British Kings "Bullet Book," George V. 1910 - 1936

BillJones

George V Gold sovereign

• George V was the second son of Edward VII. He had not expected to become king, and like William IV, he joined the Navy. When his older brother, Albert, died in 1892, George became the heir-apparent.

• George’s time in the navy, rubbing elbows with average seaman, gave him an appreciation for the common man. This general attitude would leave a positive mark on his reign. George had a successful navy career. He enjoyed the predictable rhythms of shipboard life.

• George married Mary of Teck, who had been chosen as Albert’s bride. The marriage was a happy one, and unlike many kings, George did not have any affairs.

• George was controlling and overbearing with his children. This would have ramifications when his son, Edward, came of age to assume royal duties.

• The People’s Budget—Called for new property taxes on the wealthy to pay for a safety net for the poor. The House of Commons passed it; the House of Lords vetoed it. In 1911 a bill was passed the forbid the House of Lords to veto any bill that the House of Commons passed. That resulted in supremacy of the House of Commons.

• World War I—The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo, Serbia prompted Austria to use that event as a pretext to annex Serbia. That drew Germany, Russia and France into a war because of their various alliances. When the Germans invaded Belgium, England was drawn into the conflict, and World War I began. Over the next four years 6 million British men would serve in the war and one in eight would not survive. Many of the best of Europe’s best of the next generation would be wiped out.

• Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany was George V’s first cousin. Given the German connection, the official name of the ruling house in England was the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Given that England was at war with Germany, the royal house changed its name to Windsor which had a much more British sounding name to it.

• The Russian Revolution was an off-shoot of World War I. After the king refused to grant exile to the Russian Royal family, who were his cousins, they were executed. The king had significant regrets about that decision.

• In 1918 the right vote was granted to all men over the age of 21 and all women over age 30.

• At the end of the war, many of the crowned heads of Europe had been removed from power. The British monarchy was one of the few that remained intact.

• The Labor Party had been formed in 1900. After the World War, it gained greatly in popularity because of the economic recession of the early 1920s. The party was influenced by the Russian Revolution. Although King George was in favor of much of their agenda, he realized that he would have to work it. Change was inevitable. George was successful in moderating its worst left wing political tendencies in part because of his efforts to emphasize his ordinariness, despite that fact that he was a king. He even took the side of striking workers in 1926 against the urgings of the Conservative Party.

• In 1926 the Imperial Conference resulted in the Belfour Declaration. That agreement an unprecedented amount of self determination to the British possessions. Ultimately the Statue of Westminster converted the British Empire into a commonwealth.

• The world-wide economic depression of 1929 had its impact on Britain. The Labor Party was finally able to form a functioning government that got the country through the crisis.

• During the depression years, George took a cut in his annual allowance. He also revived the medieval custom of handing out “Maundy Money” personally to the poor on Maundy Thursday. In 1932 he started the royal customer of addressing the nation on the radio on Christmas Day.

• George celebrated his silver jubilee in 1935. There was a tremendous outpouring of affection for him from the British people. He had lead his nation through a number of crises and had done so with a tone of modesty and decency.

• George’s heath was beginning to fail, and concern was mounting as to how well the heir-apparent, David, would perform as king. David’s handlers had been appalled by his lack of concern in performing the public relations aspects of his royal duties. Privately George expressed doubts that David would last a year as king. He preferred that his second son, Bertie would become king, and that Bertie’s daughter, Elizabeth would succeed him. It was a remarkable prediction of the events that would occur.

• George V died on January 20, 1936.

SaorAlba

Very well written sir. One thing you have to appreciate about the more recent British monarchs, EVII and EVIII excluded, is that they really adapted well to their time. Lesser monarchs would have seen their dynasties abbreviated like the ones in Italy, Germany, France, etc. It has contributed greatly to the continuity of the British monarchy, so much so that opinion polls scarcely determine any real negative feeling that is long running.

bigmarty58

The First World War took a toll on George's health: he was seriously injured on 28 October 1915 when thrown by his horse at a troop review in France.

291fifth

George V is the first king to appear on coins I actually received in change. Canadian cents with his image were still being seen in US circulation as recently as about 10 years ago (I recall getting two in change at different times at some point after 2000!). Back in the 1960's it was not that unusual to receive them in change in the US.

SaorAlba

@291fifth said:
George V is the first king to appear on coins I actually received in change. Canadian cents with his image were still being seen in US circulation as recently as about 10 years ago (I recall getting two in change at different times at some point after 2000!). Back in the 1960's it was not that unusual to receive them in change in the US.

I'd say about 2-3 times a year I get a GV coin in roll searches, my best is a 1925 cent. Earliest is the 1920. Have also found a 1936 25c coin in a reject slot on a coinstar.

7Jaguars

Driggs

Thank you for this great series of posts. I've greatly enjoyed them.

I would suggest that you finish the series with a summary post with links to each of the individual posts. I started reading the series a little late, and I wanted to read them in order. This wasn't always easy as some had comments that came later (there was probably a way to search but I didn't figure it out). Anyway, I think a summary post would be referred to for years to come.

Thanks again for sharing this series of posts!

Washingtoniana

@7Jaguars said:

nice coin, but you must share your best turkey meatloaf recipe

7Jaguars

LOL...Single non-cooking dad with sole custody gotta give the boy something to eat!

bidask

Bill this has been a great series of posts regards British kings, thanks.

Regards Oliver Cromwell I know he was not a king but her seems larger than life today .

Any thoughts ?

asheland

Great write up as always!
Funny as my single example of a sovereign is also a 1925:

bigmarty58

Just in from across the street MS 63.

asheland

@bigmarty58 said:

Just in from across the street MS 63.

Me likey!

OldEastside

Raw and staying that way cause I like to hold it

Great write up as usual Bill, I never knew he was related to the Kaiser or the Romanov's, Thanks for a great and fun lesson

Steve