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  • Published: 27 May 2015
  • ISBN: 9780143125990
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $49.99
Categories:

Churchill and the King

The Wartime Alliance of Winston Churchill and George VI



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.

“Wonderfully readable. . . . This is popular history at its best.” —The Daily Beast

King George VI and Winston Churchill were not destined to be partners, let alone allies. Yet together—as foils, confidants, conspirators, and comrades—the unlikely duo guided Britain through war while inspiring renewed hope in the monarchy, Parliament, and the nation itself. In Churchill and the King, Kenneth Weisbrode explores the delicate fashioning of this important, though largely overlooked, relationship. The king and Churchill met nearly every week in private over lunch during the war. As they worked through the many problems facing their nation and empire, they came to realize that they had more in common than anyone could have guessed. Despite their differences, the trust and loyalty they eventually shared helped Britain navigate the most trying time in its history.

  • Published: 27 May 2015
  • ISBN: 9780143125990
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 224
  • RRP: $49.99
Categories:

Praise for Churchill and the King


Praise for Churchill and the King

"Wonderfully readable . . . This is popular history at its best . . . Weisbrode does a very good job of illuminating the bonds that drew two men with such different personalities together."
--Michael Korda, The Daily Beast

"[A] perceptive profiling of the challenges of leadership."
--The Washington Times

"An organic comparison of two highly flawed and deeply sympathetic characters at the helm of England at her most perilous hour. . . .Weisbrode makes a very compelling case that each man was 'working against his own faults, on behalf of the other.' An inspired, engaging comparative portrait."
--Kirkus

"Why this alliance worked so well--for the two men personally and, in a larger context, for the benefit of Britain--is analyzed in terms of the two men's personality traits and qualities that challenged and stimulated both of them to be, and do, their finest."
--Booklist

"Churchill and the King is a thoughtful, deeply insightful account of two unconventional friends -- the shy, stammering George VI and the flamboyant Winston Churchill -- who, after triumphing over their own personal adversities, join forces to rally their countrymen and inspire the world in the dark days of World War II."
--Lynne Olson , author of Citizens of London, Troublesome Young Men, and Those Angry Days

"Weisbrode's excellent book on Churchill's relationship with King George VI is very well done and will take an honoured place on my Churchill shelf."
--Paul Johnson, author of Modern Times and Churchill

"One of the last unexplored relationships of World War Two is that between Winston Churchill and the only person who could have sacked him during that conflict, King George VI. They had very different personalities and views on politics, but their country needed them to work in perfect tandem. As Kenneth Weisbrode writes, 'Somehow they made it work,' and in this well-researched and well-written book, he shows how what began as a professional necessity turned into a genuine friendship, and eventually one of the best working relationships of either man's life."
--Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War and Masters and Commanders

"The shy, stammering King and the loquacious, domineering Prime Minister were an odd couple--but they gave each other courage and confidence when England stood alone. Ken Weisbrode has written an elegant and perceptive study of friendship in power."
--Evan Thomas, author of Ike's Bluff and Sea of Thunder