George V, king of Great Britain and Ireland

George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert), 1865–1936, king of Great Britain and Ireland (1910–36), second son and successor of Edward VII. At the age of 12 he commenced a naval career, but this ended with the death (1892) of his elder brother, the duke of Clarence, which made him the eventual heir to the throne. In 1893 he married Victoria Mary, daughter of the duke of Teck. While his father was king (1901–10), George visited many parts of the British empire, developing an interest in imperial affairs that he maintained throughout his own reign. After his coronation (1911) he went to India for a coronation durbar in Delhi. Within the limitations of his constitutional position, he occasionally played a decisive personal part in political controversies, acting as moderator in the debates over the Parliament Act of 1911 (see Parliament Parliament, legislative assembly of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Over the centuries it has become more than a legislative body; it is the sovereign power of Great Britain, whereas the monarch remains sovereign in name only.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and the Irish Home Rule Home Rule, in Irish and English history, political slogan adopted by Irish nationalists in the 19th cent. to describe their objective of self-government for Ireland.
..... Click the link for more information. Bill of 1914 and later helping in the formation of the national government of 1931. In 1917, during World War I, he abandoned his German titles and changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. The celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of his accession (May 6, 1935) showed the affection in which he was held by the British people. On his death (Jan. 20, 1936) George was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII. His second son, on the abdication of Edward, took the throne as George VI.

Bibliography

See biographies by H. Nicolson (1952) and K. Rose (1983).

George V, king of Hanover

George V, 1819–78, last king of Hanover (1851–66), son and successor of Ernest Augustus. He was blind after 1833. Fearing Hanover's absorption by Prussia, he sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866). When Prussia was victorious, he lost his throne, and Hanover was annexed to Prussia. Thereafter he styled himself duke of Cumberland.

George V

orig. George Frederick Ernest Albert

George V.

(credit: Camera Press)

(born June 3, 1865, London, Eng.—died Jan. 20, 1936, Sandringham, Norfolk) King of the United Kingdom (1910–36). The second son of the future Edward VII, he succeeded his father in 1910. Early in his reign, he faced problems resulting from the constitutional struggle to restrict the power of the House of Lords. Respect for the new king increased during World War I, and he visited the front in France several times. After the war he faced both serious industrial unrest and, in 1923, the resignation as prime minister of Andrew Bonar Law, who was replaced by Stanley Baldwin. After the collapse of the pound sterling and the subsequent financial crisis in 1931, he persuaded James Ramsay MacDonald to remain in office and form a national coalition government. He was succeeded successively by his sons Edward VIII and George VI.