George V Never A Dull Moment by Jane Ridley

 

The last major appraisal of the life of George V, the grandfather of the present monarch, was by Kenneth Rose and published in 1983. The time is right for a reappraisal, as Rose and his most significant predecessor Sir Harold Nicholson were both mindful of the opinions of the surviving members of the royal family. Nicholson’s book in 1952 was censored in part.

 

Jane Ridley is a skilled and entertaining biographer who has already tackled the life of Edward VII, George’s father. This new study draws extensively on previous work but has the advantage of a longer period of hindsight. Only the present queen remains of anyone who knew George.

A valuable source not available in the past is George’s personal diary. As a naval man it is not a reflective journal, more a record in list form of the people he met and the thousands of birds that he shot when visiting the Great Houses of England.

 

So what is there to learn about this king, who oversaw the First World War and the Great Depression? It seems that previous history has been unkind to him. Most people regarded him as a dull and uninspiring man. Jane Ridley suggests that ‘normal’ may be a better adjective than ‘dull’, and that this image was intentional. In turbulent times Britain needed a steady, calm king and it was lucky that George was able to fill this role.

Many of the significant events of the first half of the Twentieth Century that are usually attributed to politicians have George’s influence. Particularly noteworthy is the way that he influenced the career of James Ramsay MacDonald. Privately George’s politics were that of a Tory country squire, but it seems that he didn’t let these views affect his impartiality in matters of national importance. Ramsay MacDonald was the first Labour Prime Minister, and developed a good relationship with his monarch. When he should really have resigned from the head of the National Government he was encouraged to remain in place by George, and to continue to steer a largely Tory cabinet.

 

Jane Ridley makes it clear that this book could have been a double biography – Mary, or May, was George’s lifelong companion. She had been engaged first to Eddy, George’s troubled older brother. However, it is wise that George was the focus because there simply isn’t enough information about Mary to justify half of this book. Some interesting revelations emerge. Mary was a kleptomaniac, and responsible for many of the riches currently enjoyed by the House of Windsor. She was acquisitive in the extreme. It was not by accident that some of the Romanov jewels ended up in her hands.

In her later years Ridley shows how vital May was for George, and how she perhaps was the first modern member of the royal family who knew how to manipulate her limited influence to maximum affect.

 

The poor relationship between Hanoverian monarchs and their children has become quite a cliché. George was the father of David (later Edward VIII), Bertie (George VI), George (Duke of Kent), Harry (Duke of Gloucester), Mary (The Princess Royal) and Johnnie.

It seems that George had a great affection for his children, in contrast to many of his ancestors. His relationship with David deteriorated rapidly in the 1930s, but prior to the distress caused to George by David’s liaison with Wallis Simpson, he was nurturing and tried to prepare his son for kingship. He was a kind and generous father to Bertie. The only dysfunctional relationship was the one that George and May had with their youngest son, John. They distanced themselves from him and only saw him occasionally. Ridley suggests that his early demise may have been a relief for his parents. It is a sad chapter in their lives and easy to impose twenty-first century values onto the situation when George and May were Victorian.

 

George’s early life is particularly well written, and goes a long way to explain how he was shaped by a poor education and unloving parents. After the death of Eddy and the realisation that he was destined for the throne, Victoria became a prime influence on George. For nearly ten years her will was exercised and George was a compliant grandson. However, the appalling education he received was the most significant factor that limited him in later life.

 

The last years of his life were tinged with sadness, and Jane Ridley has presented his declining health well. Tobacco was the main killer, in a time when there were few pointers to the effect that smoking had on health. Indeed, one measure that George had of his recovery after major surgery was that he was able to smoke a cigarette. His sons were similarly cursed.

 

George emerges from this latest reassessment of his life slightly better than before. His noisy charm, love of his family, and careful diplomacy have been reaffirmed. It is a thoughtful portrait, and worthwhile as it adds colour and depth to the first half of the Twentieth Century.