Who Was Queen Elizabeth II’s Father? How King George VI Died

While fascination with the British Royal Family hasn’t subsided, interest in Queen Elizabeth II herself was revived with the debut of the Netflix series “The Crown.” The show focuses on Queen Elizabeth’s early reign as the British monarch. “The Crown” also focuses on King George VI, who died at the early age of 56. To find out more about the Royal Family, continue reading below, courtesy of the royal family’s official website:

“The Crown” accurately showed the death of George in episode 2. Here’s some quick background information: The monarch ascended to the throne in December 1936 after his brother, Edward VIII abdicated. George went on to rule for 16 years, but his life was cut short after he died from lung cancer Feb. 6, 1952.

Like the series shows, George was found dead in his bed. His official cause of death was coronary thrombosis, which is a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart, according to the royal family’s official website. Even though he had surgery to remove a tumor in one of his lungs months before, the operation left him in deteriorated health.

To make the operation seem realistic, Netflix hired real doctors to perform the surgery, the Irish Examiner wrote Saturday. They solicited the help of Dr. Pankaj Chandak, a multi-organ transplant specialist, for the team. The doctor helped create a diseased lung and prosthetic body.

“Despite having the film crew around us, once we settled in it felt like a normal day in the operating theatre,” he told the Irish Examiner. “The prosthetic body was incredibly life-like, complete with a beating heart, and there was meticulous attention to detail on set to recreate the surgical world from 1951.” Chandak added: Working on the set of “The Crown” was, for him and his team, “an experience we will never forget.”

Authenticity was most important to “Crown” director Stephen Daldry. “It was first in TV and we are incredibly grateful to the surgeons who agreed to take part in filming,” a spokesman for “The Crown’s” production company Left Bank Pictures told the Irish Examiner. “Attention to detail was absolutely vital to the series as a whole, and the operation on George VI did actually take place in Buckingham Palace as shown.”

In real life, the king’s tumor was removed by Clement Price Thomas in 1951.

George garnered popularity among British people after he visited places in London that were severely bomb in during World War II. He also stayed at Buckingham Palace, even though it was bombed nine times during the war. “The Crown” depicts the fondness Britons had for the king when they chant for him to come to the balcony after Queen Elizabeth II married Prince Philip in 1947.

Even though “The Crown” appears to be historically accurate in some respects, the royal family distanced themselves from the series, telling Bustle Friday: “’The Crown’ is a fictional drama. The Royal Household has had no involvement.”

Season 1 of “The Crown” is currently streaming on Netflix. It premiered Friday.

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