GEORGE V 



GEORGE 



3481 



V: KING AND EMPEROR 



David Williamson, Author of Our King and Queen 



This biography, like those of the other kings of Great Britain, is 

 concerned mainly with the personal life of the King, leaving to other 

 articles the political history of the reign. See therefore United 

 Kingdom ; and the articles on the politicians and other prominent 

 personages of the time 



King George V was born at Marl- 

 borough House, June 3, 1865. He 

 was the second son of the prince 

 of Wales, afterwards King Edward 

 VII, and his wife Alexandra. He 

 was christened with the names 

 George Frederick Ernest Albert, 

 and, with his elder brother Albert, 

 received a thorough education 

 under tutors, of whom the chief 

 was Canon J. N. Dalton. Charles 

 Kingsley interested him in natural 

 history during visits to Sandring- 

 ham, and some months in Switzer- 

 land enabled him to acquire a 

 good knowledge of conversational 

 French. 



Prince George entered the navy 

 on June 5, 1877, joining the Britan* 

 nia at Dartmouth with his brother. 

 They voyaged in the Bacchante to 

 the W. Indies, and in 1880 went on 

 a cruise round the world. Portions 

 of their diaries of their travels 

 were published in a volume edited 

 by Canon Dalton. Prince George 

 visited Canada, and saw Niagara 

 and other notable spots ; and 

 studied at Lausanne. He then 

 passed his examination for sub- 

 lieutenant, obtaining a first-class 

 in seamanship. In later years he 

 received this eulogy from Admiral 

 Hay, who said : " He is an accom- 

 plished naval officer, no carpet 

 seaman, but one who has served 

 like the rest of us." After a further 

 course of training at the R.N. 

 College, Greenwich, he qualified for 

 the Command of the gunboat 

 Thrush, in which he visited the W. 

 Indies again, where he opened an 

 industrial exhibition in Jamaica. 



The sudden death of his elder 

 brother, Albert Victor, in 1892, 

 made him heir, after his father, to 

 the throne and curtailed his naval 

 career. He was created duke of 

 York and took his seat in the House 

 of Lords, June 1 7, 1892. On July 6, 

 1893, he married VictoriaMary, only 

 daughter of the duke and duchess 

 of Teck, in the Chapel Royal, 

 St. James's. The honeymoon was 

 spent at Sandringham, where York 

 Cottage became the favourite resi- 

 dence of the duke and duchess. 

 He held a levee on behalf of Queen 

 Victoria, March 13, 1894, and 

 undertook many public duties. 

 His son and heir, Edward, was 

 born June 23, 1894, at White 

 Lodge, Richmond, his other chil- 

 dren being Albert, born Dec. 14, 

 1895 ; Mary, bom April 25, 1897 ; 

 Henry, born March 31, 1900; 



George, born Dec. 20, 1902 ; and 

 John, born July 12, 1905, who died 

 Jan. 18, 1919. 



The duke paid several visits to 

 provincial centres, including Lan- 

 caster, where previously, he re- 

 marked, a duke of York would 

 never have thought of bringing his 

 wife ! He relieved the prince of 

 Wales of several public engage- 

 ments, and, with the duchess, did 

 good service by a tactful visit to 

 Ireland, arousing, in the words of 

 The Times correspondent, "a pitch 

 of national enthusiasm which can- 

 not be surpassed." In May, 1898, 

 he acted as one of the pall-bearers 

 at W. E. Gladstone's funeral. 



GEORGE V 



The death of Queen Victoria, 

 Jan. 22, 1901, and his father's 

 accession to the throne increased 

 his responsibilities. As duke of 

 Cornwall and York, he fulfilled the 

 previously planned tour of the 

 British dominions, leaving England 

 with the duchess on the Ophir, 

 March 16, 1901. He opened the 

 first parliament of the Australian 

 Commonwealth ; visited New Zea- 

 land, meeting the chiefs of Maori 

 tribes ; and was welcomed warmly 

 at the Cape and in Canada. On 

 Nov. 1, 1901, the voyage ended at 

 Portsmouth. 



On King Edward's birthday 

 in 1901 the duke was created 

 prince of Wales, and on Dec. 5 he 

 delivered a notable speech in the 

 London Guildhall, urging an in- 

 creased alertness on the country's 

 part in order to meet competition. 

 The dramatic postponement of 

 King Edward's coronation in 1902 

 gave much anxiety to the prince of 



From the Stale portr 

 sion of 2'hoi. Agne 



