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Kenneth Weisbrode

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Books by Kenneth Weisbrode

Churchill and the King

Individuals do not shape the course of history alone; it is through personal and political alliances that powerful figures are able to wield their power successfully. Such an alliance existed between King George VI and Winston Churchill, the two leaders who saw Britain through some of its most trying years, and in ways that few have appreciated, it made both of them better able to function at the highest level.

George VI became King in December of 1936, after his brother Edward VIII's notorious abdication. A shy naval officer, he approached his role reluctantly, and without confidence at the start. Four years later, after Neville Chamberlain's disgraceful leadership, Churchill became Prime Minister in spite of a complicated political past. While both men were in power, they met almost every week, discovering how their divergent virtues--their sympathies, their temperaments, their public presences, their allies--fitted together perfectly to allow each one to triumph in their given role. The various roles they played to and for one another--foil, confidant, fellow traveler, conspirator and comrade--blur, but in the end the King and the King's embrace granted Churchill (a mistrusted outsider) authority and, in a curious way, an aspect of humble respect which he otherwise would have found difficult to manufacture. It underwrote Churchill's sense of prerogative and gave him a free hand to cast himself as his nation's selfless savior. For his part, Winston helped George, and with it the monarchy and the soul of the British people, endure the ravages of war, inspiring hope where it seemed impossible.

While much has been written about each of them individually, their alliance--one of trust, respect, and genuine fellowship--has gone overlooked. Ken Weisbrode establishes how the intersection of these two men affected history more than we ever realized.

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