King George V

Embed from Getty Images

Today marks the 85th Anniversary of the Death of King George V, who died on this day in 1935! The second child and second daughter of the then Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, he was the brother of the Duke of Clarence, Queen Maud of Norway, Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, and Princess Victoria and grew up between Marlborough House in London and Sandringham in Norfolk, as well as frequent holidays with the extended Danish Royal Family in Denmark. From 1877 to 1892, Prince George served in the Royal Navy, until the death of his brother put him directly in line for the throne. In 1893, he married Princess May of Teck, his brother’s former fiancee,  and the couple had six children: the Duke of Windsor, King George VI, Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, the Duke of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, and Prince John. After an increasing round of Tours and Duties as Prince of Wales, in 1910, he succeeded his father as King George V, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, becoming the only British Monarch to be crowned Emperor in India. The King’s Reign saw the rise of communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, the Indian independence movement, Dominion Nations, and the first Labour Government as well as the catastrophic First World War, which saw the fall of many European Monarchies, but the rebranded House of Windsor emerged more popular, with the British Empire expanded to its greatest effective extent. After a popular Silver Jubilee Celebration in 1935, the King, who had smoking-related health problems for many years, passed away in January 1936, succeeded by King Edward VIII and then King George VI in the ‘Year of the Three Kings’.

20

Leave a Reply