In
popular media he is often overlooked. People are happier to read about the irresponsibility
and Nazi sympathies of his oldest son, of the all-encompassing longevity of his
grandmother, Victoria.
Oddly,
George V has still not passed out of living memory. Although he died in 1936 he
was the grandfather of our present Queen (‘Grandpa England’) and his presence
and influence seems closer than perhaps it should. He was the last Victorian
King – Rose makes it clear that George’s rules of kingship were modelled on his
grandmother, and not the long shadow of his father Edward VII.
The
Hanoverians and the House of Windsor follow an alternating cycle of
responsibility and jollity. George III, for all his late madness, was a
responsible and deep-thinking monarch. His sons were reckless and feckless.
Victoria, in a reaction to her uncles, was straight-laced and correct. Edward VII,
shackled by his mother’s long reign and rules, was a loose cannon. George V was
a throwback to Victoria in reaction to the loose morals of his father. And
Elizabeth II seems to look back to her grandfather as the model for how to be a
modern monarch. We can all be thankful that fate intervened and nobody had to
live long with her uncle, Edward VIII, the embodiment of selfish childishness.
Rose
paints a detailed picture of George’s childhood, and particularly how his early
navy experiences shaped the rest of his life. He was not meant to be king. A
long education at sea prepared him for an anonymous life as brother to the
king, not for the responsibility of leading a fading empire. Given the choice,
it is obvious that George would have preferred a life of Country Squire,
shooting as much game as possible, and afternoons with his stamp albums.
Something
that Rose makes clear is the education that George received ill-equipped him
for his crown. The preparation for kingship focussed on his older brother
Albert Victor, a year older than him and in line after Edward VII to succeed.
Albert Victor’s fate is a whole other book. He died at the age of twenty-eight,
and in a Shakespearean twist George inherited his role and his fiancée.
Rose
writes well about George’s long and loving marriage to May, his bride and
consort. In times of stress she was a support for him. Over the last hundred
years our royal house has been lucky in this respect. Just as May helped George
through the burden of the first war, Elizabeth helped his son through the
second.
He
also resists dwelling on the appalling life and attitudes of George’s firstborn
and heir, David. As Edward VIII he was utterly unsuited to the cards he was
dealt and we were all lucky that he abnegated his responsibilities when he did.
Instead Rose reflects on George’s great disappointment and powerlessness to
influence the situation as he entered the winter of his life. It fell to his
second son to step up and steer history back onto a straighter course.
George
was a reluctant but responsible king. He relied on the advice of his private
secretaries and they served him admirably. Stamfordham and Wigram are allowed
plenty of space in these pages and their devotion and political nimbleness is
made clear.
George
was also, however, a product of his lack of education and Rose does not shy
away from highlighting his ignorance of the arts. At times George revelled in philistinism
and a Little England attitude that must have appalled and worried those around
him. Apart from his journey to India, he resisted many attempts to get him to
visit his Empire. His simple response was that he had seen it all in his youth.
He also comes across, though, as extraordinarily knowledgeable about his Empire
as he read every piece of paper that was put in front of him.
It
is worth looking back from time to time to see just where the rules and modes
of operating come from in the current set-up, and this book is insightful in
this respect. The devotion to duty of the current monarch is a legacy of her
father and grandfather. Charles’ interfering is perhaps more a Mountbatten
trait than a Windsor one. However, when he finally becomes king there is no
doubt that the long shadow of his great-grandfather will shape the way he wears
the crown.
