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'''George V''' (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865&nbsp;– 20 January 1936) was ] and the ], and ], from 6 May 1910 through the ] (1914–1918) until his death in 1936. George was the first British monarch of the ], which he created from the British branch of the German ]. '''George V''' (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865&nbsp;– 20 January 1936), called '''The Sailor King'''<ref>http://genealogy.euweb.cz/pan/england.html</ref>, was ] and the ], and ], from 6 May 1910 through the ] (1914–1918) until his death in 1936. George was the first British monarch of the ], which he created from the British branch of the German ].


From the age of twelve George served in the ], but upon the unexpected death of his elder brother, ], he became heir to the throne and married his brother's fiancée, ]. Although they occasionally toured the ], George preferred to stay at home with his stamp collection and lived what later biographers would consider a dull life because of its conventionality. From the age of twelve George served in the ], but upon the unexpected death of his elder brother, ], he became heir to the throne and married his brother's fiancée, ]. Although they occasionally toured the ], George preferred to stay at home with his stamp collection and lived what later biographers would consider a dull life because of its conventionality.

Revision as of 16:51, 18 May 2010

King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, Emperor of India
George V
Full-length portrait in oils of a blue-eyed, brown-haired man of slim build, with a beard and moustache. He wears a British naval uniform under an ermine cape, and beside him a jewelled crown stands on a table.Coronation portrait by Sir Luke Fildes, 1911
King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, Emperor of India (more ...)
Reign6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936
Coronation22 June 1911 (aged 46)
PredecessorEdward VII
SuccessorEdward VIII
Prime MinistersSee list
Burial29 January 1936
St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
ConsortMary of Teck
IssueEdward VIII
George VI
Mary, Princess Royal, Countess of Harewood
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Prince George, Duke of Kent
Prince John
Names
George Frederick Ernest Albert
HouseHouse of Windsor
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
FatherEdward VII
MotherAlexandra of Denmark
ReligionChurch of England
SignatureGeorge V's signature
"George V" and "KGV" redirect here. For other uses, see George V (disambiguation).

George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936), called The Sailor King, was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War (1914–1918) until his death in 1936. George was the first British monarch of the House of Windsor, which he created from the British branch of the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

From the age of twelve George served in the Royal Navy, but upon the unexpected death of his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, 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.

George became King-Emperor in 1910 on the death of his father, King Edward VII. George was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar, where he appeared before his Indian subjects crowned with the Imperial Crown of India, created specially for the occasion. During the First World War, 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 and Gotha to Windsor. During his reign, the Statute of Westminster separated the crown so that George ruled the dominions as separate kingdoms, preparing the way for the future development of the Commonwealth of Nations. His reign also witnessed the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism and the first Labour ministry, all of which radically changed the political spectrum.

George was plagued by illness throughout much of his later reign. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward.

Early life and education

George was born on 3 June 1865, at Marlborough House, London, as the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Edward and Alexandra. His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. His mother was the eldest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. As a son of the Prince of Wales, 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, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Thomas Longley.

Boy wearing a sailor suit
George as a young boy, 1870

As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was little expectation that George would become King. He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother, Prince Albert Victor. George was only fifteen months younger than Albert Victor, and the two princes were educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed as their tutor. Neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. As their father held the view that the navy was "the very best possible training for any boy", in September 1877, when George was twelve years old, both brothers joined the cadet training ship HMS Britannia at Dartmouth, Devon.

For three years from 1879, the royal brothers served as midshipmen on HMS Bacchante, accompanied by Dalton. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean, South Africa and Australia, and visited Norfolk, Virginia, as well as South America, the Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Far East. In Japan, George had a local artist tattoo a blue and red dragon on his arm. 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 Britain, the brothers were separated; Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge, while George continued in the Royal Navy. He travelled the world, visited many areas of the British Empire, and served actively until his last command in 1891. From then on his naval rank was largely honorary.

Marriage

Pale-eyed young man with a beard and moustache
George, 1893

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 (later the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), 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. Marie's mother was the only daughter of the Tsar of Russia. She resented the fact that, as the wife of a younger son of the British sovereign, she had to yield precedence to George's mother, the Princess of Wales, whose father had been a minor German prince before being called unexpectedly to the throne of Denmark. At that time, George also was a younger son, and Marie's mother did not want her to suffer a similar fate. Guided by her mother, Marie refused George when he proposed to her. She later became Queen of Romania.

In 1891, George's elder brother Albert Victor became engaged to his second cousin once removed, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, known as "May" within the family after the month of her birth. May's father, Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, belonged to a morganatic, cadet branch of the house of Wurttemberg. Her mother, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, was a male-line grand-daughter of George III and thus a first cousin of Queen Victoria.

Six weeks after the formal engagement, Albert Victor died of pneumonia, leaving George second in line to the throne, and likely to succeed after his father. Queen Victoria still regarded Princess May as a suitable match for her grandson, and made this generally known. George and May grew close during their shared period of mourning. A year after Albert Victor's death, George duly proposed to May and was accepted. They married on 6 July 1893 at the Chapel Royal in St. James's Palace, London. Throughout their lives, they remained devoted to each other, and exchanged loving letters and notes of endearment.

Duke of York

Country house, partially obscured by greenery, viewed from across a pond. The observable frontage comprises five gables, with a turret between the four gables on the left and the rightmost gable.
York Cottage at Sandringham House: George and May lived here from 1893 until 1926.

The death of his elder brother effectively ended George's naval career, as he was now directly in the line of succession. George dutifully gave up his naval career and was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killarney by Queen Victoria on 24 May 1892. 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 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 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 and May had five sons and a daughter. 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 quotation and it is likely that George's parenting style was little different from that adopted by most people at the time.

Prince of Wales

George at Montreal and Quebec, 1901

As Duke and Duchess of York, George and May carried out a wide variety of public duties. On the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901, George's father ascended the throne as King Edward VII. George inherited the titles of Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay, and for much of the rest of that year, he was styled His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and York. In 1901, George and May toured the British Empire. Their tour included South Africa, Canada, the Colony of Newfoundland, and New Zealand, where Cornwall Park in Auckland was named in their honour. In Australia the Duke opened the first session of the Australian Parliament upon the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia.

On 9 November 1901, George was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. King Edward VII wished to prepare his son for his future role as king. In contrast to Edward himself, whom Queen Victoria had excluded from state affairs, George was given wide access to state documents 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, the prince and princess toured British India. George was disgusted by the racial discrimination he saw there and campaigned for greater involvement of Indians in the government of the country.

King and Emperor

Gold coin with left-facing profile portrait of George V
A half-sovereign minted during the reign of George V (Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal, sculptor)

On 6 May 1910, King Edward VII died, and George became King. He had never liked his wife's habit of signing official documents and letters as "Victoria Mary" and insisted she drop one of those 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, and was celebrated by the Festival of Empire in London.

Later in 1911, the King and Queen travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar, where they were presented to an assembled audience of Indian dignitaries and princes as the Emperor and Empress of India on 12 December 1911. George wore the newly created Imperial Crown of India at the ceremony, and declared the shifting of the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi. On 15 December, he laid the foundation stone of New Delhi with Queen Mary. They travelled throughout the sub-continent, and George took the opportunity to indulge in hunting tigers, shooting 21. He was a keen marksman. On 18 December 1913, he 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.

George inherited the throne at a politically turbulent time. The Liberal Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, led a minority government dependent upon the support of Irish Nationalists. Asquith's reforming People's Budget had been rejected the previous year by the Conservative-dominated House of Lords. Asquith had asked the previous King to give an undertaking that he would create sufficient Liberal peers to force the budget through the House if it was rejected again. Edward had reluctantly agreed, with conditions, and after a general election in January 1910 and fearing the mass creation, the Conservative peers let the budget through. Asquith attempted to curtail the power of the Lords through constitutional reforms, which were again blocked by the Upper House. Like his father, George reluctantly agreed to Asquith's request to create sufficient Liberal peers after a general election if the Lords blocked the legislation. After the December 1910 election, the Lords once again let the bill pass on hearing of the threat to swamp the house with new peers. The subsequent Parliament Act 1911 permanently removed the power of the Lords to veto money bills. As part of his Irish policy, Asquith sought to introduce legislation that would give Ireland Home Rule, but the Conservatives and Unionists opposed it. Desperate to avoid the prospect of Civil War in Ireland between Unionists and Nationalists, George called a meeting of all parties at Buckingham Palace in July 1914 in an attempt to negotiate a settlement. Before an agreement was reached, political developments in Britain and Ireland were overtaken by events in Europe, and the issue of Irish Home Rule was shelved.

First World War

From 1914 to 1918 Britain was at war with Germany. The German Kaiser 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 like her mother, was the daughter of the Duke of Teck, a descendant of the German Royal House of Württemberg.

George V dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Garter uses a broom to sweep aside assorted crowns labelled "Made in Germany".
"A good riddance"
A 1917 Punch cartoon depicting King George V sweeping away his German titles

The King's paternal grandfather was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; the King and his children bore the titles Prince or Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke or 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 Prince and Princess of Schleswig-Holstein. When H. G. Wells wrote about Britain's "alien and uninspiring court", George famously replied: "I may be uninspiring, but I'll be damned if I'm alien."

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

Finally, he and his various relatives who were British subjects 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 and Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, simply dropped 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.

Two bearded men of identical height wear military dress uniforms emblazoned with medals and stand side-by-side
King George V (right) with his first cousin Tsar Nicholas II, Berlin, 1913. Note the close physical resemblance between the two monarchs.

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 reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (a male-line grandson of Queen Victoria), were 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, Windsor Castle, under pressure from his mother, Queen Alexandra.

When Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, George's first cousin (their mothers were sisters), 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 Russian royals 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 Russian imperial family, 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 position of the Bolshevik revolutionaries and wider difficulties with the conduct of the war, the plan was never put into operation. The Tsar and his immediate family remained in Russia and were murdered by Bolsheviks in 1918. The following year, Nicholas's mother (George's aunt) Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark) and other members of the extended Russian imperial family were rescued from the Crimea by British ships.

Two months after the end of the war, the King's youngest son, John, died at the age of 13 after a lifetime of ill health. George was informed of his death by Queen Mary, who wrote, " 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."

In May 1922, the King toured northern France and Belgium, visiting the First World War cemeteries and memorials being constructed by the Imperial War Graves Commission. The event was described in a poem, The King's Pilgrimage by Rudyard Kipling.

Later life

Pale-eyed grey-bearded man of slim build wearing a dress uniform and medals
King George V in 1923

Before the First World War, most of Europe was ruled by monarchs related to George, but during and after the war, the monarchies of Austria, Germany, Greece, and Spain, like Russia, fell to revolution and war. In 1922, a Royal Navy ship was sent to Greece to rescue his cousins, Prince and Princess Andrew. Prince Andrew was a nephew of Queen Alexandra through her brother King George I of Greece, and Princess Andrew was a daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg, one of the German princes granted a British peerage in 1917. Their children included Prince Philip, who would later marry George's granddaughter, Elizabeth II. The Greek monarchy was restored again shortly before George's death.

Political turmoil in Ireland continued, and George expressed his horror at government-sanctioned killings and reprisals to Prime Minister Lloyd George. By the end of 1922, Ireland was partitioned, the Irish Free State was established, and Lloyd George was out of office. The years between 1922 and 1929 saw frequent changes in government, and in 1924, George appointed the first Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald. MacDonald's ministry lasted less than a year. During the General Strike of 1926 the King advised the Government of Stanley Baldwin against taking inflammatory action, and took exception to suggestions that the strikers were "revolutionaries" saying, "Try living on their wages before you judge them."

A group pose of eight men in smart evening wear. The King sits in the middle surrounded by his prime ministers.
1926 Imperial Conference: George V and the prime ministers of the Commonwealth. Clockwise from centre front: George V, Baldwin (United Kingdom), Monroe (Newfoundland), Coates (New Zealand), Bruce (Australia), Hertzog (South Africa), Cosgrave (Irish Free State), King (Canada).

In 1926, George hosted an Imperial Conference in London at which the Balfour Declaration accepted the growth of the British Dominions into self-governing "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another". In 1931, the Statute of Westminster formalised George's position as "the symbol of the free association of the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". The Statute established "that any alteration in the law touching the Succession to the Throne or the Royal Style and Titles" would require the assent of the Parliaments of the Dominions as well as Parliament at Westminster, which could not legislate for the Dominions, except by consent.

In 1932, George agreed to deliver a Royal Christmas speech on the radio, an event which became annual thereafter. 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."

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. 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 said of his son Edward: "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself within 12 months", and of 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

The First World War took a toll on George's health, and his heavy smoking exacerbated recurring breathing problems. He suffered from emphysema, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pleurisy. In 1928, he fell seriously ill, and for the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties. The King retired for a brief period to the seaside resort of Bognor Regis in Sussex. A myth later grew that his last words, upon being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit the town, were "Bugger Bognor!"

White stone statue of George V in Garter robes on a plinth of the same stone standing in a street
Statue of King George V by William Reid Dick, outside Westminster Abbey, London

George never fully recovered. In his final year, he was occasionally administered oxygen. On the evening of 15 January 1936, the King took to his bedroom at Sandringham House complaining of a cold; he would never again leave the room alive. He became gradually weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. Prime Minister Baldwin later said,

each time he became conscious it was some kind inquiry or kind observation of someone, some words of gratitude for kindness shown. But he did say to his secretary when he sent for him: "How is the Empire?" An unusual phrase in that form, and the secretary said: "All is well, sir, with the Empire", and the King gave him a smile and relapsed once more into unconsciousness.

By 20 January, he was close to death. His physicians, led by Lord Dawson of Penn, issued a bulletin with words that became famous: "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close." Dawson's private diary, unearthed after his death, 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 20 January. Dawson wrote that he hastened 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 King's death at 11:55 p.m. could be announced in the morning edition of The Times newspaper.

At the procession to George's Lying in State in Westminster Hall, as the cortège turned into New Palace Yard, part of the Imperial State Crown fell from on top of the coffin 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. He would abdicate before the year was out, leaving Albert, Duke of York, to ascend the throne (taking the name George VI).

As a mark of respect to their father, George's four surviving sons, Edward, Albert, Henry and George, mounted the guard, known as the Vigil of the Princes, at the catafalque on the night of 28 January, the day before the funeral. The vigil was not repeated until the death of George's daughter-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, in 2002. He is buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Tributes

Equestrian statue in dark grey metal of George V in military dress uniform on a plinth of red granite outside a Classical building of red sandstone
Statue of King George V in King George Square outside Brisbane City Hall
File:KinggeorgeS.jpg
Trilingual plaque commemorating the opening of King George V Avenue, Jerusalem, by Herbert Samuel, High Commissioner of Palestine, 1924
George V Canada 1 cent stamp 1930

The German composer Paul Hindemith, who was in London preparing to perform the British premiere of his work Der Schwanendreher, went to a BBC studio on the morning after the king's death and in six hours wrote Trauermusik (Mourning Music). It was performed that same evening in a live broadcast by the BBC, with Adrian Boult conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the composer as soloist. The scheduled premiere was cancelled.

Statues of King George V include those in Brisbane and Adelaide in Australia, and one by William Reid Dick outside Westminster Abbey, London. The King George V Playing Fields in the United Kingdom were created as a memorial. 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. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv both have major thoroughfares named for King George V during the British Mandate for Palestine. In Paris, a large avenue from the top of the Champs-Elysées down to the Seine river and an underground station were named for George V; as are Avenue Georges, Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada; King George V Avenue, Sale, Victoria, Australia; King George V Secondary School, Malaysia; and King George V School, and King George V Memorial Park in Hong Kong.

Two Royal Navy battleships, HMS King George V in 1911 and her namesake in 1939, were named in his honour. George V gave both his name and donations to many charities, including King George's Fund for Sailors (later known as Seafarers UK).

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

  • 3 June 1865 – 24 May 1892: His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales
  • 24 May 1892 – 22 January 1901: His Royal Highness The Duke of York
  • 22 January 1901 – 9 November 1901: His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and York
  • 9 November 1901 – 6 May 1910: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales
    • in Scotland: His Royal Highness The Duke of Rothesay
  • 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936: His Majesty The King
    • and, occasionally, outside of the United Kingdom, and with regard to India: His Imperial Majesty The King-Emperor

His full style as king was "His Majesty George V, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India", until 1927, when it was changed to "His Majesty George V, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India"

Honours

Military

Arms

As Duke of York, George's arms were the royal arms, with an inescutcheon for Saxony, all differenced with a label argent of three points, the centre bearing an anchor azure. As Prince of Wales the centre label lost its anchor. As King, George V's arms were those of the Kingdom. In 1917, he removed, by warrant, the Saxony inescutcheon from the arms of all descendants of the Prince Consort (although the royal arms themselves had never borne the shield).

  • Coat of arms as Duke of York Coat of arms as Duke of York
  • Coat of arms as Prince of Wales Coat of arms as Prince of Wales
  • Coat of arms as George V (NB: There was and is a different version of the arms for Scotland.) Coat of arms as George V (NB: There was and is a different version of the arms for Scotland.)

In popular culture

On screen, George has been portrayed by:

Ancestors

Family of George V
16. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
8. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
17. Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf
4. Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
18. Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
9. Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
19. Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
2. Edward VII of the United Kingdom
20. George III of the United Kingdom
10. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
21. Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
5. Victoria of the United Kingdom
22. Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (= 16)
11. Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
23. Countess Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf (= 17)
1. George V of the United Kingdom
24. Frederick Charles Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck
12. Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
25. Countess Friederike von Schlieben
6. Christian IX of Denmark
26. Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel
13. Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel
27. Princess Louise of Denmark and Norway
3. Princess Alexandra of Denmark
28. Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Kassel
14. Landgrave William of Hesse-Kassel
29. Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen
7. Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel
30. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark and Norway
15. Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark
31. Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Issue

See also: List of descendants of George V
Name Birth Death Spouse Children
Edward VIII
Later Duke of Windsor
23 June 1894 28 May 1972 Wallis Simpson None
George VI 14 December 1895 6 February 1952 Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Elizabeth II
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood 25 April 1897 28 March 1965 Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood
The Honourable Gerald Lascelles
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester 31 March 1900 10 June 1974 Lady Alice Montagu Douglas Scott Prince William of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Prince George, Duke of Kent 20 December 1902 25 August 1942 Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
Prince Michael of Kent
Prince John 12 July 1905 18 January 1919 Never married None

Notes and sources

  1. http://genealogy.euweb.cz/pan/england.html
  2. His godparents were the King of Hanover (Queen Victoria's cousin, for whom Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach stood proxy); the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Prince Albert's brother, for whom the Lord President of the Council, Earl Granville, stood proxy); the Prince of Leiningen (the Prince of Wales's half-cousin); the Crown Prince of Denmark (the Princess of Wales's brother, for whom the Lord Chamberlain, Viscount Sydney, stood proxy); the Queen of Denmark (George's maternal grandmother, for whom Queen Victoria stood proxy); the Duke of Cambridge (Queen Victoria's cousin); the Duchess of Cambridge (Queen Victoria's aunt, for whom George's aunt Princess Helena stood proxy); and Princess Louis of Hesse and by Rhine (George's aunt, for whom her sister Princess Louise stood proxy) (The Times (London), Saturday, 8 July 1865, p. 12).
  3. Sinclair, pp. 46–47
  4. Sinclair, pp. 49–50
  5. Rose, p. 13
  6. Sinclair, p. 55
  7. Sinclair, p. 69
  8. Pope-Hennessy, pp. 250–251
  9. Pope-Hennessy, pp. 230–231
  10. Sinclair, p. 178
  11. ^ Matthew, H. C. G. (September 2004; online edition May 2009), "George V (1865–1936)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33369, retrieved 1 May 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. Demoskoff, Yvonne (29 January 2006), Yvonne's Royalty: Peerage, retrieved 1 May 2010
  13. Renamed from Bachelor's Cottage
  14. Harold Nicolson's diary quoted in Sinclair, p. 107
  15. The Royal Philatelic Collection, Official website of the British Monarchy, retrieved 1 May 2010
  16. Rose, p. 42
  17. See Sinclair, p. 93 ff for a full discussion.
  18. National Archives of Australia
  19. Previous Princes of Wales, Household of HRH The Prince of Wales, retrieved 1 May 2010
  20. Rose, p. 289
  21. Sinclair, p. 107.
  22. Rose, pp. 65–66
  23. George Frederick Abbott's Through India with the Prince (1906) describes the tour.
  24. Pope-Hennessy, p. 421
  25. Yadgaar (PDF), National Museum, New Delhi, retrieved 18 May 2010
  26. Rose, p. 136
  27. About one bird every 20 seconds
  28. Windsor, pp. 86–87
  29. Nicolson, p. 308
  30. The Royal Family name, Official website of the British Monarchy, retrieved 1 May 2010
  31. Nicolson, p. 310
  32. At George's wedding in 1893, The Times claimed that the crowd may have confused Nicholas with George, because their beards and dress made them look alike superficially (The Times (London) Friday, 7 July 1893, p. 5). Their facial features were only different up close.
  33. Purdue, A. W. (September 2004; online edition January 2008), "Alexandra (1844–1925)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30375, retrieved 1 May 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. Sinclair, p. 148 and Nicolson, p. 301
  35. Rose, p. 210
  36. Crossland, John (15 October 2006), "British Spies In Plot To Save Tsar", The Sunday Times
  37. Sinclair, p. 149
  38. Pope-Hennessy, p. 511
  39. Pinney, Thomas (ed., 1990) The Letters of Rudyard Kipling 1920–30, Vol. 5, University of Iowa Press, note 1, p. 120, ISBN 9780877458982
  40. Sinclair, p. 114 and Nicolson, p. 347
  41. Nicolson, p. 419
  42. Sinclair, p. 105
  43. Sinclair p. 154
  44. Nicolson, pp. 521–522
  45. Sinclair, p. 1
  46. Pimlott, Ben (1996), The Queen, John Wiley and Sons, Inc, ISBN 047119431X
  47. Ziegler, Philip (1990), King Edward VIII: The Official Biography, London: Collins, p. 199, ISBN 0002157411
  48. Ziegler, pp. 192–196
  49. Pope-Hennessy, p. 546
  50. Roberts, Andrew (2000), The House of Windsor, London: Cassell and Co, p. 36, ISBN 0304354066 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  51. Ashley, Mike (1998), The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens, London: Robinson Publishing, p. 699
  52. Bradford, Sarah (1989), King George VI, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, p. 149, ISBN 0297796674
  53. Pope-Hennessy, p. 558
  54. The Times, 22 January 1936, p. 7, col. A
  55. The Times, 21 January 1936, p. 12, col. A
  56. ^ Watson, Francis (1986), "The Death of George V", History Today, 36: 21–30
  57. Ramsay, J. H. R. (28 May 1994), "A king, a doctor, and a convenient death", British Medical Journal, 308: 1445
  58. Windsor, p. 267
  59. The cross surmounting the crown, composed of a sapphire and 200 diamonds, was retrieved by a military man following later in the procession.
  60. The Times (London), Tuesday, 28 January 1936, p. 10, col. F
  61. Steinberg, Michael (2000), The Concerto, Oxford University Press, pp. 212–213, ISBN 0195139313
  62. "From All Quarters" (pdf), Flight, LXIII (2296): 86, 23 January 1953, retrieved 1 May 2010
  63. Velde, François (19 April 2008), "Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family", Heraldica, retrieved on 1 May 2010.

References

External links

George V House of WindsorCadet branch of the House of WettinBorn: 3 June 1865 Died: 20 January 1936
Regnal titles
Preceded byEdward VII King of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland
and of the British Dominions

1910–1927
Name of title changed by the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927
Emperor of India
1910–1936
Succeeded byEdward VIII
New title
Name of title changed by the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927
King of Great Britain, Ireland
and the British Dominions

1927–1936
British royalty
Preceded byAlbert Edward, Prince of Wales
later became King Edward VII
Heir to the Throne
as heir apparent

1901–1910
Succeeded byPrince Edward, Duke of Cornwall
later became King Edward VIII
Prince of Wales
1901–1910
Succeeded byEdward, Prince of Wales
later became King Edward VIII
Peerage of England
Preceded byAlbert Edward, Prince of Wales
later became King Edward VII
Duke of Cornwall
1901–1910
Succeeded byPrince Edward, Duke of Cornwall
later became King Edward VIII
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded byPrince Albert Edward, Duke of Rothesay
later became King Edward VII
Duke of Rothesay
1901–1910
Succeeded byPrince Edward, Duke of Rothesay
later became King Edward VIII
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Duke of York
6th creation
1892–1910
Merged in the Crown
Honorary titles
Preceded byPrince George, Duke of Cambridge Grand Master of the Order of
St Michael and St George

1904–1910
VacantTitle next held byEdward, Prince of Wales
Preceded byThe Lord Curzon of Kedleston Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
1905–1907
Succeeded byThe Earl Brassey

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EnglishScottish and British monarchs
Monarchs of England until 1603Monarchs of Scotland until 1603
  • Debated or disputed rulers are in italics.
British princes
The generations indicate descent from George I, who formalised the use of the titles prince and princess for members of the British royal family.
1st generation
2nd generation
3rd generation
4th generation
5th generation
6th generation
7th generation
8th generation
9th generation
10th generation
11th generation
12th generation
Not a British prince by birth, but created Prince Consort. Not a British prince by birth, but created a Prince of the United Kingdom.
Princes whose titles were removed and eligible people who do not use the title are shown in italics.
Princes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
ForefatherDuke Francis I*
1st generation
2nd generation
Ducal
Koháry
Belgium
3rd generation
United Kingdom
Portugal
Koháry
Belgium
4th generation
United Kingdom
Portugal
Koháry
Bulgaria
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5th generation
United Kingdom
Ducal
Portugal
Koháry
Bulgaria
Belgium
6th generation
Ducal
Koháry
Bulgaria
Belgium
7th generation
DucalPrince Hubertus
KoháryPrince Johannes
Bulgaria
Belgium
*Titled as Princes of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld before 11 February 1826
Princes of Wales
See also: Principality of Wales
Dukes of Cornwall
Cornwall Portal
Dukes of Rothesay
Dukes of York
italics denote Dukes of York and Albany

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