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George V of the United Kingdom

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History Post
1900; Monarchs of Great Britain

                      George V
   King of the United Kingdom and her dominions
   beyond the Seas; Emperor of India (more...)
   King George V
   King George V
      Reign     6 May 1910 - 20 January 1936
    Coronation  22 June 1911
   Predecessor  Edward VII
    Successor   Edward VIII
     Consort    Mary of Teck
                        Issue
   Edward VIII
   George VI
   Mary, Princess Royal
   Henry, Duke of Gloucester
   George, Duke of Kent
   Prince John
                      Full name
   George Frederick Ernest Albert
                       Detail
   Titles
   HM The King
   HRH The Prince of Wales
   HRH The Duke of Cornwall
   HRH The Duke of York
   HRH Prince George of Wales
   Royal house  House of Windsor
                House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
   Royal anthem God Save the King
      Father    Edward VII
      Mother    Alexandra of Denmark
       Born     3 June 1865
                Marlborough House, London
     Baptised   7 July 1865
                Windsor Castle, Windsor
       Died     20 January 1936 (aged 70)
                Sandringham House, Norfolk
      Burial    29 January 1936
                St George's Chapel, Windsor

   George V ( 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936), born George Frederick Ernest
   Albert, was the first British monarch belonging to the House of
   Windsor, which he created from the British branch of the German House
   of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. As well as being King of the United Kingdom, and
   the Commonwealth Realms, George was also the Emperor of India and the
   first King of the Irish Free State. George reigned from 6 May 1910
   through World War I (1914–1918) until his death in 1936.

   From the age of 12 George served in the Royal Navy, but upon the
   unexpected death of his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of
   Clarence, he became heir to the throne and married his brother's
   fiancée, Mary of Teck. Although they occasionally toured the British
   Empire, George preferred to stay at home with his stamp collection, and
   lived what later biographers would consider a dull life because of its
   conventionality.

   When George's father, King Edward VII died in 1910, he became
   King-Emperor. He was the only Emperor of India to be crowned there.
   During World War I he relinquished all German titles and styles on
   behalf of his relatives who were British subjects; and changed the name
   of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. During his reign,
   the Statute of Westminster separated the crown so that George ruled the
   dominions as separate kingdoms, and the rise of socialism, fascism and
   Irish republicanism changed the political spectrum.

   George was plagued by illness throughout much of his later reign; he
   was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward, upon his death.

Early life and education

   George was born on 3 June 1865, at Marlborough House, London. His
   father was The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), the eldest son
   of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. His mother
   was the Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra), the eldest daughter
   of King Christian IX of Denmark. As a grandson of Queen Victoria in the
   male line, George was styled His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales
   at birth.

   He was baptised in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 7 July 1865.
   As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was no expectation that
   George would become King as his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor,
   was second in line to the throne after their father.

   Given that George was born only fifteen months after his brother Prince
   Albert Victor, it was decided to educate both royal princes together.
   The Prince of Wales appointed John Neale Dalton as their tutor,
   although neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. In
   September 1877 both brothers joined the training ship HMS Britannia at
   Dartmouth. Their father thought that the navy was "the very best
   possible training for any boy."

   For three years from 1879 the royal brothers served as midshipmen on
   HMS Bacchante, accompanied by Dalton. They toured the British Empire,
   visiting Norfolk, Virginia, the colonies in the Caribbean, South Africa
   and Australia, as well as the Mediterranean, South America, the Far
   East and Egypt. Dalton wrote an account of their journey entitled The
   Cruise of HMS Bacchante. Between Melbourne and Sydney, Dalton records a
   sighting of the Flying Dutchman, a mythical ghost ship. When they
   returned to the UK, the brothers were separated with Albert Victor
   attending Trinity College, Cambridge and George continuing in the Royal
   Navy. He travelled the world and visited many areas of the British
   Empire, serving actively in the navy until his last command in 1891.
   From then on his naval rank was largely honorary.
            British Royalty
           House of Windsor
               George V
      Edward VIII
      George VI
       Mary, Princess Royal
       Henry, Duke of Gloucester
       George, Duke of Kent
       Prince John
   Grandchildren
      Elizabeth II
       Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
       Prince William of Gloucester
       Richard, Duke of Gloucester
       Edward, Duke of Kent
       Prince Michael of Kent
       Princess Alexandra

Marriage

   As a young man destined to serve in the Navy, Prince George served for
   many years under the command of his uncle, Prince Alfred, Duke of
   Edinburgh, who was stationed in Malta. There, he grew close to and fell
   in love with his uncle's daughter, his first cousin, Marie of
   Edinburgh. His grandmother, father and uncle all approved the match,
   but the mothers, the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh,
   both opposed it. The Princess of Wales thought the family was too
   pro-German, and the Duchess of Edinburgh disliked England. When George
   proposed, Marie refused, guided by her mother. She later became Queen
   of Romania.

   In 1891, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence became engaged to his
   second cousin once removed, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (always
   called "May"), the only daughter of Prince Francis, Duke of Teck and
   Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge. However, Albert Victor died of
   pneumonia six weeks later, leaving George second in line to the throne
   and likely to succeed after his father. This effectively ended George's
   naval career, as he was now expected to assume a more political role.

   Queen Victoria still favoured Princess May as a suitable candidate to
   marry a future king, so she persuaded George to propose to May. George
   duly proposed and May accepted. The marriage was a success, and
   throughout their lives the couple exchanged notes of endearment and
   loving letters.

   The marriage of George and May took place on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel
   Royal, St. James's Palace in London. The Times claimed that at the
   wedding, the crowd may have been confused as to who was the Duke of
   York (later George V) and who was the Tsarevitch (later Nicholas II) of
   Russia, because their beards and dress made them look alike
   superficially. However, their remaining facial features were quite
   different up close.

Duke of York

   On 24 May 1892 Queen Victoria created George, Duke of York, Earl of
   Inverness and Baron Killarney. After George's marriage to May, she was
   styled Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York.

   The Duke and Duchess of York lived mainly at York Cottage, a relatively
   small house in Sandringham, Norfolk where their way of life mirrored
   that of a comfortable middle-class family rather than grand royalty.
   George preferred the simple, almost quiet, life in marked contrast to
   his parents. Even his official biographer despaired of George's time as
   Duke of York, writing: "He may be all right as a young midshipman and a
   wise old king, but when he was Duke of York...he did nothing at all but
   kill [i.e. shoot] animals and stick in stamps."

   George was a well-known stamp collector, and played a large role in
   building the Royal Philatelic Collection into the most comprehensive
   collection of United Kingdom and Commonwealth stamps in the world, in
   some cases setting record purchase prices for items. His enthusiasm for
   stamps was denigrated by the intelligentsia.
   George as Duke of Cornwall and York in 1901.
   George as Duke of Cornwall and York in 1901.

   Randolph Churchill claimed that George was a strict father, to the
   extent that his children were terrified of him, and that George had
   remarked to Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby: "My father was
   frightened of his mother, I was frightened of my father, and I am
   damned well going to see to it that my children are frightened of me."
   In reality there is no direct source for the quote and it is likely
   that George's parenting style was little different from that adopted by
   most people at the time. George and May had five sons and a daughter.

   As Duke and Duchess of York, George and May carried out a wide variety
   of public duties. In 1901, they toured the British Empire, visiting
   Australia, where the Duke opened the first session of the Australian
   Parliament upon the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia. Their
   tour also included South Africa, Canada, and New Zealand, where (as
   they were now the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York) Cornwall Park
   in Auckland was named in their honour by its donor, John Logan
   Campbell, then Mayor of Auckland.

Prince of Wales

   On 22 January 1901, Queen Victoria died, and George's father, Albert
   Edward, ascended the throne as King Edward VII. At that point George
   inherited the titles of Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. For the
   rest of that year, George was styled His Royal Highness The Duke of
   Cornwall and York, until 9 November 1901 when he was created Prince of
   Wales and Earl of Chester.

   King Edward VII wished his son to have more preparation and experience
   prior to his future role. In contrast to Edward himself, whom Queen
   Victoria had excluded from state affairs, George was given wide access
   to state documents and papers by his father. George in turn allowed his
   wife access to his papers, as he valued her counsel, and May often
   helped write her husband's speeches.

   In 1906 he toured India, where he was disgusted by racial
   discrimination and campaigned for greater involvement of Indians in the
   government of the country.

King and Emperor

   On 6 May 1910, King Edward VII died, and the Prince of Wales ascended
   the throne. George was now King George V and May was Queen. George had
   never liked his wife's habit of signing official documents and letters
   as "Victoria Mary" and insisted she drop one of the names. Neither
   thought she should be called Queen Victoria, and so she became Queen
   Mary. Their coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911.
   In 1911, the King and Queen travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar on
   December 12, where they were presented to an assembled audience of
   Indian dignitaries and princes as the Emperor and Empress of India.
   George wore the newly-created Imperial Crown of India at the ceremony.
   Later, the Emperor and Empress travelled throughout India, visiting
   their new subjects. George took the opportunity to indulge in hunting
   tigers, shooting 21. On 18 December 1913 George shot over a thousand
   pheasants in six hours at the home of Lord Burnham, although even he
   had to acknowledge that "we went a little too far" that day.
   "A good riddance"A 1917 Punch cartoon depicting King George V sweeping
   away his German titles. Changing the name of his family's royal house
   from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor was a popular move.
   "A good riddance"
   A 1917 Punch cartoon depicting King George V sweeping away his German
   titles. Changing the name of his family's royal house from
   Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor was a popular move.

World War I

   From 1914 to 1918 Britain was at war with Germany. The German Emperor
   Wilhelm II, who for the British public came to symbolise all the
   horrors of the war, was the King's first cousin. Queen Mary, although
   British herself, was the daughter of the Duke of Teck, a descendant of
   the German Royal House of Württemberg.

   The King's paternal grandfather was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha;
   the King and his children bore the titles Prince and Princess of
   Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke and Duchess of Saxony. The King had
   brothers-in-law and cousins who were British subjects but who bore
   German titles such as Duke and Duchess of Teck, Prince and Princess of
   Battenberg, Prince and Princess of Hesse and by Rhine, and Prince and
   Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Augustenberg. Writer H. G.
   Wells wrote about Britain's "alien and uninspiring court", and George
   famously replied: "I may be uninspiring, but I'll be damned if I'm
   alien."

   On 17 July 1917, George V issued an Order-in-Council that changed the
   name of the British Royal House from the German-sounding House of
   Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the House of Windsor, to appease British
   nationalist feelings. He specifically adopted Windsor as the surname
   for all descendants of Queen Victoria then living in the United
   Kingdom, excluding females who married into other families and their
   descendants.

   Finally, on behalf of his various relatives who were British subjects
   he relinquished the use of all German titles and styles, and adopted
   British-sounding surnames. George compensated several of his male
   relatives by creating them British peers. Thus, overnight his cousin,
   Prince Louis of Battenberg, became Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of
   Milford Haven, while his brother-in-law, the Duke of Teck, became
   Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge. Others, such as Princess
   Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein and Princess Helena Victoria of
   Schleswig-Holstein, simply stopped using their territorial
   designations. In Letters Patent gazetted on 11 December 1917, the King
   restricted the style "His (or Her) Royal Highness" and the titular
   dignity of "Prince (or Princess) of Great Britain and Ireland" to the
   children of the Sovereign, the children of the sons of the Sovereign,
   and the eldest living son of the eldest living son of a Prince of
   Wales.
   King George V (right) with his first cousin Tsar Nicholas II (their
   mothers - Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and Empress Maria
   Fyodorovna of Russia - were sisters). Berlin, 1913
   King George V (right) with his first cousin Tsar Nicholas II (their
   mothers - Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom and Empress Maria
   Fyodorovna of Russia - were sisters). Berlin, 1913

   The Letters Patent also stated that "the titles of Royal Highness,
   Highness or Serene Highness, and the titular dignity of Prince and
   Princess shall cease except those titles already granted and remaining
   unrevoked." Relatives of the British Royal Family who fought on the
   German side, such as Prince Ernst August of Hanover, 3rd Duke of
   Cumberland and Teviotdale (the senior male-line great grandson of
   George III) and Prince Carl Eduard, Duke of Albany and the reigning
   Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (a male line grandson of Queen Victoria),
   were simply cut off; their British peerages were suspended by a 1919
   Order in Council under the provisions of the Titles Deprivation Act
   1917. George also removed their garter flags from St George's Chapel at
   Windsor Castle under pressure from his mother, Queen Alexandra.

   When Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, a first cousin of George through his
   mother, Queen Alexandra (Nicholas II's mother was Maria Fyodorovna,
   Queen Alexandra's sister) was overthrown in the Russian Revolution of
   1917, the British Government offered asylum to the Tsar and his family
   but worsening conditions for the British people, and fears that
   revolution might come to the British Isles, led George to think that
   the presence of the Romanovs might seem inappropriate under the
   circumstances. Despite the later claims of Lord Mountbatten of Burma
   that David Lloyd George, the Prime Minister, was opposed to the rescue
   of the Romanovs, records of the King's private secretary, Lord
   Stamfordham, suggest that George V opposed the rescue against the
   advice of Lloyd George. Advanced planning for a rescue was undertaken
   by MI1, a branch of the British secret service, but because of the
   strengthening Bolshevik position and wider difficulties with the
   conduct of the war, the plan was never put into operation. The Tsar and
   his immediate family thus remained in Russia and were murdered by
   Bolshevik revolutionaries in Yekaterinburg in 1918.

   Two months after the end of the war, the King's youngest son, John,
   died aged 13 after a short lifetime of ill-health. George was informed
   of the death by the Queen who wrote, "[John] had been a great anxiety
   to us for many years…The first break in the family circle is hard to
   bear but people have been so kind & sympathetic & this has helped us
   much."

Later life

   During and after World War I, many of the monarchies which had ruled
   most European countries fell. In addition to Russia, the monarchies of
   Austria, Germany, Greece, and Spain also fell to revolution and war,
   although the Greek monarchy was restored again shortly before George's
   death. Most of these countries were ruled by relatives of George. In
   1922, a Royal Navy ship was sent to Greece to rescue his cousins,
   Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg
   and their children, including Prince Philip, who would later marry
   George's granddaughter, Elizabeth II.

   George also took an interest in the political turmoil in Ireland,
   expressing his horror at government-sanctioned killings and reprisals
   to Prime Minister Lloyd George. During the General Strike of 1926 the
   King took exception to suggestions that the strikers were
   'revolutionaries' saying, "Try living on their wages before you judge
   them." He also advised the Government against taking inflammatory
   action.

   In 1932 George agreed to deliver a Royal Christmas speech on the radio,
   an event which was to become an annual event. He was not in favour of
   the innovation originally but was persuaded by the argument that it was
   what his people wanted. He was concerned by the rise of the Nazi Party
   in Germany, and warned the British ambassador in Berlin to be
   suspicious of the fascists. By the silver jubilee of his reign in 1935,
   he had become a well-loved king, saying in response to the crowd's
   adulation, "I cannot understand it, after all I am only a very ordinary
   sort of fellow." But George's relationship with his heir, Prince Edward
   deteriorated in these later years. George was disappointed in Edward's
   failure to settle down in life and appalled by his many affairs with
   married women. He was reluctant to see Edward inherit the crown. In
   contrast, he was fond of his second eldest son, Prince Albert (later
   George VI) and doted on his eldest granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth;
   he nicknamed her "Lilibet", and she affectionately called him "Grandpa
   England". George was quoted as saying about his son Edward: "After I am
   dead the boy will ruin himself within 12 months," and later about
   Albert and Lilibet: "I pray to God my eldest son will never marry and
   have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet
   and the throne."

Death

   Statue of King George V by William Reid Dick, outside Westminster
   Abbey, London
   Statue of King George V by William Reid Dick, outside Westminster
   Abbey, London

   World War I took a toll on George's health, and his heavy smoking
   exacerbated recurring breathing problems. A bout of illness saw him
   retire to the seaside resort of Bognor Regis in West Sussex. A myth
   later grew that the King's last words, upon being told that he would
   soon be well enough to revisit the town, were " bugger Bognor!"

   George never fully recovered. In the evening of 15 January 1936, the
   King took to his bedroom at Sandringham House complaining of a cold; he
   would never leave the room alive. The King became gradually weaker,
   drifting in and out of consciousness. The diary of his physician, Lord
   Dawson of Penn, reveals that the King's last words, a mumbled "God damn
   you!", were addressed to his nurse when she gave him a sedative on the
   night of the 20 January. When the King was already comatose and close
   to death, Dawson admits hastening the King's end by giving him a lethal
   injection of cocaine and morphine, both to prevent further strain on
   the family and so that the news of his death could be announced in the
   morning edition of The Times newspaper. He died at 11.55 p.m. and is
   buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

   At the procession to George's Lying in State in Westminster Hall, as
   the cortege turned into New Palace Yard, the Maltese Cross fell from
   the Imperial Crown and landed in the gutter. The new King, Edward VIII,
   saw it fall and wondered whether this was a bad omen for his new reign.

   As a mark of respect to their father, George's four surviving sons,
   King Edward VIII, the Duke of York, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke
   of Kent, mounted the guard at the catafalque on the night of 28
   January, the day before the funeral.

Tributes

   Statue of King George V in King George Square outside Brisbane City
   Hall
   Statue of King George V in King George Square outside Brisbane City
   Hall

   A statue of King George V was unveiled outside the Brisbane City Hall
   in 1938 as a tribute to the King from the citizens of Brisbane,
   Queensland, Australia. The square on which the statue stands was
   originally called Albert Square, but was later renamed King George
   Square in honour of King George V. In London, a statue by William Reid
   Dick stands outside the east end of Westminster Abbey.

   The King George's Fields in London were created as a memorial by a
   committee in 1936 chaired by the then Lord Mayor of London. Today they
   are each registered charities and are under the guidance of the
   National Playing Fields Association. The national stadium of
   Newfoundland in St. John's was named King George V Park in 1925. Rehov
   ha-Melekh George ha-Hamishi ("King George V Street") is a major
   thoroughfare in both Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, the only streets in these
   Israeli cities named after a non-Jewish monarch. In Paris, France, a
   large avenue from the top of the Champs-Elysées down to the Seine river
   and an underground station were named for George V.

   The World War I Royal Navy battleship HMS King George V and the World
   War II Royal Navy battleship HMS King George V were named in his
   honour.

Other information

   Newfoundland dollar bill featuring King George V
   Newfoundland dollar bill featuring King George V

Titles

     * 1865– 1892: His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales
     * 1892– 1901: His Royal Highness The Duke of York
     * 1901: His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and York
     * 1901– 1910: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
          + in Scotland: 1901– 1910: His Royal Highness The Prince George,
            Duke of Rothesay
     * 1910– 1936: His Majesty The King
          + and, occasionally, outside of the United Kingdom, and with
            regard to India: 1910- 1936: His Imperial Majesty The
            King-Emperor

Ancestors

   CAPTION: George V's ancestors in three generations

   George V of the United Kingdom
   Father:
   Edward VII of the United Kingdom
   Paternal grandfather:
   Albert, Prince Consort
   Paternal great-grandfather:
   Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
   Paternal great-grandmother:
   Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
   Paternal grandmother:
   Victoria of the United Kingdom
   Paternal great-grandfather:
   Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
   Paternal great-grandmother:
   Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
   Mother:
   Alexandra of Denmark
   Maternal grandfather:
   Christian IX of Denmark
   Maternal great-grandfather:
   Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
   Maternal great-grandmother:
   Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel
   Maternal grandmother:
   Louise of Hesse-Kassel
   Maternal great-grandfather:
   Prince William of Hesse
   Maternal great-grandmother:
   Charlotte of Denmark

Issue

   Name Birth Death Notes
   King Edward VIII 23 June 1894 28 May 1972 later the Duke of Windsor;
   married Wallis Simpson; no issue
   King George VI 14 December 1895 6 February 1952 married Lady Elizabeth
   Bowes-Lyon; had issue (including Elizabeth II)
   Mary, Princess Royal 25 April 1897 28 March 1965 married Henry
   Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood; and had issue
   Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester 31 March 1900 10 June 1974 married
   Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott; had issue
   Prince George, Duke of Kent 20 December 1902 25 August 1942 married
   Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark; had issue
   Prince John 12 July 1905 18 January 1919 Died from seizures
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