King George V's Legacy

King George V
“How’s the Empire?” (izquotes). These were the words spoken by King George V on the morning of his death. The king was a man who cared greatly for his people even on his deathbed. In the Leaving a Legacy unit. The way people have been remembered in history has been thoroughly studied. King George V kept the British Empire standing through a world war and the modernization of mankind, leaving an everlasting legacy upon history. King George V, whose full name is George Frederick Ernest Albert, was born on June 3, 1865, in London, England. He was born the second son with three sisters and two brothers. Due to tradition he joined the Royal Navy at age 12 while his older brother was being pampered for the throne. When his brother
died in 1892 he left the Navy and began forging a path to the crown. Before he was crowned he did an exhibition of the Empire including India, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, and the Mediterranean. He also traveled to Melbourne, Australia to open the first commonwealth parliament (Gale). He married his brother’s betrothed, Mary, the Duke of Teck’s daughter, and in 1901 was given the title “Prince of Wales”. When Alexander III, of Russia, died he traveled to St. Petersburg for the funeral. In 1910 his father, King Edward VII, died and one year later, George was crowned on June 22, 1911. Ascending the throne at age 44, he already had six children, five sons and one daughter. The death of his youngest child, age 13, in 1919 deeply saddened the family and the Empire. Prior to this the world was at war. WWI ravaged Europe and it’s people. At the start of his reign there was only two non-monarchical countries in Europe, France and Switzerland. By 1920 all but four had toppled. George only stayed in power by signing away his power so that his Empire became a constitutional monarchy, ruling him a figurehead. Interestingly his cousins were the leaders of two of the four main superpowers in WWI, and both fell by mistakes that King George V, narrowly missed due to his lack of acknowledgment of the changing world. His cousin the Russian Tsar fell due to his lack of modernism and his other cousin the German Kaiser fell due to his insistence of a “United Germany” ( Miranda Carter). Even after the political upheavals in Europe he kept the Edwardian ways with him and detested change such as Women’s Suffrage, Freedom of press and speech, and Socialists.“The reign of eighteen changing years had effectively become an era, and the very survival of the throne and the Empire had helped to make the king into something of a father-figure” (Watson, 2). His visits to the front during the war and a yearly Christmas address to the Empire over the radio greatly improved English morale and led to strong support of the Empire by it’s people. In 1931 King George allowed Parliament to pass the Statute of Westminster which allowed the Empire’s commonwealths, like Ireland, to control their foreign and domestic affairs. Four years later King George received the Silver Jubilee, an award marking 25 years of reign over the Empire. George died in 1936 of Pleurisy, assisted by a controversial dose of lethal Morphine.
The British Empire faced some of its toughest times during King George V’s reign.
During WWI hate for Germans and German things grew, so King George V changed the royal family's house name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a German title, to the more English, House of Windsor, which still holds the monarchy today. In 1922 he sent ships to rescue the Greek royal family after they were usurped from their throne. This act is still seen today because Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, was the son of the rescued King. One of the hardest decisions he was forced to make was the rejection of his cousins asylum request, the Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II and his family. He did this to keep peace in his country and to remain absent from the conflict in Russia. After realizing that revolution could reach his Empire he began interacting with the common people and his annual Christmas Addresses became known worldwide. Queen Mary encouraged King George to make the address even though he was wary of modern technology as mentioned above.
King George V will be remembered in history as the leader of the British Empire at it’s best and the one who made it through its worst. He guided his Empire through the atrocities of the Great War, through the modernization of life, and the self-governing of the Empire’s commonwealths. King George V kept the British Empire standing through a world war and the modernization of mankind, leaving an everlasting legacy upon history. George V will stand as a strong leader of the Empire and the calming leader people
wanted.