Most British monarchs have something that their reign is remembered for more than anything else, even if they actually had little to do with it beyond offering their support. Think of Queen Victoria and the Industrial Revolution, or George VI and the Second World War. But one monarch stands out for me as having a personal defining moment, something that he did, and which shaped the British Monarchy from that point. In effect, I have created the Monarchy as we know it today.
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George V came to the throne in 1910, following a long period where Europe's and Russia's royal families had been closely linked through marriage. In the years that followed, royal visits between the various families continued, but with the coming of The Great War (now called World War One) in 1914, all this changed. According to his biographer, Kenneth Rose, George was “no more than an anguished and helpless spectator” and it must have been horrifying to see his wider family torn apart.
By 1917, the British public was extremely anti-German. German owned shops in Britain were destroyed and German dogs were put down. George felt very uncomfortable with being linked with Germany – he had too many relations there still living (Kaiser Wilhelm was his cousin) and too many German ancestors (George I was invited from Germany to take the British throne in 1714 to ensure that a Protestant reigned). There was also a revolutionary feeling stirring across Europe, Britain had suffered mass strikes and unrest in 1911-12. George’s position as monarch seemed shaky.
George himself had made mistakes earlier in the War, not wanting the Kaiser to be stripped of his honorary commands of British regiments or his British honors of chivalry. He felt family loyalty was important, but the public disagreed and thought he was too close to the Kaiser.
So in 1917, he all came to a head when George heard that H G Wells had reportedly complained that England had an alien and uninspiring court. George famously responded: 'I may be uninspiring but I'm damned if I'm an alien'. Helped by his loyal adviser, Lord Stamfordham, George decided it was time to alter the monarchy if it was to survive.