A Royal History
George V, aka The People’s King, by Paul James
BY the time of his Silver Jubilee in 1935, George V was known as “The People’s King” and no monarch before him had been so close to his subjects. Few Kings had so openly expressed such a deep love for their country. He hated foreign ways and foreign food. In his adult life he took holidays only in England and when someone once complained about the English weather, he replied, “I like my own country best, climate or no, and I’m staying in it!”
King George V was the founder of the House of Windsor, ridding his family of all German titles during World War I. Thus, his Teck and Battenburg relatives residing in England changed their name to Cambridge and Mountbatten. When the author H.G. Wells wrote that the Royal Family were “uninspiring and alien” the King took great exception to the comment, saying to a friend, “I may be uninspiring, but I’ll be damned if I’m an alien.”
In previous reigns the monarch had remained a remote, hallowed figure, but through the medium of radio the gruff, grandfatherly voice of King George V was heard throughout the Empire and he became suddenly a warm, identifiable presence.
When he sent a special message to children during his Silver Jubilee broadcast – “Let me say this to each of them whom my words may reach: The King is speaking to you ”– thousands sitting beside their wireless set felt as if the King really was speaking to them personally.
In 1901, then Duke of York, he sailed to Melbourne and opened the first Federal Parliament of Australia, also visiting New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and Mauritius. On returning home, he made his famous “Wake Up, England!” speech at the Guildhall in London. During his travels he had seen how other countries were developing commercially and he felt that England was lagging behind. His speech shocked business owners who assumed that Britain would always be at the forefront.
During a British Industries Fair at Olympia, he was being shown some British-made typewriters and was told that the Swedish government had ordered a large consignment, but the British government continued to use imported machines. “This is scandalous,” he said, “Scandalous! If other governments can purchase these machines, why cannot they be used in our own departments? I will have the matter looked into.” The government was thus shamed into buying British.
Whether touring a hospital or descending a coal mine, George V was down-to-earth. On a visit to Bolton Abbey, he bought a half-share in a pet rabbit with a sad little girl whose brother had threatened to sell it. Looking at a painting by Cézanne at an art exhibition, he called the Queen across. “Come over here, May, there’s something that will make you laugh.”
George V was the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales (later Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) and was born at Marlborough House in London on June 3, 1865. He was baptised a month later and given the names George Frederick Ernest
Albert. He was educated by private tutors and at the age of 12 became a cadet at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, along with his elder brother Prince Albert Victor. They were nicknamed “Sprat” and “Herring” from the title of their father, the Prince of W(h)ales.
The two Princes had a disciplined regime, rising daily at 6 am for drill, followed by lessons and sports. Prince George distinguished himself in rowing and was to have a lifelong love of the sea, taking part in the annual Cowes Regatta in his first yacht, Corisande. The Navy discipline remained with him for life. He
became a stickler for punctuality, keeping clocks at Sandringham half an hour fast to ensure that guests were not late for meals. He began his breakfast as the clock struck 9 am and he always went to bed at exactly
11.10 pm. He loved ritual, routine and maintaining traditions, many of which Queen Elizabeth II has continued.
At the age of 14 the Prince joined HMS Bacchante for three years of “mental and moral” training, after which it was said that his knowledge of the British Empire was “nothing short of encyclopaedic”. It was a demanding and strenuous life with no concessions made to royal status. He kept a diary detailing his life on board.
“Looked out on the waters as the ship ploughed her way through them,” he wrote on 4 October, 1879, “and all the stars glittered in between the spaces of the sails and rigging, and everything was silvered over by the light of the moon.” Like his grandmother Queen Victoria, George kept up his diary daily until three days before his death.
The tour of duty was extensive and when the Prince finally returned to England he wrote, “The sight of the Devon cornfields, grass lawns and woods sloping to the sea makes every heart on board beat more quickly.”
After a brief period at the University of Heidelberg, the Prince returned to sea and took command of the gunboat HMS Thrush. Years later he told a group of cadets, “I think that I am entitled, from personal experience of twenty years at sea, to impress upon you three simple qualities which I am sure, if conscientiously acted up to, will go a long way to ensuring your success. The qualities to which I would refer are truthfulness, obedience and zeal. Truthfulness will give those placed under you confidence in you; obedience will give those placed over you confidence in you; and although I have mentioned zeal last, it is by no means the least important, for without zeal no sailor can ever be worth his salt.”
In January 1892 Prince George’s elder brother, Albert Victor, died of influenza. It was a shock to the whole country and George was united in grief with Princess May of Teck, who had been due to marry Albert in February. The pair grew closer and in 1893 announced their engagement.
They married on 6 July that year in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace. Now the Duke and Duchess of York, they spent their honeymoon at Sandringham, which George described as “the place I love better than anywhere in the world”. They were given York Cottage on the estate as a country home and later Marlborough House became their London residence.
Between 1894 and 1905 the couple had six children: Edward (Edward
VIII and Duke of Windsor); Albert (George VI); Mary (Princess Royal); Henry (Duke of Gloucester); George (Duke of Kent) and John, who died in 1919 aged just 13. Mabell, Countess of Airlie, a lady-in-waiting, wrote that George had an uneasy relationship with his children. “His manner to them alternated between an awkward jocularity of the kind which makes a sensitive child squirm from selfconsciousness, and a severity bordering on harshness.”
In private he was very sensitive and his official biographer revealed that George would cry whenever saying goodbye to family members and his voice would crack with emotion during speeches that he felt passionate about. To cover up this softer side of his character, he could at times appear brusque and offhand.
After Queen Victoria’s death in 1901, George and May became
Prince and Princess of Wales and added to their punishing schedule of official engagements. They embarked on a seven-month tour of “British Possessions”, of which a commentator wrote: “This probably did more to cement the Empire and to stimulate enthusiasm for Imperial progress and prosperity than any act of diplomacy could possibly have achieved.”
Despite their success, the Prince missed his children and wrote home to his mother, Queen Alexandra: “Of course, our tour is most interesting, but it is very tiring and there is no place like dear old England for me.”
The death of his elder brother had placed the Prince in direct line of succession to the throne. Thus, when Edward VII died in 1910, George took his father’s place. The couple were crowned King George V and Queen Mary on 22 June, 1911 (May taking the more majestic name of Mary), and at the end of that year they set sail for India for the spectacular Delhi Durbar – a state ceremony watched by 70,000 spectators, during which Indian Princes and the Viceroy paid homage to the King.
A series of benefits for the country were announced, including better education, a more democratic form of government, and Delhi became the capital of India instead of Calcutta. A diamond tiara was made for Queen Mary to wear for the ceremony, which in recent years been worn by the Duchess of Cornwall. The awning beneath which the King and Queen sat during the Durbar now forms the canopy above the thrones in the
ballroom of Buckingham Palace.
In 1913 the King and Queen visited Berlin and were given a welcome that seemed to dispel any threat of war, and the following year they entertained the Kaiser on board the flagship King George the Fifth. But just three days later, on 28 June, 1914, Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated at Sarajevo. Within weeks AustriaHungary declared war on Serbia, and shortly afterwards Germany declared war on Russia. On 4 August, 1914, Britain entered the conflict.
At the end of November the King made the first of many visits to the battle zone in France. In 1915, while inspecting troops on the Western Front, he fractured his pelvis. Frequently his life was put at risk on these visits and worry over the war took its toll on his health.
“Very often I feel in despair,” he wrote to the Queen, “and if it wasn’t for you I should break down.”
During the war, the King gave £100,000 to the Exchequer to help Britain’s costs and tightened the purse strings at Buckingham Palace. He banned alcohol in the royal households, but it was understood that when he left the dinner table saying that he was going to his study “to attend to a small matter of business”, that business was a bottle of port. Meals were frugal and the American Ambassador complained that at a Buckingham Palace dinner he was given one egg, a slice of bread and a glass of lemonade.
On Armistice Day in 1918, the King and Queen appeared on the Palace balcony and shared in the jubilation with the throng. There were tears in the King’s eyes as people sang the National Anthem. From then on it had even greater significance for him.
After the war, the King employed many ex-servicemen, hoping to encourage other employers to follow suit. He unveiled numerous war memorials, including the Cenotaph in Whitehall, initiating the annual Remembrance Day ceremony, and was present as an unknown British soldier was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey to represent all those who had died in war without being identified.
Life settled into a comfortable pattern in peacetime. He loved going to the theatre, nothing too highbrow, and his favourite musical was Rose Marie. He took an interest in all sports, particularly horse racing. In the evenings, if there were no official functions, he enjoyed playing cards with friends or quietly maintaining his vast stamp collection. He had a strong faith and every year gave out Bibles to the schoolchildren at Sandringham, advising them to read a chapter a day.
When in London, the King rode each morning in Rotten Row before starting work. He undertook a full diary of engagements and was particularly concerned with the welfare of the people. When, for example, the King opened a small block of houses for working men and their families, he complained that each house had two fireplaces. Working men, he insisted, had to spend their money wisely and coal was expensive. He suggested that a single fireplace should be installed in an adjoining wall that could heat two rooms at the same time. His idea was followed up and eventually patented. When the King visited Wales and became aware of large-scale unemployment, he donated £750,000 to help colliers of the Rhondda Valley.
In private, the King was happiest at Sandringham. He had a pet parrot called Charlotte, who helped herself to food from the breakfast table, and Bob, a Cairn terrier. He enjoyed working on the estate, but loathed anything being moved in his rooms. He had a photograph taken so that the exact position could be adhered to.
Always smartly dressed, invariably in a frockcoat, and trousers creased at the sides – never at the front – the King expected his sons to follow his example. He insisted that they wore morning coats whenever they visited him, and white tie and tails and the Garter Star at dinner, even if no other guests were present.
He used the same collar studs and hairbrushes for 50 years and was not impressed by changing fashions. He was also horrified if he ever saw a man not wearing a hat outside, although he did not approve of bowler hats, which he thought only suitable for rat catchers!
At the Goodwood races in 1928 he caught a severe chill which led to a
serious congestion of the right lung. His condition worsened into pleurisy and throughout November crowds gathered silently at the gates of Buckingham Palace for news bulletins. With each hour his condition appeared to deteriorate. By midDecember he had an operation to withdraw infected fluid from the lung and it was not until 6 February 1929 that the King was strong enough to travel to Bognor for a period of convalescence at Craigweil House.
Every bedroom had a sea view; the main reception rooms looked down on to the promenade, and sea water was piped into the bathrooms. With the bracing Sussex air his health began to improve. On Easter Monday he made his first public appearance, sitting out of the wind to listen to the Kneller Hall Band. On hearing the National Anthem he said, “I used to hear that good old thing almost every day, but I have not heard it now for five months. It is rather moving to hear it once again.”
In July he returned to London to resume official duties and attended a Thanksgiving Service to celebrate his recovery. The town of Bognor was granted the suffix “Regis” as a sign of the King’s gratitude.
The following year he was well enough to take part in the annual regatta at Cowes and was delighted when his yacht Britannia won. It was his 200th win and all the crew received double prize money. The King now enjoyed even greater public affection and the introduction of a live Christmas
Day broadcast on the wireless in 1932 added to his popularity.
At the beginning of his Silver Jubilee year, the King briefly took up residence at Compton Place in Eastbourne to build up his strength. A plaque marks the beach chalet that they used and another plaque at St Mary’s Church in Eastbourne’s Old Town records the pew where the King and Queen sat.
The highlight of the Jubilee year came on 6 May, 1935, when the Royal Family drove in procession from Buckingham Palace to St Paul’s Cathedral for a Service of Thanksgiving, with thousands lining the route. For a whole week he and the Queen toured London to thank cheering crowds, and appeared several times each night on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. King George was moved by the public displays of affection.
It was a full year of engagements and the King continued to ride on horseback for Trooping the Colour, but cancelled the State Opening of Parliament due to the sudden death of his closest sister. On Christmas Day he broadcast for the last time.
On Friday, 17 January, 1936, nine-year-old Princess Elizabeth was playing at Sandringham when she looked up to see her grandmother, Queen Mary, crossing the lawn towards her. With characteristic calmness the Queen explained that the King was very sick and she took Elizabeth to his bedside.
A public announcement said that
His Majesty was suffering from a cold, but at 11 o’clock that night a bulletin stated that “there have been signs of cardiac weakness which must be regarded with some disquiet.” In the night he was given oxygen and the next day’s bulletin said the King’s condition gave cause for anxiety.
On 20 January, King George held a Privy Council meeting to appoint Counsellors of State to act on his behalf while he was unwell but he was too weak even to sign his name. His condition deteriorated further and people gathered silently outside Sandringham and Buckingham Palace.
All wireless programmes ceased except for updates. At 5.30 pm: “The condition of His Majesty shows diminishing strength.” At 9.24 pm: “The King’s life is moving peacefully towards its close.” Finally, just after midnight: “His Majesty the King passed peacefully away at a few minutes before twelve . . .”
For the people of Britain, a measure of comfort and stability died with him on the accession of Edward VIII, of whom King George V had written to Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, “After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in twelve months.” He had confided in his friend Blanche Lennox, “I pray to God that my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne.” Both his prophecy and his wish were to come true.