#peter north

Whereas the late King George was inclined to be rather brusque, the Duke of Windsor to be slightly over-anxious to please, the present King seemed to me to be simple, frank, free from affectation, and to have neither the brusqueness of his father nor the touch of the cinema star that marked his brother. The view is generally held by those who have knowledge of and contact with the Court that of the late King George’s sons the present King, although in no way brilliant, is from the point of view of character and a sense of duty the best of the lot.

JOHN DULANTY on GEORGE VI - March 1937

KING GEORGE VI photographed by PETER NORTH, 1937

[photographing the King is] an occasion upon which even a photographer much more sure of himself than I am would feel nervous; but I need not have worried, for His Majesty immediately put me at ease, and in him I found an ideal sitter. He is so thoughtful for the photographer, helpful and understanding in everything that might assist in making the picture a success, that, no matter what the results, one feels that for him one should have done even better work still.