINCE CHARLES, November 1951

In some regards, his guiding light is not so much his late mother as his grandfather. One close friend of the family says that, shortly after his accession, she was offering her condolences to the new monarch and assured him that both his mother and the Queen Mother would be ‘looking after’ him from somewhere up on high. ‘That’s very kind of you,’ he replied, ‘but the person whose hand I feel on my shoulder is the King.’

Princess Elizabeth (center) with officers of the ATS Training Centre, 1945.