The King & FDR: The Birth of the Special Relationship

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 4 May 2023

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1939, on the invitation of Franklin D. Roosevelt, King George VI became the first reigning British monarch to set foot on American soil.

So what triggered this monumental moment in the transatlantic relationship? How has it trickled down to today's special relationship? And how was King George assisted in his diplomacy by his wife, Elizabeth?

In this coronation special, Don is joined by author Sally Bedell Smith to find out more.

For more from Sally, you can find her substack here: https://sallybedellsmith.substack.com/

Produced by Sophie Gee and Stuart Beckwith. Editing and sound design by Siobhan Dale. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It is may
0:05.2	May 1939 and a thick fog has descended on the Empress of Australia as she drifts
0:12.2	cautiously past icebergs towards North America.
0:16.0	The ship's horn blasts at intervals, unsettling its prestigious guests.
0:22.0	Below deck is King George the 6th.
0:24.0	He is about to become the first reigning British monarch to visit the United States and Canada,
0:29.0	at the express invitation of President Franklin Roosevelt.
0:34.4	By his side is Queen Elizabeth, who, to kill the time, is reading Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler,
0:41.1	of which she would later say, even skip through gives one an idea of his
0:45.4	mentality, ignorance and sincerity. As the royal couple sits and waits for the
0:51.6	fog to clear they leave behind a Europe for the fog to clear.
0:52.8	They leave behind a Europe on the brink of war.
0:56.2	Hitler has already invaded Czechoslovakia.
0:59.8	But ahead of them waits America, with the promise of wartime support and the beginning of what we now
1:05.2	call the special relationship.
1:08.3	As the fog lifts and the Empress of Australia gathers pace towards the new world. Both King George and FDR must set their minds
1:16.6	toward their coming meetings, how the fates of both their nations will be called into question
1:22.0	in the coming years. Hello and welcome back to American History Hit. I'm near host Don Wildman.
1:39.0	The United States and Great Britain have what is famously referred to as our special relationship.
1:45.6	A term coined by Winston Churchill in 1944 in the midst of World War II that refers to our
1:51.6	solid alliance based on a shared identity of democratic ideals and values.
1:57.0	Great Britain is our strongest ally in the world, been so for nearly 200 years,
	...

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