King George V (1865-1936)


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what has that got to do with his attending David's wedding in 1937?
 
Yes, the Duke was alive in 1937 and there were rumours that he too was rather torn about David. (You wouldn't have thought that Marina, who could be very snobbish and snooty, would have gone to see the Windsors too willingly.) I think George visited his brother privately too after the Abdication, but didn't turn up for the wedding. So family unity was maintained for public consumption.

Perhaps the loving memories Mary and George had of their older brother just clashed with the shock they both felt about his actions as King Emperor. After all, as far as George was concerned David had helped him conquer his drug addiction, and earlier David had been angry with his parents for (in his eyes) forcing the Harewood marriage on his sister. He seems to have felt that it wasn't a love match, though Mary was apparently a cheerful enough bride.
 
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I really don't know where to put this question so I will put it here since I just finished a book on King George V. I recently began reading books on members of the British Royal Family. Here are the ones I have read:

Diana, Her True Story--Andrew Morton
The Housekeeper's Diary -- Wendy Berry
Diana, In Search of Herself --Sally Bedell Smith
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother(official bio) -- Shawcross
The Untold Story of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother - Lady Colin Campbell (kind of ashamed to say I read that book on the Queen Mother)
Queen Mary (official bio) -- Henessey
Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor - Edwards
King Edward VIII (official bio) -- Ziegler
King George V - Kenneth Rose

I am about to read "The Reluctant King" about King George VI written by Sarah Bradford. I don't have any books waiting for me after I finish this one. I like to have at least one book waiting for me to read so can anyone recommend some more books on the British Royal family. I was thinking about reading the new biography on Prince Charles by Sally Bedell Smith, but it is not cheap enough yet. I like to get my books from thriftbooks.com. I had thought about reading one on Queen Elizabeth II, but there are so many. What I am really interested in, though, are those members of the family who have already passed on. The Queen's and Prince Charles's bios are still being written so to speak. Could someone please recommend some books? Thanks.
 
Not to go too far off topic but as all these folks are related to George V, here's a few I have. I've read the first one and plan on reading the second one this month.

Philip and Elizabeth: Portrait of a Royal Marriage by Gyles Brandreth
Victoria's Daughters by Jerrold Packard

Enjoy!
 
:previous:

You might find Princes at War by Deborah Cadbury interesting as it covers the reaction/responses of George V's sons in the lead up to and during WWII.

I'm currently reading Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bedell Smith and so far, so good!
 
How far back would you like to go? If you want to tackle Victoria and Albert you could do worse than to start with Elizabeth Longford's biography on Queen Victoria. It was written years ago but I'm sure there are copies in secondhand bookstores.

I'd really recommend you read the bio of Queen Alexandra by Georgina Battiscombe if you can get hold of a copy. It was written quite a while ago but I'm sure it's still around in public libraries etc. It's an interesting read, I think. Not that much is known about the private Alexandra (or the public one for that matter) and this lifts the lid a little.

There's an entertaining but well researched book on Edward VII by Stanley Weintraub called 'Edward the Caresser:The Playboy Prince'. It isn't all about Bertie's love life in spite of the title, and it's crammed full of incidents of his life I'd never known before. Alexandra comes into that too, of course.
 
I really enjoyed That Woman by Anne Sebba, about Wallis Simpson.

There's also King Kaiser Tsar by Catherine Clay about George V, Wilhelm II, and Nicholas II.

If you want to go back further, A Royal Affair by Stella Tillyard is about the siblings of George III.
 
Thanks Osipi, cepe, Curryong, and Ish. I will definitely check those out.
 
Curryong said:
How far back would you like to go? If you want to tackle Victoria and Albert you could do worse than to start with Elizabeth Longford's biography on Queen Victoria. It was written years ago but I'm sure there are copies in secondhand bookstores.

.
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Curryong, I found a biography on thriftbooks by Longford on Queen Victoria, but one reviewer refers to there being a shorter and a longer version of the book. Do you know anything about that? I would definitely want to read the longer version. The reviewer said there were more details on characters.
 
A SPIRIT UNDAUNTED, by Robert Rhodes James, is an excellent history of George VI's role during WWII. Bradford's book, the one you're just starting, is a very good one as well. George VI is perhaps my favourite of the 20th century British monarchs, although I have a lot of respect for George V as well. :flowers:


duchessrachel said:
I am about to read "The Reluctant King" about King George VI written by Sarah Bradford. I don't have any books waiting for me after I finish this one. I like to have at least one book waiting for me to read so can anyone recommend some more books on the British Royal family.
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duchessrachel said:
Curryong, I found a biography on thriftbooks by Longford on Queen Victoria, but one reviewer refers to there being a shorter and a longer version of the book. Do you know anything about that? I would definitely want to read the longer version. The reviewer said there were more details on characters.
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My book is so ancient it belongs in the ark! I bought it when it was first published. It is a thick book. Maybe Amazon or Abe or one of those sellers would have details about a later, shorter version. Then at least you'd know.
 
I've read that the nannies more than just pinched David and Albert. They also deprived them of food and abused them physically, especially Albert. That's what led to Albert's stuttering, his shyness, and his health problems. And that's what led to David's neediness for a mother figure, and his self-centered behavior.

When the abuse by the nannies was discovered, they were let go, but obviously the damage was already done physically, psychologically and emotionally.

Speaking of good books on the royals, Victoria's Daughters, by Jerrold M. Packard is a good one. Also, Princes at War: The Bitter Battle Inside Britain's Royal Family in the Darkest Days of WW II, by Deborah Cadbury.

Oh, I see these two were already mentioned. They are both excellent and provide previously little known information.
 
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Mermaid1962 said:
A SPIRIT UNDAUNTED, by Robert Rhodes James, is an excellent history of George VI's role during WWII. Bradford's book, the one you're just starting, is a very good one as well. George VI is perhaps my favourite of the 20th century British monarchs, although I have a lot of respect for George V as well. :flowers:
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Thank you so much!!
 
Curryong said:
My book is so ancient it belongs in the ark! I bought it when it was first published. It is a thick book. Maybe Amazon or Abe or one of those sellers would have details about a later, shorter version. Then at least you'd know.
Click to expand...

I found it. Thanks.
 
MaiaMia_53 said:
I've read that the nannies more than just pinched David and Albert. They also deprived them of food and abused them physically, especially Albert. That's what led to Albert's stuttering, his shyness, and his health problems. And that's what led to David's neediness for a mother figure, and his self-centered behavior.

When the abuse by the nannies was discovered, they were let go, but obviously the damage was already done physically, psychologically and emotionally.

Speaking of good books on the royals, Victoria's Daughters, by Jerrold M. Packard is a good one. Also, Princes at War: The Bitter Battle Inside Britain's Royal Family in the Darkest Days of WW II, by Deborah Cadbury.

Oh, I see these two were already mentioned. They are both excellent and provide previously little known information.
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Thank you. I am going to read those two books. Books that focus on relationships between the members of the BRF particularly fascinate me.
 
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I already mentioned that I finished Kenneth Rose's book on King George V, but I have a question. In the book it mentions that Queen Mary kept her hairstyle and clothing style the same to please King George. I just started reading "The Reluctant King" about King George VI and it says early on that Queen Mary's personality was suppressed by King George V. It also said that King George could be rude to her and that she left the dinner table one time because of it. I know that Queen Mary virtually deified whoever the Sovereign was and that was a large part of the reason she was super submissive, but I would love a few more details about their relationship. Is there a book that covers this in much more detail or does anyone know any details?

P.S. I wish there was a chat room on this forum so that we could get together and chat about these books--kind of like a book club. Wouldn't that be fabulous?
 
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It would indeed!

I don't know of any book that goes into George and Mary's marriage specifically in huge detail. I guess the only way to get a rounded impression of it all is through the biographies on them both and on their children.

There is a rare book called 'The People's Princess', the life of the Duchess of Teck, Mary's mother, that I have always meant to buy and keep forgetting to:lol: That would have some great details on the Teck family life, I would think.

George adored May but he could be brusque and snappy with her on occasions, especially with regard to her interest in cultural activities and collecting objects de art. In this he was encouraged by his rather bitter sister Victoria, to whom he was very close. All May's sisters in law were inclined to make fun of her interests, which they certainly didn't share. For instance Victoria made snide remarks to her brother when they were all on a cruise around the Greek islands about supposing that May was going to look at 'mouldy ruins' again.
 
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duchessrachel said:
I already mentioned that I finished Kenneth Rose's book on King George V, but I have a question. In the book it mentions that Queen Mary kept her hairstyle and clothing style the same to please King George. I just started reading "The Reluctant King" about King George VI and it says early on that Queen Mary's personality was suppressed by King George V. It also said that King George could be rude to her and that she left the dinner table one time because of it. I know that Queen Mary virtually deified whoever the Sovereign was and that was a large part of the reason she was super submissive, but I would love a few more details about their relationship. Is there a book that covers this in much more detail or does anyone know any details?

P.S. I wish there was a chat room on this forum so that we could get together and chat about these books--kind of like a book club. Wouldn't that be fabulous?
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A chat room would, indeed, be good, Duchessrachel. QM famously only raised her hems on one occasion and was censured for it by King George, (who took exactly the same line with David's trouser creases -and all other hints of change) it may have been that he had fond memories of Mary (May) as a young woman? Her trademark frizzy fringes were courtesy of my friend's mother, who not only wove the items, but went to fit them. This causes me to wonder if the folically challenged Windsor men may have been thus cursed by (great)grandmothers from both sides of their family?
 
King George V received a visit from his cousin, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany.
 
Mbruno said:
Was the photo taken at the funeral of King Edward VII ?


The younger boy is Prince John, but who is the older one ?
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Yes it was taken at the funeral of King Edward VII. Because there were many European monarchs present.
 
Blog Real said:
Yes it was taken at the funeral of King Edward VII. Because there were many European monarchs present.
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It is sad to think that King Manuel II would be overthrown five months later, putting an end to one of the oldest kingdoms in Europe.
 
King George V opened a new bridge at Newcastle-on-Tyne.
 
Mbruno said:
It is sad to think that King Manuel II would be overthrown five months later, putting an end to one of the oldest kingdoms in Europe.
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It is true. It was a sadness. :sad:
 
Mbruno said:
Was the photo taken at the funeral of King Edward VII ?


The younger boy is Prince John, but who is the older one ?
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Brock Everitt-Elwick, who is an actor playing P.George in "The lost prince" (the younger boy is Daniel Williams who indeed played P.John)
 
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