George V 1865-1936
King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Born at Marlborough House, London, he served in the navy, travelled in many parts of the empire, and was created Prince of Wales in 1901. He succeeded his father, Edward VII, in 1910. His reign was marked by various important events, such as the Union of South Africa (1910), his visit to India for the Coronation Durbar (1911), World War I (1914-18), the adoption of the surname Windsor (1917), the Sinn F�in Rebellion (1916), the Irish Free State settlement (1922), the first Labour governments (1924, 1929-31), a General Strike (1926), Scottish Church union (1929), economic crisis and a National government (1931), the Statute of Westminster, defining Dominion status (1931), and the Government of India Act (1935). He originated the famous Christmas Day broadcasts to the nation in 1932. In 1893 he married Mary of Teck. Although he was without intellectual curiosity and suspicious of new ideas, he was responsible for the development of the monarchy as a symbol of national unity, and his Silver Jubilee (1935) was celebrated with genuine popular enthusiasm. He had five sons: Edward VIII, George VI, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Prince John (1905-19), and one daughter, Mary, Princess Royal (1897-1965), who married the 6th Earl of Harewood.

Bibliography: Kenneth Rose, King George V (1983)