Biography: Life as Queen Consort

December 11, 1936 King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry American Wallis Simpson

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The Queen Mother's efforts as Queen Consort did much to restore respect for an institution tarnished by Edward VIII's decision in 1936 to give up the throne rather than be without the American divorcee he loved.

Author Lady Elizabeth Longford said that after the old fashioned, even aloof, reign of George V and Mary, the Queen Mother's reign alongside George VI proved "exactly the opposite."

"The Queen Mother demonstrated that the monarchy was in touch with ordinary people and in fact loved them -- and they loved her back," she said in an interview before the Queen Mother's death.

"She brought fun, a sense of humour, a sense of enjoyment and an added charm which is quite out of the ordinary. She can really talk to people, with none of the usual intervention in such communication. She goes directly to people."

Historian David Starkey sees it as a more calculated popularisation, with the creation of the image of the royal family as an ordinary but ideal family leading the nation -- a move that may have sowed the seeds for future trouble by bringing much greater attention to the royals' personal lives.

At the time of the abdication crisis, the Queen Mother worried about the effect the full glare of public life would have on her shy, stammering husband after their 14 years of relatively quiet domesticity together.

But, duty to the fore, she is credited with making her "Bertie," as he was known, into the King he became, getting the help of a voice coach for his stammer and often taking the lead at social occasions.

The pair were crowned George VI and Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey in May 1937, with Elizabeth becoming the first Scottish Queen for around 800 years.

After Edward and his love of America, cocktails and desire for institutional change, the new King and Queen saw a return to intense conservatism, says Starkey, with the traditions and trappings of the monarchy retained.

Raised to believe in duty, the Queen Mother never forgave Edward VIII's paramour, Wallis Simpson, for her part in making him shirk his role.

Longford says it was the Queen Mother, demonstrating a vein of steel, who ensured that Simpson never received the title Her Royal Highness that Edward sought for her.

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon became Queen Consort in 1937, as her husband Prince Albert, Duke of York, was crowned George VI

Longford says George VI, who had always admired his older brother, may have given in, but she believes the Queen Mother's action was "absolutely right," as it may have led to the establishment of rival courts.

The Queen Mother's mettle, often hidden beneath a triple string of pearls and a winsome smile, was also to the fore during World War II, when the royal standard flew steadfastly over Buckingham Palace in defiance of persistent German air raids.

After the war, the King and Queen undertook a major tour of South Africa in 1947 accompanied by Princesses Margaret and Elizabeth -- the first time a sovereign had been accompanied by family on a state visit.

But the King's health prevented further travels to see first-hand a rapidly changing world.

Many of the countries in the British Empire were struggling to independence, with George VI ceasing to be Emperor of India in 1947 as the subcontinent was divided to form India and Pakistan. Internationally the British monarch's role was now as head of the Commonwealth, a loosely defined group of nations with previous colonial ties.

At home, amid continuing post-war hardship, Britain got its first Labour government and saw the birth of the welfare state, while internationally the superpowers jockeyed as the Cold War began.

The turmoil took its toll on the King, and weakened by lung operations he died at just 56.

Despite being a reluctant monarch at first, he had proved a popular one, with more than 300,000 people paying their respects as his body lay at Westminster Hall.

His Queen for 16 years was now left, amid the grief of early widowhood, to find a new role.

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