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Cultural depictions of George VI

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George VI is depicted in art and popular culture.

Film, stage, television and radio

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George has been portrayed by:

Novels

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George VI does not appear, but is prominently mentioned in Max Brooks' 2005 novel World War Z. When the living dead are threatening to overrun the British Isles and the rest of the world, Queen Elizabeth II refuses to flee from Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England to the strongholds established in Ireland or Scotland. When she is pleaded with to reconsider, Elizabeth says "The highest of distinctions is service to others," quoting her father, who said that to explain why he would not leave Britain for any safe zone, namely Canada, during World War II.

George is a significant character in Michael Dobbs' 2003 novel Winston's War, and Len Deighton's alternate history novel SS-GB, in which he is imprisoned during a Nazi occupation of Britain and killed during an escape attempt.

In the alternate history novel Fatherland by Robert Harris, George VI is deposed when Nazi Germany conquers the United Kingdom and the British Empire in the early 1940s. Most of the Royal Family are forced into exile in Canada, and George's elder brother Edward VIII is restored to the throne. After George's death in 1952, his eldest daughter Princess Elizabeth is recognised by the governments of Canada, Australia and the United States as the rightful British monarch.

In the alternate history novel The Man Who Prevented WW2 by Roy Carter, Edward VIII is assassinated by Jerome Bannigan on 18 July 1936. It is suspected that the Prime Minister Sir Oswald Mosley, who has come to power when the British Union of Fascists won a landslide victory in the 1935 election, is responsible for his murder. After his death, the BUF government abolishes the monarchy and places the Royal Family under house arrest in Balmoral Castle until they are expatriated to Switzerland in September 1939. Edward's younger brother and heir presumptive, Albert, Duke of York (who would have become George VI if the monarchy had not been abolished), is given the deed to the Royal Hotel in Geneva. His mother Queen Mary is disturbed that he has become an innkeeper and even more disturbed that she is an innkeeper's mother. However, the Duke later establishes a successful hotel chain.

Comics

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In Secret Origins #7 (November, 1986), George and Elizabeth are menaced by the Phantom of the Fair during their visit to New York in 1940. George fights with a robot minion of the Phantom to save his wife and himself, and is assisted by Sandman and the Crimson Avenger in the first battle between superheroes.

Statues

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Statue of King George VI in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

In 1955, a statue of the king in naval uniform was erected just off The Mall and Carlton Gardens in London.[5] A neighbouring statue of his wife was unveiled in 2009, creating the George VI and Queen Elizabeth Memorial.[6] Other statues of the king include one in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Nominees & Winners for the 83rd Academy Awards". AMPAS. AMPAS. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  2. ^ "The King's Speech :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  3. ^ Masters, Tim (17 February 2012). "The King's Speech to open in the West End". BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  4. ^ "SS-GB (TV Mini Series 2017) - IMDb". IMDb.
  5. ^ "King George VI Memorial". Royal Parks Website. Royal Parks. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  6. ^ Queen Mother statue is unveiled, BBC, 24 February 2009, retrieved 22 April 2009
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