King George V (1865-1936)

[CyrilVladisla]

In The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Royal Britain, the following is stated:

George V faced the formation of the first Labour government in 1924, the General Strike of 1926 and the economic crisis of 1930-31. Throughout all these difficulties he was a force for common sense and decency, urging moderation and national unity.
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In Kings and Queens of Great Britain, David Soud wrote:

George V took pains to emphasize his ordinariness, and positioned himself as a king who empathized with the lives and concerns of the working class.
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In Kings & Queens of Great Britain, David Soud wrote:

One of his first acts as king was to follow through on his father's wish to have the Accession Declaration, which George would have to recite at his coronation, changed to eliminate its antiquated anti-Catholic rhetoric. The Prime Minister, Henry Asquith, agreed, and the Declaration was abbreviated by more than half its length.
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In Kings & Queens of Great Britain, David Soud wrote:

In many ways, George V set the standard for the House of Windsor. His unpretentious devotion to the monarchy as a vocation, his combination of gentility and ordinariness and his sense of the symbolic and mediating role played by the king all shaped the reigns of subsequent Windsor monarchs.


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[An Ard Ri]

Revealed: how King George V demanded Britain enter the First World War


Revealed: how King George V demanded Britain enter the First World War - Telegraph

 

[CyrilVladisla]

I like the fact that "George V was a king who privately offered strong views to his ministers and that those views were taken seriously".
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[Curryong]

I think King George's wireless (radio) broadcasts every Christmas from 1924 to 1935 showed that. He also attended rugby, cricket and tennis matches, as well as presenting the trophy at the football cup final at Wembley. Soccer was very much a working man's game in those days. Also, in the Depression, he gave up £50,000 from the Civil List voluntarily.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Silver Jubilee of King George V

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cN8aR41S1o

 

[Queen Claude]

Can anyone explain why George V hated everything German even though he had German heritage and family who was German and the other thing is that, why didn't he help cousin Nicky ( nicholas II ) and his family when they asked for his help while they were imprisoned and a few weeks later murdered. He could have saved the Romanov massacre.

I don't know if I would say that George V "hated everything German" but his mother, Princess/Queen Alexandra, was Danish and there were conflicts between Denmark and Germany/Prussia during the second half of the 19th century and Alexandra sided with her birth country. Furthermore there was an intense dislike and distrust of George V's cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm.

Others have addressed the Tsar Nicholas question but I would like to know if it was documented how George and Alexandra reacted when the tsar and his family were assassinated.

 

[Curryong]

Yes, Alexandra and her sister Dagmar (empress Marie of Russia) loathed Germany and Germans after the Prussians invaded Denmark over Schleswig and Holstein shortly after Alexandra married Bertie, Prince of Wales. At the time it caused a bit of trouble in Queen Victoria's family as his sister Vicky was married to the Prussian Crown Prince and Bertie took his wife's part. Victoria was quite pro-German herself but banned discussion of the war by the family in her homes.

I'm sure Alexandra and Dagmar both had an influence on their husbands and growing children, and Kaiser Wilhelm II didn't help things by his bombastic behaviour in public and private. I don't think many of his extended family liked him. Ironically, Queen Mary was one of the few who tolerated him.

I don't know what George's reaction was when he learned the truth about Nicky and his family. He loved Nicholas and got on exceptionally well with him, but matters were complicated.

Of course the whole truth about what had happened at Ekaterinburg didn't come out immediately. It seeped out gradually. For a time it was believed that the Tsarina and her daughters were alive and held elsewhere. The whole story wasn't pieced together until the very early 1920's. I'm sure George and Mary were devastated.

I know that Alexandra, knowing that her sister Dagmar was extremely stubborn and probably didn't want to leave Russia, sent a hurried note to her, via the captain of HMS Marlborough, begging her to do so before it was too late. The Dowager Empress was trapped in the Crimea and HMS Marlborough was sent to get her out.

She did leave with her daughter and family but insisted on her servants and Cossacks going too. The ship was jam-packed. To the end of her life Marie refused to concede that Nicky and family were dead, though in her heart she must have known the truth.

 

[Dman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cN8aR41S1o

Nice rare video. It's rare to see Queen Mary performing her Royal wave to the crowds. She hardly ever waved, bobbed her head up and down.

 

[eya]

80 years on: My front row seat for George V's funeral - Telegraph

King George V's sword set to fetch £8k at auction | Royal | News | Express.co.uk

Tartan suit tailored for George V sells for £25,000 | Daily Mail Online

"Tartan suit that was tailored for George V before he handed it down to his son Edward VIII sells for 25,000 pound at auction"

 

[Queen Claude]

January 20th was the 80th anniversary of the death of George V. 1936 was the Year of the Three Kings.


On This Day in History - The Death of George V - Daily Two Cents

https://factuallyroyal.com/how-the-death-of-king-george-v-was-sped-up/

 

[LadyAlice]

Someone said on another thread that George and his brother shared women but I thought George was more straight laced like his grandfather and it was his father and uncle that used to do that

 

[Curryong]

That was when George was a very young man, when his brother was alive and he himself was in the Navy. Long before he was married. And only one young woman was mentioned.

 

[LadyAlice]

Ok thank you for clearing that up. Did the father and uncle do the same do you know?

 

[Denville]

That was when George was a very young man, when his brother was alive and he himself was in the Navy. Long before he was married. And only one young woman was mentioned.

They probably had access to some young women who were available, and the two girls shared premises..

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Is it correct to remark that King George V stood for traditional ways and values?

 

[Dman]

Is it correct to remark that King George V stood for traditional ways and values?

Yes, although some of his traditional were very stiff, strict and stifling. He didn't create a good family life for his kids.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Dman, would you say that George V was traditional like Queen Victoria? Or was he more traditional like his father, Edward VII?

 

[Curryong]

Yes, George V was a deeply conservative man. In some ways though he went the extra mile to show that he was a constitutional monarch for all the people of Britain.

His wearing of a red tie, (red for socialism) for instance, at the kissing of hands of the Prime Minister of the first Labour Government in British history, his getting on personally very well with many of the Ministers in that Labour Government, especially Jimmy Thomas, the ex Union leader, with whom he shared dirty jokes.

There was King George's remark to the prominent mine owner, the Earl of Derby, at the time of the 1926 National Strike, "YOU try living on a fiver (five pounds) a week!" He loved football (soccer) at a time when it was considered a very working class sport, and was there at Wembley often to present the FA Cup.

So, George may have been conservative and traditional in his personal views, but he certainly wasn't elitist.

 

[Mbruno]

Yes, George V was a deeply conservative man. In some ways though he went the extra mile to show that he was a constitutional monarch for all the people of Britain.

His wearing of a red tie, (red for socialism) for instance, at the kissing of rings of the Prime Minister of the first Labour Government in British history, his getting on personally very well with many of the Ministers in that Labour Government, especially Jimmy Thomas, the ex Union leader, with whom he shared dirty jokes.

There was King George's remark to the prominent mine owner, the Earl of Derby, at the time of the 1926 National Strike, "YOU try living on a fiver (five pounds) a week!" He loved football (soccer) at a time when it was considered a very working class sport, and was there at Wembley often to present the FA Cup.

So, George may have been conservative and traditional in his personal views, but he certainly wasn't elitist.

I would call George V's getting along with Labour ministers "survival instinct". Basically, he knew that antagonizing Labour policy would mean Labour adopting a republican platform as was indeed the case many decades later in Australia when Sir John Kerr, representing the Queen, dismissed the Labour government .

 

[Curryong]

I wouldn't say that there was a very strong republican sentiment in England between the Wars, Mbruno, unlike Australia in the 1970's. British working class people then, who made up the greatest proportion of those who voted for the Labour Party, (I'm not talking about prominent early Labourites like Keir Hardy or George Bernard Shaw) were loyal to the Crown for the most part.

George seems to have made an effort because he wanted to be seen to be fair and equal to both political parties. He got on well with Ramsay MacDonald, the Labour Prime Minister, even after the later Labour split.

Some of his relatives were apparently shocked that Labour had been elected to power and were anxious about Russian Bolshevikism getting into national life. However, the British Labour Party at that time was very different to its continental counterparts.

 

[Queen Claude]

Quite a few monarchies toppled in the early 20th century and IMO George V seemed quite obsessed over preserving the British monarchy and it influenced his actions from rescinding the offer of asylum to the Russian Imperial Family, to embracing the Labour Party (as long as they were dressed appropriately), to undertaking events that brought him and Queen Mary closer to "his people," and using new technology like "the wireless" to send out a Christmas message to the empire.

 

[Curryong]

I think King George was a man who believed in discipline and in doing his duty, if that's what you mean, Cyril. He was no intellectual but he had great common sense, and knew after the First World War that monarchies that didn't serve their people would probably not long survive.

On the other hand, as second in line to the throne in his grandmother's reign George spent a great deal of time at Sandringham and other estates shooting things and looking over his stamp collection. Of course he performed the occasional Royal engagement but I don't know that he was that wedded to public service as a young man.

 

[Denville]

I

George seems to have made an effort because he wanted to be seen to be fair and equal to both political parties. He got on well with Ramsay MacDonald, the Labour Prime Minister, even after the later Labour split.

So

No I dont believe it was "survival" either, Curry.. He was a decent fair minded man, albeit uneducated and not veryr clever..and while he was basically conservative, he was fair to the working classes, sympathising wit the Miners over teh General Strike, and he got on well with many of his Labour Ministers.

 

[Dman]

I think what's important is his relationship with his family. Was he a good husband to his wife? What kind of father was he?

The stories can be interesting.

 

[Denville]

I think what's important is his relationship with his family. Was he a good husband to his wife? What kind of father was he?

The stories can be interesting.

Im not sure why that's important per se. Lots of people are husbands and fathers.. not many are kings. He was a king which is just as important how he did his job. But it is pretty well known that he was a good husband but a somewhat domineering and bullying father

 

[Countessmeout]

It's a bit odd, but where his father was said to be quite affectionate, George v anf Mary were both said to be distant at best. It always seems younger generations try to do better. Maybe he thought his dad too soft

Edward viii went as far as saying his father was cruel. And George was known for making fun of the duke of York stammering. Some historians say though he was only severe and critical as the boys got older, that he was more involved with his kids then most in those days,

 

[Mermaid1962]

Yes, agreed. I think that he was a very good king and had a loving relationship with Queen Mary. However, he treated his children like they were the crew on his ship. My grandfather shook his hand during one of HM's visits to France during WW1. There's a story of George VI taking off his own watch and giving it to a soldier who had lost his own when his arm was blown off.

 

[Queen Claude]

George was a good husband in that he blatant philanderer like his father, and in fact was not a philanderer at all. He also consulted his wife on key matters and she was considered one of his top advisors. However he could be verbally cruel and she was one of his targets.

George was not a good father, especially when his children were young, but I feel like he was more incompetent than uncaring. I think that he thought the way he was parenting his children was the right way but he wasn't. I guess it is a mystery as to why both George and Mary decided to parent their children differently than they were parented when it seems like both were on good terms with their parents.

I think I read that George got along with his children better when they were adults than when they were children but I am not so sure how true that is. I think it applied to Bertie/George VI but definitely did not apply to David/Edward VIII.

 

[Osipi]

I will be the first to admit that my opinion here is not based on years of study or reputable sources as the only real insight into this is based on a movie that has made the rounds over the years on my TV stations.

I'm referring to George V and Mary and their parenting skills of Prince John. Its my understanding that because John had epileptic seizures, he was somewhat of an embarrassment to the family and eventually was sent off to live at Wood Farm with his own staff. I know its a different age and a different time but I cannot imagine parents actively separating themselves from their child in this matter. Perhaps that's how things were done then? It was far more acceptable to put a "defective" child into an institution then than it would be now but still, I do think it reflects their attitude towards their children.

Just a thought.

 

[Spheno]

I will be the first to admit that my opinion here is not based on years of study or reputable sources as the only real insight into this is based on a movie that has made the rounds over the years on my TV stations.

I'm referring to George V and Mary and their parenting skills of Prince John. Its my understanding that because John had epileptic seizures, he was somewhat of an embarrassment to the family and eventually was sent off to live at Wood Farm with his own staff. I know its a different age and a different time but I cannot imagine parents actively separating themselves from their child in this matter. Perhaps that's how things were done then? It was far more acceptable to put a "defective" child into an institution then than it would be now but still, I do think it reflects their attitude towards their children.

Just a thought.

watch on youtube grand mal seizures and answer the question "do I want to show this for my young children every day?"
don't forget that they didn't have medicines to stop it