Windsor100: Monarch Profile – George V

The House of Windsor this month celebrates the centenary of its founding by King George V of the United Kingdom, as a result of increasing anti-German sentiment among the British people as the First World War continued and continued.

The Royal Forums Blog will be running a few special blog entries over the coming weeks as part of the anniversary (keep an eye out for entries headed ‘Windsor100’), including profiles of each of the four monarchs of the House – the first of which is below, on House founder George V.

Monarch: George V of the United Kingdom
Full Name: George Frederick Ernest Albert
Reign: May 6, 1910 – January 20, 1936
Coronation: June 22, 1911
Date and Place of Birth: June 3, 1865 – Marlborough House, London
Date and Place of Death: January 20, 1936 – Sandringham House, Norfolk
Parents: Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Alexandra of Denmark
Spouse: Mary of Teck
Children: Edward VIII of the United Kingdom; George VI of the United Kingdom; Mary, Princess Royal; Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; Prince George, Duke of Kent; and Prince John of Wales

Five Facts about His Majesty
– An avid stamp collector, he paid a record £1,450 for a single stamp in 1904
– He was the first British monarch to deliver a Christmas broadcast
– He was the only King-Emperor to visit India
– Before he married May in 1893, George had fallen in love with his first cousin, Marie of Edinburgh, but the Princess rejected his marriage proposal
– During the First World War, he visited his troops on the front over 400 times, providing them much-needed morale boosts (during one of these visits, George broke his pelvis when he was thrown from his horse)

“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.”

Filed under Historical Royals, The United Kingdom
Tagged Anniversary, George V of the United Kingdom, House of Windsor.