King George V

George V (born George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1910 until his death, patriarch and first British monarch of the House of Windsor. He was the second son of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of Denmark. King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India: Reign: May 6, 1910 to January 20, 1936 Coronation: June 22, 1911 Predecessor: Edward VII Successor: Edward VIII Born: June 3, 1865 Marlborough House, London, England, United Kingdom Died: January 20, 1936 (aged 70) Sandringham House, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom Buried: 28 January 1936, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom Full name: George Frederick Ernest Albert Spouse Mary of Teck (1893–1936) Descendants: Edward VIII, George VI, Mary, Princess Royal, Henry, Duke of Gloucester, George, Duke of Kent, John of the United Kingdom House: Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1865–1917) and Windsor (1917–1936) Father: Edward VII of the United Kingdom Mother: Alexandra of Denmark Religion: Anglicanism

George was born on 3 June 1865, at Marlborough House, London, as the second son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and his wife Alexandra. His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. His mother was the eldest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. As the son of the Prince of Wales, George was given the style of His Royal Highness Prince George of Wales at birth, and was baptized at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 7 July 1865, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Thomas Longley. As the youngest son of the Prince of Wales, there was no expectation that George would one day become king, as his brother, Prince Albert Victor, was second in line to the throne. Due to the small age difference between Jorge and his brother, they were both educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed tutor to the princes in 1871, but neither of them excelled intellectually. As their father believed that the navy was "the best possible training for any boy", in 1877 - when George was 12 years old - the brothers joined cadet training aboard HMS Britannia at Dartmouth, Devon. For three years from 1879, the brothers served aboard HMS Bacchante, always accompanied by their tutor, Dalton. They visited the British Empire's colonies in the Caribbean, South Africa and Australia, as well as Norfolk, Virginia, South America, the Mediterranean, Egypt and East Asia. In Japan, Jorge had a local artist tattoo a blue and red dragon on his arm. Dalton wrote an account of the voyage, entitled The Cruise of HMS Bacchante. Between Melbourne and Sydney, Dalton recorded a sighting of the legendary Flying Dutchman ghost ship. When they returned to Britain, Queen Victoria complained that her grandchildren did not speak French or German and sent them for a six-month stay in Lausanne in a last, unsuccessful attempt to make them learn another language.

Upon their return, the brothers were separated; Albert Victor went to Trinity College, Cambridge, while George remained in the Royal Navy. He travelled the world, visiting many parts of the British Empire, and served actively until 1892. From then on, his naval commissions were largely honorary.

In 1884, after returning to England from a tour of the West Indies and Canada, George fell in love and began a relationship with Julie Stonor, granddaughter of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel and daughter of a lady-in-waiting to George's mother, the Princess of Wales. The couple were very much in love, and Julie spent Christmas 1885 with the royal family at Sandringham. An attempt was made to establish an engagement, but marriage between the two was out of the question. Described as an "English rose" and with a "snub nose", Julie was not only a commoner but also a devout Catholic, which would have resulted in George being excluded from the line of succession to the British throne under the Act of Settlement 1701 if they had married. Despite her sympathy for the couple, George's mother warned them that they were fighting a losing battle, and the couple separated, but remained lifelong friends. Having been destined for a life in the navy, George served for many years under his uncle, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who was stationed in Malta. There, he became acquainted with his cousin, Princess Mary of Edinburgh, with whom he fell in love. His grandmother, father, and uncle approved of the relationship, but his mothers, the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh, were against it. The Princess of Wales viewed her brother-in-law's family as excessively pro-German, and the Duchess of Edinburgh disliked England. Mary's mother was the only daughter of the Tsar of Russia, and resented having to yield precedence to George's mother, whose father had been a minor German prince before being unexpectedly called to the throne of Denmark. On her mother's advice, Mary refused George's marriage proposal. In 1893, she married the German Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who would later become King of Romania as Ferdinand I.

In the meantime, George's paternal aunt, Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein, made several attempts to arrange a marriage between George and her daughter, Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, but to no avail. These attempts were ridiculed by the royal family and angered George's mother. The daughter of a Danish king, Alexandra disliked Helena's family due to their involvement in the War of the Elbe Duchies (1864), which culminated in the annexation of Danish territory from the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein by the German Empire. The Princess of Wales disparagingly called her niece "snipe" in reference to her long, striking facial features. Regarding the marriage plans between George and Helena Victoria, Alexandra wrote to her son: So the Christians are chasing you with your beautiful snipe! Well, it would be a pleasure to have this "beauty" as your bride, you see, she is ready to win you over by offering you a second-hand product in a golden trap!"

In November 1891, George's elder brother Albert Victor became engaged to his second cousin, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck - known colloquially as May. His father, Prince Francis, Duke of Teck, belonged to a morganatic cadet branch of the House of Württemberg and his mother, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, was a granddaughter of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. Six weeks after the formal engagement, Albert Victor died of pneumonia, elevating George to second in line to the throne. At the time, George had just recovered from typhoid fever - the same disease that claimed the life of his grandfather, Prince Albert - which had confined him to bed for six weeks. Queen Victoria still considered Princess May a suitable bride and the young woman grew closer to George during their period of shared mourning. A year after Albert Victor's death, George and Mary became engaged and were married on 6 July 1893 in the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace. James, in London. Throughout their lives, they remained devoted to each other. Jorge was, by his own admission, unable to speak easily of his feelings, but they often exchanged love letters and affectionate notes.

The death of his elder brother ended George's naval career, and he assumed his duties as second in line to the throne. George was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney by Queen Victoria on 24 May 1892 and was taught constitutional history by J. R. Tanner. After George and May's marriage, 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 lifestyle reflected that of a middle-class family rather than royalty. Jorge preferred a simple, almost quiet life, in contrast to the lively social life pursued by his father. His official biographer, Harold Nicolson, described George's time as duke with distaste: "He might have looked good as a young midshipman and as a wise old king, but when he was Duke of York ... he did nothing but kill and hunt animals and paste stamps." George was a notorious stamp collector, something Nicolson deplored, and played a major role in transforming the Royal Philatelic Collection into the most comprehensive collection of British and Commonwealth stamps in the world, in some cases commanding record prices. Jorge and May had five sons and one daughter. Randolph Churchill claimed that George was a strict father - to the point of terrorizing his children - and that he had commented to Edward Stanley: "My father was afraid of your mother, I was afraid of my father, and I will strive to make my children afraid of me." In fact, there is no source to confirm this quote and it is likely that George's parenting style was not very different from what was usual for the time.

As Duke and Duchess of York, George and May served in a number of public roles. Upon the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901, George's father succeeded to the throne as King Edward VII. George inherited the titles of Duke of Cornwall and of Rothesay, and was styled His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and York. In 1901, the couple toured the British Empire. The tour was planned by Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain—with the support of Prime Minister Lord Salisbury—and included visits to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the colony of Newfoundland. Its main purpose was to reward the dominions for their part in the Second Boer War (1899–1902). George solemnly presented thousands of specially designed medals to colonial troops who fought in the conflict. In South Africa, the royal party was greeted with elaborate decorations, expensive gifts, and fireworks, and met with civil officials, African leaders, and Boer prisoners. Despite public outcry, not all residents responded favorably to the visit. Many white Afrikaners condemned the displays and expense, as the war had weakened their ability to reconcile Afrikaner-Dutch culture with their status as British subjects. Critics in the English-language press denounced the enormous expense when families were facing severe hardship. In Australia, the Duke opened the first session of Parliament since the creation of the Commonwealth. The tour gave New Zealand a chance to showcase its progress, especially in adopting up-to-date British standards in communications and manufacturing. The Duke praised the New Zealanders' military valor, bravery, loyalty, and obedience to duty.

The implicit purpose of the visit was to promote the country's attractions to potential tourists and immigrants while avoiding news of rising social tensions. In this sense, the visit to New Zealand focused the attention of the British press on little-known territory. On his return to Britain, in a speech at London's Guildhall, George warned of "the impression which seems to prevail among [our] brethren across the seas, that the Old Country must wake up if it is to maintain its ancient position of pre-eminence in its colonial trade against foreign competitors." On 9 November 1901, George was officially created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. Edward VII wished to prepare his son for his future role as king. In contrast to Edward himself, whom Queen Victoria had deliberately excluded from state affairs, George was given full access to all documents. Jorge, in turn, allowed his wife access to his documents, as he valued her advice and she often helped write her husband's speeches. Between November 1905 and March 1906, during the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to British India, George was outraged by racial discrimination and promoted a campaign for greater involvement of natives in the government of the country. This trip was almost immediately followed by another, this time to Spain, for the wedding of King Alfonso XIII and Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg - where the newlyweds narrowly escaped a bomb attack. A week after returning to Britain, they traveled to Norway, for the coronation of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud, George's sister.

On 6 May 1910, Edward VII died and George became king. He wrote in his diary about his father's death: "I have lost my best friend and the best of parents... I never had an unkind word to him in my life. I am heartbroken and overcome with grief, but God will help me in my responsibilities and dear May will be my comfort, as she always was. May God give me strength and guidance in the heavy task that has fallen to me." George never appreciated his wife signing official documents and letters as "Victoria Mary" and insisted that she choose only one of the two names. In their opinion, it would not be appropriate to call her Queen Victoria, so she chose Mary. Later that year, a radical propagandist, Edward Mylius, published a lie about George, claiming that he had been secretly married in Malta when he was young and that his marriage to Queen Mary was consequently bigamous. The rumour first appeared in the press in 1893, but George dismissed it as a joke. In an effort to quell the rumours, Mylius was arrested, tried, found guilty of libel, and sentenced to a year's imprisonment. The new king objected to the anti-Catholic text of the Declaration of Ascension that he was to read at his first opening of Parliament. George hinted that he would refuse to open Parliament if he were forced to read the declaration in that wording. As a result, the Declaration of Ascension Act 1910 was shortened, with the most offensive phrases removed. The coronation of the new king and queen took place at Westminster Abbey on 22 June 1911,[25] and was celebrated with the Festival of Empire in London. In July, the couple visited Ireland for five days, where they received a warm welcome, being greeted by thousands of people wherever they went.

In 1911, George and Mary travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar, where they were presented to an audience of Indian dignitaries and princes as the Emperor and Empress of India on 12 December 1911. The King wore the newly created Imperial Crown of India at the ceremony and declared the transfer of the Indian capital from Calcutta to Delhi. On 15 December, he and the Queen laid the foundation stone for New Delhi. They travelled extensively across the subcontinent, and George took part in major hunting expeditions in Nepal, killing 21 tigers, 8 rhinos and a bear in 10 days. He was a keen and keen shot: on 18 December 1913, he killed over a thousand pheasants in six hours on Lord Burnham's estate, although he admitted that "we went a little too far" that day.

George inherited the throne at a time of political turmoil. Lloyd George's People's Budget had been rejected the previous year by the Conservative and Unionist House of Lords, contrary to the usual convention of not vetoing budgetary bills. Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith had asked the previous king to commit himself to appointing enough Liberal peers to force the bill through the House. Edward VII reluctantly agreed, but the Lords rejected the bill even after two successive general elections. Finally, at the general election of January 1910, the Conservative peers approved the bill, since the government already had a quorum to pass it without a vote. Asquith attempted to limit the power of the Lords through constitutional reforms, but these were again blocked by the Upper House. The constitutional conference on the reforms collapsed in November 1910 after 21 sessions. Asquith and Lord Crewe, the Liberal leader in the House of Lords, petitioned the King to dissolve Parliament, which would allow a second general election, and to promise to appoint enough Liberal peers so that the legislation would not be blocked again. If George refused, it would bring about the resignation of the Liberal government and create the impression that the King was favouring one party – with "the Lords against the people". The King's two private secretaries, Lord Knollys and Lord Stamfordham, gave him conflicting advice. Knollys, a Liberal, advised George to accept the Cabinet's demands, while Stamfordham, a Unionist, advised him to accept the resignation. Like his father, George reluctantly agreed to the dissolution and the appointment of new peers, although he felt that his ministers had taken advantage of his inexperience to intimidate him.

After the general election of December 1910, the Lords allowed the bill to pass after learning of the threat of new peers being appointed. The subsequent Parliament Act 1911 permanently removed - with some exceptions - the Lords' power to veto budget bills. The King later felt that Knollys had withheld information from him about the opposition's willingness to form a new government if the Liberals resigned.

From 1914 to 1918, Britain was at war with Germany and Kaiser Wilhelm II - who, for the British people, symbolised all the horrors of war - was the king's first cousin. George's paternal grandfather was Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and consequently both he and his children held the titles Prince and Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke and Duchess of Saxe. Queen Mary, although British like her mother, was the daughter of the Duke of Teck, a descendant of the German Dukes of Württemberg. The King had brothers-in-law and cousins ​​who were British subjects but held German titles, such as the Duke and Duchess of Teck, the Prince and Princess of Battenberg, and the Prince and Princess of Schleswig-Holstein. When H. G. Wells wrote of Britain's "boring and foreign court," George famously replied: "I may be boring, but I'll be damned if I'm a foreigner." On 17 July 1917, George appeased British nationalist sentiments by issuing a royal proclamation that changed the name of the Royal House from the Germanic Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor. He and all his British relatives renounced their German titles and styles, adopting British surnames. George compensated his male relatives by creating British titles, such as his cousin Prince Louis of Battenberg—who had been forced to resign as First Sea Lord at the outbreak of war due to anti-German sentiment—who became Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, or Queen Mary's brothers, who became, respectively, Adolphus of Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, and Alexander of Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone. Two of George's cousins, Princesses Mary Louise and Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, renounced their territorial titles.

In a letters patent issued on 11 December 1917, the King restricted the style of 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 Sovereign's children, and the eldest living son of an eldest living son of a Prince of Wales.[77] The letters patent also proclaimed that "the styles of 'Royal Highness', 'Highness' or 'Serene Highness' and the titular dignity of Prince or Princess shall cease, except those titles already granted and irrevocable." Relatives of the British royal family who fought on the German side, such as Prince Ernesto Augusto de Hanover, 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale (great-grandson of Jorge III), and Prince Carlos Eduardo, Duke of Albany and Duke Reinat of Saxe-Coburgo-Gota (grandson of Queen Victoria), had their titles of British Nobility suspended by a order of the council, 1919, 1919, 1919, 1919, 1919, 1919 As provided for in the 1917 Title Privation Law. Sob pressure from her mother, Queen Alexandra, Jorge also removes the Germanic heraldic flags, who belonged to her German family members of the St. George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle. 17, the British Government offered asylum to him and his family but, in the face of the aggravation of the living conditions of the people and the fear that the revolution could reach the United Kingdom, the king pondered that the presence of Imperial Russian, given the circumstances, could be inadequate. From the Russian Imperial Family, the letters of the King's private secretary, Lord Stamfordham, suggest that Jorge V who opposed the operation, contrary to the government's council.

Despite later claims by Lord Mountbatten of Burma that Prime Minister Lloyd George was against the rescue of the Russian imperial family, letters from the King's private secretary, Lord Stamfordham, suggest that it was George V who opposed the operation, against government advice. Advanced plans for a rescue were made by MI1, a branch of the British secret service, but due to the strengthening of the position of the Bolshevik revolutionaries and increased difficulties in conducting the war, the plan was never put into effect. The Tsar and his family remained in Russia,[86] where they were assassinated by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The following year, Nicholas's mother (George's aunt), Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark), and other members of the Russian imperial family were rescued in 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 life of ill health. George was informed of his death by Queen Mary, who wrote: "[John] has been a great worry to us for many years... The first break in the family circle is hard to bear, but people have been so kind and sympathetic that they have helped us greatly." In May 1922, the King visited Belgium and northern France, visiting the First World War cemeteries and memorials being built by the Imperial War Graves Commission. The event was described in a poem, The King's Pilgrimage, by Rudyard Kipling. The tour and a short visit to Italy in 1923 were the only times George agreed to leave the United Kingdom on official business after the end of the war.

Before the First World War, most of Europe was ruled by monarchs related to George, but the monarchies of Austria, Germany, Greece and Spain, as well as the famous Russian Empire, fell during or immediately after this period, either through the conflict itself or through revolutions. In March 1919, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Lisle Strutt was sent, on the King's personal authority, to escort the former Emperor Charles I of Austria and his family to safety in Switzerland. In 1922, a Royal Navy ship was sent to Greece to rescue his cousins, Prince Andrew and Princess Alice. Andrew was the son of King George I of Greece, brother of Queen Alexandra, and Alice was the daughter of Louis of Battenberg, one of the German princes who received British peerages in 1917. Their children included Prince Philip, who later married George's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The Greek monarchy was restored shortly before. Political turmoil in Ireland continued with the nationalists' struggle for independence. George expressed to Prime Minister David Lloyd George his horror at the killings and reprisals carried out by the British government in Ireland. At the opening session of the Northern Irish Parliament on 22 June 1921, the Speech from the Throne, partly drafted by Lloyd George and General Jan Smuts, called for conciliation. A few days later, a truce was agreed. Negotiations between Britain and Irish separatists led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. By the end of 1922, Ireland had been partitioned, the Irish Free State had been established, and Lloyd George had stepped down as governor. The King and his senior advisers were concerned about the rise of socialism and the growing labour movement, which they associated with republicanism.

His concerns, however exaggerated, resulted in a new outline of the monarchy’s social role, with greater inclusion of the working class and its representatives – a dramatic change for George, who had felt more at home with naval officers and aristocrats. Indeed, the socialists no longer believed in their own anti-monarchical slogans and were prepared to compromise with the monarchy if it would take the first step. George took this step, adopting a more democratic stance that transcended class barriers and brought the monarchy closer to the people. The king also cultivated friendly relations with moderate Labour politicians and trade unionists. George V’s abandonment of social distancing also shaped the royal family’s behaviour, increasing its popularity during the economic crises of the 1920s and for more than two generations. Between 1922 and 1929 there were several changes in government. In 1924, George appointed a Labour Prime Minister for the first time, Ramsay MacDonald, in the absence of a clear majority for any of the three parties. The King's diplomatic and understanding reception of the first Labour government (which lasted less than a year) allayed the suspicions of Labour supporters. During the 1926 general strike, the King advised the government of Conservative Stanley Baldwin against taking any violent action, and dismissed accusations that the strikers were "revolutionaries" by saying, "Try living within your wages before you judge them." In 1926, George organised an Imperial Conference in London, which resulted in the Balfour Declaration, a document defining and ratifying the evolution of the British Dominions into "self-governing communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate to each other."

In 1931, the Statute of Westminster formalized George's position as "a symbol of free association of the members of the British Commonwealth of Nations". The Statute provided that "any alteration in the law touching the succession to the throne or the royal style and titles" would require the approval of the parliaments of the Dominions as well as the Westminster Parliament, which could not legislate for them except by consent. In the wake of a worldwide financial crisis in 1931, the King encouraged the formation of a national government led by MacDonald and Baldwin and proposed reducing the civil list to help balance the budget. In 1932, George agreed to broadcast his Christmas message by radio, an event that would be repeated annually. Initially, he was not in favor of such an innovation, but was convinced by the argument that it was the will of the people. The relationship between George and his eldest son and heir, Edward, deteriorated in these last years. The king was disappointed by Edward's failure to establish himself in life and shocked by his numerous affairs with married women. In contrast, he was fond of his second son, Prince Albert (the future George VI), and doted on his eldest granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, whom he affectionately called Lilibet. In 1935, George said of his son Edward: "After my death the 'boy' will be ruined within 12 months", and of Albert and Lilibet: "I pray to God that my eldest son never marries or has children, and that nothing comes between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne."

The First World War took its toll on George's health: he was seriously injured on 28 October 1915 when he fell from his horse while reviewing troops in France; and heavy smoking aggravated his recurrent respiratory problems – he suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pleurisy. In 1925, on the advice of his doctors, he reluctantly embarked on a private recuperation cruise in the Mediterranean – it was his third (and last) overseas trip since the war. In November 1928 he became seriously ill with septicaemia, and for the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties. In 1929 a further suggestion of overseas rest was rejected by the King "in very strong language". Instead, he retired for three months to Craigweil House, Aldwick, in the seaside resort of Bognor, Sussex. As a result of his stay, the town acquired the suffix Regis, Latin for "of the King". It later emerged that his last words, upon being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit the town, were "Fuck Bognor!". George never fully recovered. In his final year, he required several rounds of oxygen.[127] On the evening of 15 January 1936, the King was taken to his room at Sandringham House complaining of a cold, and never left his chambers again.[128] He became increasingly weak, alternating between periods of unconsciousness. Prime Minister Baldwin later said: "Each time he regained consciousness he would make some question or remark about someone, some word of gratitude for their kindness. Unusually, he asked his secretary, 'How is the Empire?' to which he replied, 'All is well, sir, with the Empire'; and the King gave him a smile and lapsed back into unconsciousness."

By 20 January he was near death. His physicians, led by Lord Dawson of Penn, issued a bulletin with a now famous statement: "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close." In his diary, released after his death in 1986, Dawson reveals that the King's last words were the muttered "God damn you!" to his nurse as she gave him a sedative on the evening of 20 January. Dawson wrote that he hastened the king's death by giving him a lethal injection of cocaine and morphine, and that he did so to preserve his dignity, to avoid further pressure on the royal family, and so that George's death, declared at 11:55 p.m., could be announced in the morning edition of The Times newspaper—rather than in the "less appropriate ... evening editions." German composer Paul Hindemith went to a BBC studio the morning after the king's death and in six hours wrote Trauermusik ("Music of Mourning"), which was performed live on radio that evening—with Adrian Boult conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Hindemith as soloist. During the funeral procession to Westminster Hall, part of the Imperial State Crown, which was resting on the coffin, fell into the gutter at New Palace Yard. The new king, Edward VIII, saw the incident and wondered whether it might be a bad omen for his new kingdom. Edward abdicated before the end of the year, and was succeeded by his brother Albert, Duke of York, who ascended the throne as George VI. As a mark of respect for their father, George V's four sons—Edward, Albert, Henry and George—performed a Vigil of the Princes, standing guard at the four corners of the royal catafalque on the night before the funeral. George V was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 28 January 1936.

George preferred to stay at home collecting stamps or hunting, and lived a life that his biographers would describe as dull because of its conventionality. He was unintellectual and lacked the sophistication of his two royal predecessors: upon returning from an evening at the opera, he wrote, "We went to Covent Garden to see Fidelio and it was damned dull." Nevertheless, he was intensely devoted to Britain and the Commonwealth. He understood the British Empire better than most of his ministers; as he explained, "it has always been my dream to identify myself with the great idea of ​​Empire." He was a hard worker, and became widely admired by the people of Britain and the Empire, as well as by the Establishment. Historian David Cannadine portrays George V and Queen Mary as an "inseparably devoted couple" who did much to uphold "family character" and values. George set a standard of conduct for the British royal family that reflected the values ​​and virtues of the upper middle class rather than the lifestyle and vices of the upper class. He was, by temperament, a traditionalist who never fully appreciated or approved of the revolutionary changes taking place in British society. However, he always exercised his influence by virtue of neutrality and moderation, seeing his role as that of a mediator rather than a final decision-maker. Several statues of George V have been erected, including in Hobart, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide in Australia,[151][152][153][154] and one by William Reid Dick outside Westminster Abbey in London.[155] King George's Fields, a series of parks in the United Kingdom, were created in his memory.

Many places around the world have been named after him, including King George V Park in St. John's, Newfoundland; Stade George V in Curepipe, Mauritius; two major thoroughfares in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, a boulevard, a hotel and a metro station in Paris; King George V College in Seremban, Malaysia; and the King George V School and King George V Memorial Park in Hong Kong. Two Royal Navy warships have been named after him: HMS King George V, launched in 1911, and her namesake, launched in 1939. George V gave his name and donations to many charities, including the King George's Fund for Sailors (later known as Seafares UK).

Imperial and royal style of treatment George V of the United Kingdom

George's Royal Monogram

Imperial style Your Imperial Majesty Royal style Your Majesty Alternative style Her Britannic Majesty 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 – 6 May 1910: His Royal Highness The Duke of Cornwall and York In Scotland: His Royal Highness The Duke of Rothesay 9 November 1901 – 6 May 1910: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936: His Majesty The King In India: His Imperial Majesty, the King-Emperor His full title as king was His Majesty George V, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India. Under the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927, the title 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.

HONORS: KG: Knight of the Order of the Garter, 4 August 1884 KT: Knight of the Order of the Thistle, 5 July 1893 KP: Knight of the Order of St. Patrick, August 20, 1897 GCSI: Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, 28 September 1905 GCMG: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, March 9, 1901 GCIE: Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, 28 September 1905 GCVO: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, 30 June 1897 ISO: Imperial Service Order, 31 March 1903 Royal Victorian Collar, 1902 PC: Privy Councillor, 18 July 1894 Privy Councillor (Ireland), 20 August 1897 FRS: Royal Peer of the Royal Society, 8 June 1893 Adm, 1907: Admiral, Royal Navy 1910: Admiral of the Fleet, Royal Navy MRAF, Marshal of the Royal Air Force MILITARY HONOURS: Cdt, September 1877: Cadet, HMS Britannia Mid, 8 January 1880: Midshipman, HMS Bacchante and the corvette Canada SLt, 3 June 1884: Sub-Lieutenant, Royal Navy Lt, 8 October 1885: Lieutenant, HMS Thunderer; HMS Dreadnought; HMS Alexandra; HMS Northumberland I/C Torpedo Boat 79; the gunboat HMS Thrush] Cdr, 24 August 1891: Commander, I/C o Melampus Capt, 2 January 1893: Captain, Royal Navy RAdm, 1 January 1901: Rear Admiral, Royal Navy VAdm, 26 June 1903: Vice-Admiral, Royal Navy WEAPONS: As Duke of York, George's arms were the arms of the United Kingdom with an escutcheon of the Saxon arms, distinguished by a lambel argent of three feet and an anchor azure in the central foot. As Prince of Wales the central foot lost its anchor. As king, he bore the arms of the United Kingdom. In 1917, he removed, by writ, the Saxon shield from the arms of all the male line descended from Prince Consort Albert (although the royal arms never bore such a shield).