King George V

King George V was the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II and great grandfather of King Charles III was born as George Frederick Ernest Albert was born on the 3rd June 1865. His parents were King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria. 

George was born at 1:18am on the 3rd June 1865 at Marlborough house in London he was the second son of Albert Edward, Prince Of Wales and Princess Alexandra, Princess Of Wales. His grandparents were Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was baptised at Windsor Castle on the 7th July. 

When he was born he became 4th in line to the throne after his grandmother and father and elder brother. Him and his older brother Prince Albert Victor were educated together as George was only 17 months younger than Albert but he and his brother didn't excel brilliantly. 

George's father Edward enrolled him and his brother to the navy as the navy was "The very best possible training for any boy" In September 1877 when both brothers were 12 years old they joined the cadet training ship HMS Britannia at Dartmouth in Devon.  

For the three years since they trained in Devon the two princes served on HMS Bacchante. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean, South Africa, Australia, Norfolk, Virginia as well as South Africa and the Mediterranean. They also toured Japan where George had a local artist tattoo a blue and red dragon on his arm which made it the first monarch to have a tattoo. 

As a young man he was destined to serve in the navy, he 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 cousin Princess Marie Of Edinburgh. His grandmother and father approved the match but his mother and her mother didn't approve. 

In November 1891 his brother Albert Victor became engaged to their second cousin Princess Victoria Mary Of Teck also known as May to many of her family members. In January 1892 6 weeks after the formal engagement Albert Victor died of pneumonia during a flu pandemic leaving George second in line to the throne and would likely succeed after his father. George himself only just recovered from illness after being bed bound with typhoid fever which killed his grandfather Prince Albert. 

His grandmother Queen Victoria still regarded Princess Mary as a suitable match for her grandson and George and Mary grew close during their shared period of mourning. A year after Albert Victor's death George proposed to Mary and was accepted. The couple married on 6th July 1893 at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace in London. 

With the death of his elder brother George's naval career ended and as he was second in line to the throne he became The Duke Of York. The Duke and Duchess Of York had five sons and a daughter. It was once claimed that George was a strict father to the point where the children were terrified of their father. There was no indication that he was that horrible to his children but he did have a parenting style that matched the time. 

On 2nd January 1901 his grandmother Queen Victoria died and his father ascended to the throne as King Edward VII and George inherited the title of The Duke Of Cornwall and later became The Prince Of Wales. He carried out his duties as Prince Of Wales accordingly by touring The British Empire and opened the first session of the Australian parliament on the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia. 

His stint as Prince Of Wales fell short as 9 years after his grandmother's death his father passed away on the 6th May 1910 and he became King George V. George had never liked his wife's habit of signing official documents as Victoria May and George insisted that she should choose only one name. She didn't want to use the name Queen Victoria but never wanted to use it in the memory of his late grandmother. In the end she became Queen Mary instead. 

King George V and Queen Mary's coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on the 22nd June 1911 and was celebrated by the festival of Empire in London. They then went on a tour of Ireland  then went to India as the Emperor and Empress of India. 

On 4th August 1914 was the start of The First World War. Because of George's connection with Germany via his grandfather Prince Albert which changed the name from The House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha to the royal house of Windsor> On the 11th December 1917 King George V issued a letters patent he 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 and the eldest living son of the eldest living son of The Prince of Wales. 

The King was a very active person in the war effort so was The Queen as they visited the front line and health workers with Queen Mary helping out with the red cross. 

2 months after the end of the first world war The King's youngest son John died at the very young age of 13 after a lifetime of ill health. George was informed by his wife Queen Mary which did put the family into immense grief. 

In May 1922 George and Mary toured Belgium and Northern France 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. The tour and one 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. 

In 1932 King George V became the first British monarch to deliver a Christmas Message on the radio and the speech became a tradition which still goes on to now as King Charles III delivered the speech in 2025. 

In 1935 King George V celebrated his Silver Jubilee of his reign the whole nation loved The King and he became a well loved king. The celebrations included a carriage procession through London and a national service of thanksgiving which was followed by a balcony appearance at Buckingham Palace. The jubilee was declared as a bank holiday with celebrations happening across the nation with garden parties. 

George's relationship with his eldest son deteriorated in his later years as he didn't like the fact that he had many affairs with various married women. He got on well with his second son Prince Albert and he absolutely doted with his granddaughter Princess Elizabeth and he nicknamed her Lilibet which was a private nickname for her. Elizabeth called her grandfather grandpa England which now King Charles III's grandchildren call him grandpa Wales which was a subtle tribute to this. 

The First World War took a toll on George's health on the 28th October 1915 George was seriously injured when his horse threw him off at a troop review in France. Due to his heavy smoking he suffered breathing problems and suffered from chronic bronchitis. 

In November 1928 he fell seriously ill with septicaemia which localised between the base of his right lung and diaphragm in the form of empyema that required drainage. The doctors wanted him to rest abroad but the King rejected it with rather strong language so he retired for three months to Craigwell House in the seaside resort of Sussex. During this period his son and heir took over duties. 

George never fully recovered. In 1936 in his final year he was occasionally administered with oxygen. In December 1935 his favourite sister Victoria passed which depressed him very deeply. On the evening of 15th January 1938 George took to his bedroom at Sandringham House complainig of a cold. He remained in his bedroom until his death. He became gradually weaker and drifting in and out of consciousness. 

On the 20th January George was close to his death. His physicians issued a bulletin with the words "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close" George's final words were mumbled "god damn you!" were addressed to his nurse when she gave him a sedative that night with his physician who supported the gentle growth of euthanasia. 

The time of the King's death was recorded at 11:55pm but the nation found out the following day. The new King and his brothers stood guard at their father's coffin which became the vigil of the princes which started a royal tradition for the funerals of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 2002 with her 4 grandsons and the vigil continued with Queen Elizabeth II with her 4 children and in a first Princess Anne was the first female royal to stand in the vigil of the princes in 2022. 

The King's funeral was a very small and simple ceremony at St George's Chapel at Windsor on the 28th January 1936 and was broadcast live to the nation on the radio. He was later interred in the Royal Vault beneath the quire at St George's Chapel. George's body was transferred to a monumental sarcophagus in the North Nave Aisle on the 27th February 1939 and then he and his wife were buried together following Mary's death and funeral on the 31st March 1953.