King George VI

KING GEORGE V's last words have been misremembered as rumours circulated that he said something quite different than what his physician recorded in his ...

A biographer of King George, Kenneth Rose, was appalled by the revelation, and in his opinion, the King was “murdered” by Lord Dawson. The headline of The Times article published the morning after his euthanasia read: “A Peaceful Ending at Midnight”. Lord Dawson told the House of Lords: “One should make the act of dying more gentle and more peaceful even if it does involve curtailment of the length of life. The notes revealed that his final words were, in fact, “God damn you”. It is believed the King had said in response “bugger Bognor” before dying. However, the health of King George – who was the grandson of [Queen Victoria](/latest/queen-victoria) – had been gradually declining after he began experiencing a problem with his lungs almost a decade prior to his death.