George V
George V (1865-1936) was king 1910-36 of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, emperor of India. He was the British monarch who, with Queen Mary, established the modern pattern of conduct for British royalty, based on middle-class values and virtues.
Life
He was born at Marlborough House, London, on June 3, 1865, the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, later [[Edward VII and Queen Alexandra; he was christened George Frederick Ernest Albert. He was not well educated. He entered the navy and always appreciated its tough training, rising to the rank of commander by 1891 with command of a gunboat; his active naval career ended after a brief command of a cruiser with rank of captain In 1892, on the premature death of his dissolute elder brother Albert (1864-92), he became second in line to the throne after his father. Queen Victoria made him Duke of York and (July 1893) he married Princess Mary of Teck (1867–1953), who had been betrothed to his late brother. They had six children; the first son became King Edward VIII (1894–1972) and the second became King George VI (1895–1952). Home life was placid; George was a superb marksman and prominent stamp collector. After many difficult father-son relations in the history of the monarchy, Britain was delighted to see a close friendly relationship.
When his father became king in 1901 he inherited the dukedom of Cornwall and was created Prince of Wales. His main role was to visit the far-flung British empire. In the first great tour in imperial history, he and his wife went to Aden, Ceylon, and Singapore; opened the first Australian parliament in Melbourne on May 9, 1901, and visited Brisbane, Sydney, and New Zealand. They went to Mauritius and South Africa, where the duke presented medals (the South African War was still being fought), than crossed Canada east to west and back again on the Canadian Pacific Railway, finally returning to London after showing the flag and assuring the locals that London cared for them. On reporting his trip he called out to insular Britons, "Wake up, England!", a slogan that became a hallmark of George's concern for the Empire and his bluff, commonsensical manner. He lacked the intellectual sharpness of his two predecessors as well as their cosmopolitan outlook and European experience. However, he did understand the Empire better than any prime minister and used his exceptional memory for figures and details, whether of uniforms, politics, or relations, to good effect in small talk with his subjects.
King
When his father died on May 6, 1910 George became King George V; his coronation in Westminster Abbey was June 22, 1911. Shortly afterward he and Queen Mary journeyed to India, where a spectacular coronation ceremony ("durbar") was held at Delhi, which the king–emperor declared the new capital of India.
Political crises
At home the new king faced two crises, the first of which concerned the Liberal Party's demand to curb the House of Lords, whcih was blocking its legislation. At the request of prime minister Herbert Asquith, the king reluctantly agreed to create enough new peers to enable the Parliament Bill to be passed if this should be necessary; the threat proved sufficient and the lords accepted the bill. The second crisis concerned the proposal for Irish Home Rule. The army was on the verge of mutiny as top officers rejected the idea of coercing their fellow Protestants in Ulster. In 1914 the king summoned a conference of all parties; a settlement was postponed when the world war broke out, and the Anglo-Irish Treaty finally came in 1921, after an uprising in southern Ireland.
First World War
With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the king resigned all German titles for himself and his family and changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. He adapted his royal functions to the rigors of war and visited the western front regularly. An accident in France permanently affected his previously good health.
1920s
Economic and political crises in Britain led to many changes of government between 1923 and 1929. In 1924, in the absence of a clear majority for any one of the three parties, the king replaced Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin with Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Party prime minister. King George's tactful and understanding reception of the first Labour government (which was short-lived) allayed the suspicions of the party's sympathizers throughout the nation.
Throughout the Coal Strike and the General Strike of 1926, the king used every means in his power on the side of conciliation, to the conventional limits of a constitutional sovereign's function, which is "to advise, to encourage and to warn." He made another intervention during the economic crisis of 1931, when he carried on protracted negotiations with the party leaders and invited MacDonald to head a National (coalition) government.
King George's influence was always used on the side of moderation. The example he set, his sense of duty, his loyalty to those who served him, and his impartiality did much to inspire his ministers of all parties and to discourage party strategems. He was by temperament a cautious conservative who dimly understeed the revolutionary changes in the postwar world. But he had few vices and was earnestly devoted to his nation and Empire.
He was seriously ill in 1928 and 1929 and was virtually an invalid thereafter, but he carried out his duties to the end. Radio was new and the king broadcast his Christmas radio messages to the Empire; by their simplicity and friendliness, they had a wide appeal. In May 1935 he celebrated his silver jubilee amidst great expression of popular affection. He died on January 20, 1936.