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His later official public reaction to the declaration, in a broadcast to the nation from Buckingham Palace, reinforced these sentiments. The King set the tone for the Royal Family's role in the war with the notion that although this conflict was unwanted, it was necessary, and that victory could only be achieved through national unity and resolve:
"We have been forced into a conflict ... to meet the challenge of a principle ... which permits a State, in the selfish pursuit of power, to disregard its treaties and its solemn pledges ... For the sake of all that we hold ourselves dear, and of the world's order and peace, it is unthinkable that we should refuse to meet the challenge."
As the war gathered momentum, the Royal diaries were filled with related engagements around the country - visits to military units, civil defence workers, to factories, to farms and to hospitals.
Rallying morale
When the bombing began, engagements became more spontaneous in nature as the King and Queen reacted quickly to events, visiting bomb-struck cities as soon as possible after the attacks. One such visit, a tour of the bomb damage of East and West Ham, deeply affected the Queen and moved her to write in a letter to Queen Mary:
"All the houses evacuated and yet through the broken windows one saw all the poor little possessions, photographs, beds, just as they were left ... One could not imagine that life could become so terrible. We must win in the end."
Whilst many wealthy and influential families used their status to leave for safer shores, Queen Elizabeth firmly insisted: "The Princesses will not leave us, I cannot leave the King and the King will never leave". They worked from Buckingham Palace during the week, visiting Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret at Windsor Castle at the weekends.
All valuables in the Palace were removed or protected, leaving it a vast, gloomy and unwelcoming place. Even the Royal Mews became ghostly during the war years, with the horses and carriages being moved to Windsor, where the horses were put to work on the farm.
As the Nazis advanced through Europe, Britain offered refuge to European heads of state, and the King became the symbol of resistance of free peoples as European governments established their headquarters in London. Those seeking refuge included members of other European Royal families who were no longer safe in their own countries. These included King Haakon of Norway and King Peter of Yugoslavia; Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands, who left Holland with nothing but a handbag and a tin helmet, was met at Liverpool Street by the King .
King and Prime Minister
Less than a year into the war, the King gained a new Prime Minister in Winston Churchill. The two men were initially wary of each other, but trust grew between them over their weekly private lunches at Buckingham Palace.
The King was made privy to all the great secrets of the war, and was consequently better informed than most members of the War Cabinet.
He therefore undertook the task of encouraging not only his country, but his ministers as well, and, more than any British king before him, took on the role of the constitutional monarch as famously defined by the political journalist Walter Bagehot, 'to be consulted, to encourage and to warn. '
On 5 January 1941, Churchill memorably wrote to the King:
"This war has drawn the Throne and the people more closely together than was ever before recorded, and Yr Majesties are more beloved by classes and conditions than any of all the princes of the past. I am indeed proud that it shd have fallen to my lot and duty to stand at Yr Majesty's side as First Minister in such a climax of the British story ..."
Once Paris was under German occupation, there was a real danger of invasion, with the Royal Family being an obvious target if the Nazis were successful. "We did not know what the future would bring," Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother would later remember.
She even went as far as to commission John Piper to paint a series of pictures of Windsor Castle, "so that it would be remembered as it was if the worst happened" - these pictures hang in Clarence House to this day.
Buckingham Palace under attack
Despite such fears for their own safety, the King and Queen remained at Buckingham Palace in a gesture of solidarity with the British people. They continued to travel around the country when they could, using an armoured car for their transport.
During the Blitz, Buckingham Palace suffered nine direct hits. A policeman's life was lost on one occasion, and the King and Queen only narrowly avoiding the bombing several times.
The Queen recorded one such episode in a letter to Queen Mary:
"I hardly know how to begin to tell you of the horrible attack on Buckingham Palace this morning ... It all happened so quickly that we had only time to look foolishly at each other, when the scream hurtled past us, and exploded with a tremendous crash in the quadrangle."
In terms of morale, the bombing of Buckingham Palace had had the opposite effect to that which the Germans had intended. Britain now felt that their Royal Family shared their suffering and were united in their resilience to German attack.
A tribute sent to the Queen by an American admirer who had been following the Queen's visits in the press reflected the sentiments of the British people:
"Be it said to your renown
That you wore your gayest gown,
Your bravest smile, and stayed in Town
When London Bridge was burning down,
My fair lady."
As civilians came increasingly into the front line in the Battle of Britain and even more so in the Blitz, the King became aware of the need for an award to honour bravery in non-military conduct.
He instituted the George Cross, the highest civilian award for bravery and second only to the Victoria Cross, and the George Medal. The King awarded as many of these medals as he could personally; almost throughout the war, there was an Investiture every week at Buckingham Palace, held in the Marble Hall on the ground floor as precaution in case of enemy bombing.
The young princesses
Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth were keen to support both their parents and their country in the war effort and in 1940, they spoke reassuringly to other children on BBC radio's Children's Hour, 'We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well.'
In 1942, aged 16, Princess Elizabeth insisted on registering for war service and appeared at the Windsor office in her Girl Guide uniform only to be told that she was too young.
She was, however, able to play her part by becoming a Councillor of State in 1944, signing State documents whilst the King was busy visiting forces overseas (having visited Normandy, the King visited troops in Italy and the Low Countries later in the year).
When she was old enough, she enlisted as a officer in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (the women's Army) after taking a vehicle maintenance course. In the end, the Princess's services were not required as the war ended not long after she had enlisted.
Prince Philip
The Duke of Edinburgh, a friend and future husband of Princess Elizabeth, was in the midst of the fighting. The then young Philip Mountbatten was already in the Royal Navy when war broke out.
He served throughout the war on a series of ships: starting in January 1940, with escort duties for the Allied Expeditionary Force moving from Australia to Egypt, Prince Philip served in the East Indies, the Mediterranean, the Rosyth Escort Force and the Pacific.
In October 1942, Prince Philip became First Lieutenant and second in command of a destroyer - he was one of youngest officers in the Royal Navy to be given such an appointment.
During his service, Prince Philip was involved in several actions including the battle of Crete, the battle of Matapan (where he was mentioned in despatches), covering the Canadian beachhead of the Allied landings in Sicily; he was present in Tokyo Bay for the final Japanese surrender.
The finest hour
The German Chief of Staff surrendered unconditionally on 7 May 1945, ending the war in Europe; victory in the East followed in August.
On 8 May, the King, the Queen, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret and Winston Churchill appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to greet the cheering victory crowds.
In the evening, the Princesses, escorted by police officers slipped out of the Palace to mingle unnoticed in the crowds. The King had given them permission to do so, remarking indulgently, "Poor darlings, they have never had any fun yet".
When interviewed by the BBC for the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of VE Day in 1945, The Queen had fond memories of the day:
"I remember lines of unknown people linking arms and walking down Whitehall, all of us just swept along on a tide of happiness and relief ... I think it was one of the most memorable nights of my life."
The later victory parade also centred around Royal Family. The British people focused on them as a symbol of national unity, in peace as they had done in war.
George VI's reign had started after the difficult circumstances of the Abdication, and the war imposed strain and exhaustion on a man of deep faith but sensitive temperament. However, the role and work of the king and his family during the Second World War had secured them in the British people's affection.
When George VI died at the age of 56 seven years after the war, Churchill wrote a simple tribute on the card attached to the government's wreath, using the phrase inscribed on the Victoria Cross: 'For Valour'.
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