Then: King George VI Statue

This 10-foot granite statue of King George VI was commemorated on Dominion Day (July 1), 1963, eleven years after the king's death in 1952 from a coronary thrombosis, a blood clot inside of the heart; the king had died relatively young at the age of 56, and was succeeded by his eldest Daughter, Elizabeth, who remains on the throne to this day.

George VI is often described as a 'reluctant king,' as his elder brother, Edward VIII, was the intended heir to their father, George V. However, after less than a year as monarch, Edward VIII abdicated from the throne of Britain (and the therefore Canada) in order to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcée; regal law prohibited a monarch from marrying a divorcée whose former spouse remained alive. The throne was thrust upon an unsuspecting George in December 1936, three years before the outbreak of the Second World War. George was a famously shy monarch, but was known for his devotion to family and country, and his insistence that the royal family remain close to the British populace. George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth visited Canada in the summer of 1939 along with the 13-year-old Princess Elizabeth, including a visit to Niagara Falls.

This statue took eight years for Elizabeth Wyn Woods to create, and was placed in a park named for the king's great-grandmother, Victoria. It was commemorated by Charles Daley, chairman of Niagara Parks and a prominent Niagaran politician. The inscription on the base reads: DEDICATED BY CHARLES DALEY CHAIRMAN OF THE NIAGARA PARKS COMMISSION DOMINION DAY, JULY 1, 1963. Each flanking base stone reads: GEORGE VI, KING OF CANADA 1936 - 1952. A VERY GALLANT GENTLEMAN.

Now: King George VI Statue

The King George VI Statue still stands in Victoria Park, staring over the Niagara Parkway onto the River and falls.

Waymarking.com. 2020. King George VI - Niagara Falls, ON, Canada. https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMMHRN_King_George_VI_Niagara_Falls_ON_Canada

Niagara Falls Then and Now
A collaborative project
Niagara Falls Museums - Niagara Falls Public Library - Dept. of Geography and Tourism Studies,Brock University.
Original newspaper series by Sherman Zavitz, Official Historian for the City of Niagara Falls from 1994 - 2019.

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