King George V was born on the 3rd of June 1865 at Marlborough House, George was the second son of the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and was therefore not expected to be crowned King, however, the death of his older brother, Prince Albert Victor, forced him into the spotlight. I thought I would answer some questions on the life of King George as today would have been his birthday.
What was his childhood like?
George’s childhood was in comparison to many children of his generation idyllic, his parents liked having their children around them and encouraged their high jinks which shocked many visitors who believed that children should be seen and not heard. Alexandra who George always referred to as ‘Motherdear’ was devoted to her children and would slide down the stairs on teatrays or have soda syphon fights with them. George also recorded in his diary that his father was his best friend.
Why did George enrol in the navy?
George and his brother Albert Victor ‘Eddy’ were enrolled in the Navy as a last-ditch attempt to educate them, especially Eddy; the boys’ tutor Reverend John Dalton had been selected to teach the brothers by Queen Victoria, however, he did not have the expertise to educate two lively boys and tried to cover up his own failings by blaming George and especially Eddy for their lack of academic success. George’s parents and grandmother decided that the only option left was to enrol the Princes in the navy and George flourished in the spartan environment and enjoyed travelling the world.
If George loved the Navy, why did he retire at an early age?
George’s world was turned upside down, when his older brother, died of Pneumonia in January 1892, as the only surviving son of the Prince of Wales, he was now in the direct line of succession and had to focus on his new Royal duties and responsibilities.
Who did George marry?
Shortly before his death, Eddy had become engaged to his distant cousin Princess Mary of Teck; Mary had been selected as the perfect bride by his matchmaking grandmother, not only because of her royal pedigree but also because the Queen believed she would make an excellent Queen Consort who would support Eddy.
After Eddy died, Queen Victoria didn’t see why her matchmaking should go to waste and encouraged George to propose to Mary. Mary and her family were equally keen for the marriage to go ahead as Mary’s parents had lived beyond their means for many years and needed the financial security that Mary’s exulted position provided.
George and Mary found it hard to adjust to married life as both were naturally shy and Mary found it hard living in her mother-in-law’s shadow but over time love blossomed although they relied on expressing their love through letters.
How many children did he have?
George and his wife Mary had a total of six children: King Edward VIII, King George VI, Princess Mary Princess Royal, Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester, Prince George Duke of Kent, and Prince John. Unlike many Victorian/Edwardian fathers, King George V was actually disappointed that he had more sons than daughters.
What was George like as a father?
George is often regarded as a cold and cruel father who bullied his children into submission but I am not sure that this is strictly true; George was very good with babies and infants but as they grew up he didn’t always know how to interact with them. George had a tendency to treat his children like sailors on his ship and would occasionally ridicule them but he also worried about their welfare and would lecture their tutors if he believed they had put one of his children in danger such as the time when a tutor let one of his sons whose health was delicate go outside when it was very cold. It appears that George believed that his own laidback childhood led to some unwanted traits in his older brother and he wanted to prevent this from happening to his children.
What were George’s hobbies?
George had three main hobbies, sailing, philately and shooting. George had inherited his love of stamp collecting from his uncle Prince Alfred, Grand Duke of Sale-Coburg-and-Gotha, who mentored him and George inherited his stamp collection when he died in 1900. Like his father, George loved shooting and was during his lifetime one of the best shots in the country; George participated in a big game hunt in 1911 and killed over twenty tigers and at least two rhinos. While George was not a big fan of reading, he did keep a log of all the books he read, including, Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
When did George become King?
George’s father died on the 6th of May 1910 at Buckingham Palace. George inherited the throne in the middle of a political crisis as the House of Commons was desperately trying to limit the powers of the House of Lords who were refusing to pass the Parliament Act. George and his advisors wanted to prevent a constitutional crisis from happening early on in his reign and organised a conference which they hoped would bring peace but this didn’t happen and the Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith was forced to hold a General Election. George reluctantly promised that unless the crisis was resolved, he would create enough new peers for the bill to be passed through Parliament. Thankfully the crisis was resolved when the Lords reluctantly passed the bill after the second general election.
What was George’sn relationship with Tsar Nicholas II like?
George and his cousin Nicholas were actually incredibly close and looked almost like identical twins; George was actually mistaken for Nicholas at a function prior to his wedding to Mary, when he was asked if he would be attending his wedding to Mary to which he replied he supposed he would attend his own wedding! On the other hand, Nicholas hated being compared to George though. As children, they spent idyllic summers together at their grandparents’ palaces in Denmark which were essentially endless days of amusements; the children would make up performances and make their parents ‘buy’ tickets or explore the surrounding area as a part of their bicycling club, Nicholas’s father was made president of the club as a joke because his huge stature meant he was unable to ride a bicycle.
Why did George not save the Romanovs?
Many people blame King George V for leaving the Romanovs to die at the hands of the Bolsheviks but I honestly don’t believe that this is a fair representation, it is clear that George loved both of his cousins and their children dearly, however, George was a constitutional monarch and this meant that he had to respect his subject’s wishes and unfortunately the majority of the United Kingdom distrusted the Romanovs and did not want them living in Britain.
Firstly, Nicholas was an autocratic monarch who ruled Russia with an iron fist, like his father Nicholas was extremely antisemitic and many Jews and revolutionaries fled Russia and started a new life in Britain, where they wrote candidly about their experiences under the Russian regime this meant the Tsar became highly unpopular with the British people who genuinely feared that Nicholas may corrupt King George V.
Secondly, the Tsarina was equally unpopular due to her German heritage; the newspapers were full of mindboggling stories that accused her of being a German spy who had been secretly communicating with enemy submarines. Her reputation had also been tarnished due to her mysterious relationship with Rasputin, Nicholas and Alexandra decided to keep their son’s illness a secret but this meant that people came to the wrong conclusion about Rasputin’s role and many believed that Alexandra was having an affair with Rasputin and that they were left in charge of ruling Russian while the Tsar was at the front line. Many were already suspicions of the British Royal Family due to their German Ancestry and George knew offering Alexandra asylum would have been incredibly unpopular.
It is important to remember that George had received the Bolshevik’s assurance that the Romanovs would remain safe until he could organise asylum for them in a neutral country such as Switzerland. Unlike George, we have the privilege of hindsight and I believe that should he have known what would happen in that cellar he would have saved them. George also needed to protect his own family and both George and Mary had worked hard during the First World War to keep the House of Windsor from toppling like many other Royal Dynasties and all of this work would have been for nothing if he went against his country’s wishes.
I also wish to point out that Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany helped Vladimir Lenin return to Russia by providing him with a train, without the assistance that Wilhelm provided Lenin with, there is a possibility that the Romanovs may have survived. Wilhlem was also in the perfect position to offer Nicholas and Alexandra asylum due to Alexandra’s nationality yet he chose not to do so.
I really hope that this answers some of your questions on King George V, if you have anymore questions on George or the Royal Family then please send me a message.
Lauren
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