King George V. of Great Britain
(03.06.1865 - 20.01.1936)
place of birth: Marlborough House, London
His Majesty the King, hon. Generalfeldmarschall
George Frederick Ernest Albert, King
George V, was born 3 June 1865 as the second son of Edward VII and
Alexandra of Denmark. He was the first British monarch belonging to the
House of Windsor which he created from the British branch of the German
House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In addition to being King of the United
Kingdom and other Commonwealth Realms, George V was also Emperor of
India and the first King of the Irish Free State. He reigned from 6 May
1910 until his death in 20 January 1936.
educated at home by the Rev. J. N. Dalton,
George became a
naval cadet at Dartmouth. By 1889 he was commander of a torpedo boat.
However, in January 1892, his naval career came to an end when his older
brother, Prince Edward, died of pneumonia. Edward had been engaged to
marry his German cousin, Princes Mary of Teck. It was now decided she
should marry George instead. George was now heir to the throne and it
was decided that he could no longer risk his life as a naval commander.
He was granted the title, the Duke of York and became a member of the
House of Lords. George was also given a political education that
included an in-depth study of the British Constitution. However, unlike
his father, he did not learn to speak any foreign languages. As Duke of
York he married Princess Mary in 1893. Mary had six children: Edward
VIII (1894- 1972), George VI (1895-1952), Mary (1897-1965), Henry, Duke
of Gloucester (1900-1974), George Duke of Kent (1902-1942) and Prince
outbreak of World War One
created problems for the royal family because of its German background.
Owing to strong anti-German feeling in Britain, it was decided to change
the name of the royal family from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. To
stress his support for the British, the king made several visits to the
Western Front. On one visit to France in 1915 he fell off his horse and
broke his pelvis. In 1917 George V took the controversial decision to
deny political asylum to Tsar Nicholas II and his family after the
Bolshevik Revolution. People where shocked by George's unwillingness to
protect his cousin but his advisers argued that it was important for the
king to distance himself from the autocratic Russian royal family. Some
people questioned this decision when it became known that the Bolsheviks
had executed Tsar Nicholas, his wife and their five children. George V
died of influenza on 20 January 1936. His eldest son Edward succeeded
him as King.
of Britain ..................