Royal cousins. One life of George V and Nicholas II Nicholas 2 George's cousin 5
During the February Revolution of 1917, Nicholas II signed the abdication of the throne. In return for this, the Provisional Government promised him and his family unhindered travel abroad.
Later, the head of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky assured: “As for the evacuation royal family, then we decided to send them via Murmansk to London. In March 1917, they received the consent of the British government, but in July, when everything was ready for the train to Murmansk and Foreign Minister Tereshchenko sent a telegram to London asking him to send a ship to meet the royal family, the British ambassador received a clear answer from Prime Minister Lloyd George: the British government is unfortunately unable to accept royal family as guests during the war."
Instead of Murmansk, the imperial family was sent to Tobolsk, because anarchist sentiments intensified in the capital and the Bolsheviks rushed to power. As you know, after the overthrow of the Provisional Government, the new leaders felt that the Romanovs should be physically destroyed.
So why was the Tsar not received in England?
Assessing the situation, the historian and writer Gennady Sokolov said: “Kerensky did not dissemble, he did not whitewash himself with hindsight. The declassified documents fully confirm his words.”
The Romanovs were actually supposed to go to England, because during the First World War, both countries were considered allies, and members of the royal and imperial families were not strangers to each other. George V was a cousin of both Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna.
From left to right, Prince Edward of Wales, Nicholas II, Tsarevich Alexei and the future King George V, 1909. | Photo: regnum.ru.
George V wrote to his cousin: “Yes, my dearest Nicky, I hope that we will always continue our friendship with you; you know, I am unchanged, and I have always loved you so much ... In my thoughts I am constantly with you. God bless you, my dear old Nicky, and remember that you can always count on me as your friend. Forever your devoted friend, Georgie."
On March 22, 1917, the Cabinet of Ministers of Great Britain decided to "grant the Emperor and Empress asylum in England for the time being while the war is going on." A week later, George V began to behave in a completely different way, as he wrote to "old Nicky." He doubted the advisability of the arrival of the Romanovs in England, and the path is dangerous ...
On April 2, 1917, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Arthur Balfour, expressed his surprise to the king that the monarch should not back down, since the ministers had already decided to invite the Romanovs.
But George V persisted and a couple of days later he wrote to the head of the Foreign Ministry: “Instruct Ambassador Buchanan to tell Milyukov that we must withdraw our consent to the proposal Russian government". In the afterword, he emphasized that it was not the king who invited the imperial family, but the British government.
In May 1917, the Russian Foreign Ministry received a new order from the British Ambassador stating that "The British Government cannot advise His Majesty to extend hospitality to people whose sympathies for Germany are more than well known." Played into the hands and propaganda against Nicholas II and his wife, who, as you know, was a German by birth. The closest relative left his cousin to the mercy of fate, and the sad ending of this story is known to everyone.
Some historians explained this position of George V in relation to the Romanovs by the fact that he was afraid of a revolution in Great Britain, since the workers' unions were very sympathetic to the Bolsheviks. disgraced imperial family could only make the situation worse. In order to save the throne, "Georgie" decided to sacrifice his cousin.
But if the surviving documents are to be believed, the king's secretary wrote to the English ambassador Berthier in Paris: "This was the firm conviction of the king, who never wanted it." That is, from the very beginning, George V did not want the Romanovs to move to England. Yes, and Russia has always been considered a geopolitical rival of Great Britain.
No wonder the poet of the times Silver Age Nikolai Wentzel in 1902 created a poem in which the following lines sounded:
The poem was, to a certain extent, politicized. Since it subtly noticed the attitude of the thinking intelligentsia to the wife of Nicholas II, who was married to a lady who had a hereditary relationship to the English royal court.
But the expression was not invented by Wentzel, but, they say, by Suvorov or someone a little later. This aphorism is not the author's. But some English person was meant, most likely - Queen Victoria. And Wentzel handled these words well.
Since then it popular expression used when they wanted to say "he (a) conceived (a) some secret intrigues and is slowly putting them into practice."
sources
Nicholas II had a striking resemblance to his cousin, the British King George V.
Nicholas II "Cousin Nicky" and George V "Cousin Georgie"
Nicholas II and George V
King George, 1893
Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, visits England for the wedding of King George V and Queen Mary. 1893
The fact is that their mothers are sisters:
- Princess Dagmar - after marriage, Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III and mother of Nicholas II
- Princess Alexandra of Denmark - wife of King Edward VII and mother of George V.
They were daughters of Christian IX of Denmark.
Ilya Savich Galkin
Emperor Nicholas II in a white uniform with epaulettes.
1896
Luke Fildes
George V when Prince of Wales, painting by Sir Samuel Luke Fildes
1892
Empress Maria Feodorovna with her sister Alexandra of Wales.
From 1842 Christian was married to Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1817-1898), niece of King Christian VIII. The couple had six children:
Frederik (1843-1912), King Frederik VIII of Denmark from 1906 to 1912;
Alexandra (1844-1925), married to King Edward VII of Great Britain;
George (1845-1913), King George I of Greece from 1863 to 1913;
Dagmara (1847-1928), married to the Russian Emperor Alexander III;
Tyra (1853-1933), married to Prince Ernst August II of Hanover;
Valdemar (1858-1939), was married to Marie d'Orléans (1865-1909).
King Christian was in close family ties with the royal houses of Europe. He was the father of two kings - his successor Frederick VIII and King George I of Greece, Queen Alexandra of Britain, wife of Edward VII, and Russian empress Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III.
Christian was thus the grandfather of Nicholas II, who called him in his diary Apapaʹ ("Grandfather", French baby word). Among other grandchildren of Christian - Constantine I of Greece, George V of Great Britain, Haakon VII of Norway.
Christian and Louise were called "father-in-law" and "mother-in-law of Europe".
Now most of the monarchs of Europe are direct descendants of Christian IX.
Nicholas II, King George V of Great Britain, King Albert I of Belgium (left to right). 1914.
The last Russian autocrat Emperor Nicholas II and the British monarch George V, being cousins (in their private correspondence they addressed each other only as "cousin Nicky" and "cousin Georgie"), were extremely similar in appearance.
Solomon Joseph Solomon
King George V.
National Portrait Gallery 1914
American Robert Macy in the famous bestseller of the late 1960s. "Nikolai and Alexandra" gives a very curious episode, once again testifying to the external similarity of the two brothers.
In July 1893, at the wedding of the future George V (at that time he was the Duke of York) and Princess Victoria Maria of Teck, Russia and the House of Romanov were represented by the Heir Tsarevich and Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, i.e. future Nicholas II. English language the latter was so handsome and his outward resemblance to the groom so striking that many guests, mistaking him for the Duke of York, congratulated him on his legal marriage, and some official person asked him, as a groom, not to be late for the wedding ceremony scheduled for tomorrow. And George himself, who was mistakenly taken for Nicholas, at the same time was approached with questions about the purpose of his visit to London and future plans.
Henrich Matveevich Manizer
Portrait of Emperor Nicholas II.
1896.
But their resemblance was only superficial. On the one hand, the straightforward, trusting Nikolai, who always came to the aid of his cousin in personal and state affairs. On the other hand, Georg, who betrayed him.
E. K. Lipgart. Portrait of Nicholas II. 1914
As a result of the First World War in Russia, February Revolution, and George's cousin, Nicholas II, was forced to sign an abdication. In return, he was promised the opportunity to freely travel to England with the whole family.
When Nicholas II abdicated and was arrested with his family by the Provisional Government, he could save the royal family by giving them permission to enter England. If you wanted to. But he didn't want to. Apparently, realizing that he was dooming his brother to death with the help of the English ambassador to Russia, George Buchanan, who later admitted that pressure was put on him.
Alexander Kerensky honestly tried to fulfill his promise. He twice appealed to the English ambassador Buchanan with a request to give the royal family asylum in England and send an English battleship to meet him. To which Buchanan replied that he would not distract such a trifling request from the sovereign, because his country, in such difficult conditions, was not up to some kind of Russian tsar.
Already retired, Buchanan admitted that he was under pressure. Georg simply got cold feet, or did not want to have Russian empire as a competitor, and ensured that it would never be resurrected.
Lance Calkin
King George V
National Portrait Gallery circa 1914
It is curious that the British government destroyed all documents and telegrams containing a categorical refusal to allow the royal family to enter England. And if it were not for the memories of the British embassy staff, the British would still make a surprised look.
Ilya Efimovich Repin Portrait of Emperor Nicholas II.
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. 1895
George V
Portrait of Emperor Nicholas II.
Photo of A. A. Pasetti of Tsar Nicholas II, at the age of 30, in St. Petersburg, 1898.
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov
Portrait of Nicholas II. 1900
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
And Makovsky. 1903
Portrait of Nicholas II
Portrait of Nicholas II. 1894
George Becker. Portrait of Nicholas II. around 1900
King George V
1911
King George, 1893
Samuel Luke Fields (1843-1927) - George V (1865-1936) - 9th King of the British Empire
in the coronation of clothes. 1911
Series of messages "
Recently, the country "celebrated" another anniversary of the execution of the royal family in 1918. Despite the fact that now few people are interested in the fact that the story of the execution of the former royal family is just an unprovable theory.
No one likes to remember that after the capture of Yekaterinburg by the Whites, in turn, three White commissions made an unequivocal conclusion - there was no execution.
The investigating commissions cited facts and testimonies refuting the execution. But they were soon forgotten, since the 4th commission of Sokolov and Diteriks essentially fabricated the case of the execution of the Romanovs.
They did not bring any facts to prove their theory, just as the investigators did not bring any facts in the 90s.
The remains that today are passed off as the remains of the Romanovs are not their remains, this is again asserted without evidence. DNA testing is still questionable.
This is because Russian geneticists recognized the remains of the Romanovs found near Yekaterinburg, while the Japanese geneticists who conducted their research did not.
This means that one of the groups of geneticists committed a forgery.
And the very motivation for shooting the Romanovs by the Bolsheviks is not true - the Bolsheviks allegedly shot them because the Whites were rushing to Yekaterinburg and Lenin did not want the Romanovs to go to them.
But if this is so, then why were the Romanovs taken precisely to the Urals, to the front line with the Whites? Why weren't they kept in Moscow?
After all this, the question arises - if there was no execution, the Romanovs survived. then where did they disappear to?
According to the first version, they emigrated abroad and subsequently lived under false names. It's possible but unlikely, why would they?
The second version is that the family was sent abroad, the tsar and heir were left in Russia. The version is interesting, but so far the version
A third version has recently emerged. According to it, Nicholas 2 survived and until the end of his life he lived in the general public, not hiding from anyone. This seemingly incredible version has a basis
Historians convince us that the man in the photo is George the fifth, the future king of England, cousin and twin of Nicholas II
For them, their absolute similarity is only funny coincidence but no one is joking
Because it could be the same person. Let's look at some facts
Here is a photograph from the archives of Queen Victoria in 1872
Description:
Carte-de-visite depicting a double portrait of the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, Tsesarevna of Russia (1847-1928) carrying one of her sons, possibly the Grand Duke Nikolay Alexandrovich of Russia (1868-1918), on her back. Both face the viewer. A table stands on the right of the photograph.
Provenance:
From an album of "Royal Portraits" compiled by Queen Victoria.
The caption under the photo is surprising - the name "Georg" and the date were crossed out for some reason and they wrote "Nikolai". For what?
Often in the refutation of this version, the fact that Georg and Nikolai were friends is cited, in confirmation of their acquaintance, photographs are cited
These photos allegedly prove that they met and spent time together.
But in these photos, first of all, it immediately catches the eye - there are few of them, for close friends, which they supposedly were ....
Secondly, they are always alone, there is no one else around in the photo with them.
The first two photos were generally taken at the same time and in the same room.
The question is not the installation of these photos? Here is an example of one photo
Look, some kind of column or stove chimney has appeared in the background. Nicholas's hand holds a headdress with a plume.
It is not very clear what kind of headgear, but definitely not a Russian army cap, as in the first picture.
They are in the same position, they are standing or dressed themselves and then photographed again, everything is quite transparent anyway.
George's right hand is not visible. However, the very position of the left hand suggests that Georg holds the weapon with both hands—the left hand rests on the right. Otherwise, the left hand would fit snugly around the handle.
Mysteriously, George's weapon, exactly the same as Nikolai's, became much longer than Nikolaev's. There are signs of a collage, although not obvious.
Mounting or not? This photo will give you the answer.
This is Georg, with his wife Mary. From here it is very clear where George was inserted in the photo with Nikolai.
The costume (except for sleeves, gloves and belt), awards, weapons and stand are the same, only Georg himself is turned to face the viewer
The rest of the photos could also be an example of editing - how it was done, I cited in the article "photomontage in the 19th century"
As an argument that Georg and Nikolai did not meet, there are these important photos.
April 1894 Wedding in Coburg (northern Bavaria) of the daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh and Maria Alexandrovna Victoria-Melita with the Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ernie (Alice's brother).
There is Nikolai, but there is no beloved cousin Georgy. Why?
Even Queen Victoria has arrived, but George?Maybe Georg is among them, but under a different name?
Please note - Nicholas of all men is closest to Queen Victoria
And the engagement of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich with Alice of Hesse, also in April 1894, a little later in Hesse.
Nikolai is there, but dear cousin Georg is gone again
Ernst Ludwig of Hesse Grand Duke Hesse and Rhine, Alexandra Feodorovna, Emperor Nicholas II, Irene of Hesse-Darmstadt with her husband Prince Henry of Prussia
Elizabeth Feodorovna with her husband Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Victoria of Hesse-Darmstadt with her husband Prince Ludwig Battenberg.
Again Nikolay is and there is no George.
1903 - And here Nikolai is, but George is not
But where is Georg and always without Nikolai.
Wilhelm, Georg in a huge campaign of people and without Nicholas
Here is another photo argument. Photo from 1910.
Standing, left to right: King Haakon VII of Norway, King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, King Manuel II of Portugal, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King George I of Greece and King Albert I of Belgium.
Seated, left to right: King Alfonso XIII of Spain, King George V of England and King Frederick VIII of Denmark.
The question in this case is where is Nicholas 2? He also came to the funeral, according to historians, he and George were good friends.
But where is he? Why is it not?
Or he is among them, but under the name of George.
What is the result?
There is a photo where Nikolai is first called George, then they change the date and name to Nikolai ...
In addition to dubious photos where Georg and Nikolai are together without "extras", there are many photos where there is only Georg or Nikolai, but they are never together.
Could this person be Nicholas II?
Appearance clearly says that he could, the fact that they did not meet and did not take pictures together at the most important events says yes.
One important point is the issue with the families of monarchs.
According to the official history, Nicholas 2 had five children - four daughters and a son, who were killed in 1918. George 5 has six children: five sons and one daughter.
But here comes another historical forgery. This is a long and separate topic.
1. When George was still in the status of a prince, he became an ardent philatelist. For his collection, for a long time he could not acquire one of the rarest stamps in the world - "Blue Mauritius". In 1904, the Prince of Wales succeeded. At the auction in Brussels, Georg arrived incognito and took with him a clean (unused) copy of "Blue Mauritius" for £1,400, which is equivalent to today's $200,000, although today this stamp is valued at $15,000,000.
2. George and his wife Victoria Mary of Teck were crowned at Westminster on May 22, 1911. At the same time, the newly-made wife of the king began to be called Queen Mary, despite the fact that her first name was Victoria. This name was not given to her. In memory of George's late grandmother, Queen Victoria, it was decided that henceforth no queen of England would bear that name.
3. Once, enraged by something, George V slammed his fist on the dining table during dinner. After that, he cursed loudly and issued a decree that the forks should be placed on the table with the prongs down. This is how this well-known rule of table etiquette appeared.
4. Cousins - George V and Nicholas II - were very similar. About the case associated with this feature in his book "Nicholas and Alexandra" wrote the American Robert Macy in the late 1960s. So, in July 1893, at the wedding of the Duke of York, the future George V, and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, Russia and the House of Romanov were represented by the Heir Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, the future Nicholas II. The future Russian Emperor spoke English so well that, given the outward resemblance to his brother, many guests mistook him for the Duke of York and congratulated him on his legal marriage. Meanwhile, the groom himself, who was mistaken for Nikolai, was approached at the same time with questions about the purpose of his visit to London and future plans.
5. It is known that after the overthrow and death of Nicholas II, George V acquired the treasures of the Russian Imperial House almost for nothing, and simply appropriated some of them.
6. The most beautifully made dollhouse in the world was presented to his wife Queen Mary by George V. The house was first shown to the public in 1924, when the British Imperial Exhibition was held in London. Now it is stored in Windsor. The house was created under the guidance of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. It is made on a scale of one to twelve. It has more than 40 rooms, electric lighting, two elevators, cold and hot water, a miniature vacuum cleaner and a coal-burning stove. Outside, the house is a mansion in the classical tradition. There are gardens with metallic flowers. The house also has a library with specially created paintings. In the dining room there is a table 50 centimeters long. The largest room is the hall, in which there is a throne and a huge piano.
7. On December 25, 1934, King George V of Great Britain made his first New Year's address to the citizens of his country. Interestingly, the text of the royal address was written by famous writer Rudyard Kipling.
The first half of George's life (1865-1936) fell on the 19th century, the second - on the 20th. The years of his reign (1910-1936) turned out to be extremely turbulent for Great Britain and the whole world. George 5 witnessed the First World War, and in those days when he was already dying, a new threat of large-scale conflict with the Third Reich loomed over Europe.
The king had to witness the fall of three empires - Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary. At the same time, Irish nationalists were raging in his own country, and India was demanding self-government. Great Britain began to cede its leadership position at sea and seemed weak-willed against the backdrop of new dictatorial regimes in Europe. But, despite all this, George 5 with dignity accepted many challenges of the time. Only the good memory of his compatriots has been preserved about him.
Childhood and family
George 5 was born on June 3, 1865 to Prince Edward and his wife Alexandra of Denmark. His grandmother was Queen Victoria, who personified an entire era. On that day, she wrote in her diary that she was alarmed by two telegrams about her sister-in-law's poor health.
Alexandra gave birth to a premature baby, being eight months pregnant. The premature denouement of events worried family members, but their fears were in vain. On the contrary, in the future, Georg was always distinguished by punctuality, in contrast to his hasty birth.
His father, usually called Bertie (a form of the baptismal name Albert), was heir to the throne for an extremely long time - up to 59 years. This was due to the longevity of Grandmother Victoria, who died in 1901. She was 82.
His eldest son, Albert Victor, was to be the heir. George 5 was second, so he got military education in the fleet. In particular, the teenager was enlisted on the ship "Britain", on which he visited many countries.
Heir
In 1892, a terrible influenza epidemic broke out in the country. One of her victims was Albert Victor. He died suddenly. After that, his status passed to the heartbroken Georg. But that was not all. Then it was decided that the bride of the deceased heir would marry George. It was May Teck.
The tradition of marriage of convenience was the norm, in royal families it was treated as a duty rather than a choice out of love. Therefore, a huge number of monarchs of the Old World were close relatives to each other. For example, Nicholas 2 and George 5 were maternal cousins. Their common grandfather was King Christian IX of Denmark. Another cousin of George was the German II, Victoria's grandson.
Marriage
The first possible candidate for the wife of Victor (elder brother) was She was the daughter of the Grand Duke Ludwig IV. In addition, she was another granddaughter of Victoria, who was nicknamed "the grandmother of Europe". Close family ties between potential newlyweds did not bother the then rulers of Europe - it was a tradition. In many ways, this is why children from such marriages were born sick - incest, as you know, does not lead to good. So it happened with Alice, who refused George and became the wife of Nicholas II. With him, she will die in the Ipatiev basement, as well as their children, including son Alexei, who is ill with hemophilia.
In the end, still alive, Victoria decided to bring her grandson to May of Teck. She was a noble girl from a side branch of the reigning English dynasty. After Victor's death, she married George. The wedding took place in July 1893. The dynastic issue was resolved. George 5's wife became his best friend and lifelong advisor.
Prince of Wales
Queen Victoria died in 1901. Edward ascended the throne, and his son George received the status of heir to the throne. Along with him, according to tradition, several duchies and the title of Prince of Wales passed to the man. It happened on the day of his father's sixtieth birthday.
His new status required the fulfillment of many state duties. In particular, the prince spoke in Parliament, traveled to the colonies in India and Australia, etc.
Beginning of the reign
George became king in 1910 when his father, Edward VII, died. Between them were the warmest relations. For example, Edward admitted in one of his letters that he treats his son more like a brother. With the coming to power, King George 5 remained true to his character and habits. Service in the Navy made him unpretentious in everyday life, but executive in everything related to duty. The monarch's hobbies were playing billiards, collecting postage stamps and polo.
War
The government was not quiet for long. Even under Edward, a conflict with Germany began to flare up, which threatened to turn into a major war. The most surprising thing is that even numerous family ties between European royal houses could not stop such a turn of events.
This was largely due to the fact that Great Britain was becoming more and more a constitutional monarchy, and George did not have sufficient powers to override the decisions of Parliament and the Prime Minister. All that King George 5 could do in the ensuing war was to present a symbol of power, encourage citizens and unite them. He constantly made speeches and took part in military meetings.
The children of George 5 (that is, the eldest sons) went to the front, which could become a huge problem if at least one of them was captured. The heir Edward served as adjutant to the commander-in-chief in France, and later moved to officer service in the Mediterranean. The second son Albert (the future one was in the navy with the rank of lieutenant and took part in the important battle of Jutland.
Monarchy in the service of the country
When it became clear that the conflict would drag on, and the Germans were already approaching Paris, anti-German sentiment flared up in Britain. Many residents of the country with German roots became victims of raids by angry citizens. This was not limited to ordinary English people. For example, Louis Battenberg, who was the first Lord of the Admiralty, was forced to resign. The only reason was his German origin.
This affected and As you know, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha dynasty of George came from Germany. Prime Minister Asquith advised the ruler to change the name of the family in order to be in solidarity with society. This is how the Windsor dynasty appeared, which he founded English king George 5. The name was given in honor of the palace, which was the residence of the monarch.
During the war, the king visited 7 British military bases. He conducted four hundred inspections and presented thousands of awards to enlisted men and officers. When the bombing of the island began, he immediately went to the affected areas. While fighting was going on in France, George visited the active army five times. And each time his arrival was an uplifting event that encouraged the soldiers who had been in the trenches for months. At one of these meetings, the king was on horseback, and his horse, frightened by the salutatory hails, knocked over the rider. Georg broke his pelvic bone and was able to stand up only after a few months. This injury later reminded of itself many times.
The monarch became the face of propaganda. For example, he completely stopped drinking alcohol, struggling with drunkenness in the army. His other responsible step was to support the prime minister in a dispute with the liberals about whether bachelors should go to the front without fail. Discussions went on and on, all to no avail, until the monarch agreed with Asquith, whereupon the initiative became a bill.
The last major dynasty of Europe
When it became clear in the autumn of 1918 that the Allies had defeated the Arbitration Union, there were almost no monarchies left in Europe. Shot the day before Russian emperor. Nicholas 2 and George 5 were not just cousins. They were surprisingly similar, as if they were twins, which is especially noticeable in the photo (see below). The relationship between Nicholas 2 and George 5 made life even more difficult for the latter.
When Romanov was deposed, he tried to go to England, but did not receive a response from his cousin in time, after which he went to Siberia. There he was shot. The death of Nicholas 2 was a shock experienced by all of England. George 5 expressed his bitterness in his personal diary.
post-war device
The destruction of the monarchies ended with the fact that the republican system became a real challenge to the British order. However, the British loved their king, which they regularly expressed in demonstrations of many thousands, especially after a victory. When the fate of post-war Europe was being decided, american president Wilson became the savior of the world, offering his famous "14 points" on the organization of the new world. George V practically did not participate in these initiatives, being engaged in internal affairs, and the military and prime ministers were sent to the European arena.
peace king
The king was not a politically sophisticated person. When a struggle began in parliament between the active parties, he became the arbiter who calmed the passions.
In the 1920s, the Laborites came to power for the first time, whose program was left-wing, that is, socialist. The protection of the interests of the workers could end according to the usual scenario for Europe - a red flag over Windsor Palace. So the king tried to find mutual language with renewed vigor so that the proletarians do not become infected with the desire for revolution. However, the Laborites for several months in 1923, when they were in the majority in Parliament, recognized as legitimate Soviet Russia, which was bad news for the monarch, who had to surrender.
Workers' strikes coexisted with increased nationalist sentiment in the colonies and Ireland. In Europe at this time, many states received sovereignty (for example, on the ruins of Austria-Hungary). With the outbreak of another conflict, George each time tried to be a peacemaker between the warring parties. For example, this was needed when troops were sent to Ireland.
George also compromised with the colonies. He created the British Commonwealth which gave them greater autonomy. It still exists today.
King George 5 tried to explain this peacemaking function of the crown to his heirs. A photo of the royal family often shows him surrounded by numerous children, grandchildren and granddaughters, one of whom is the current ruler of England, Elizabeth II.
Death
IN last years George was sick a lot. In 1925, he developed severe bronchitis, which was a threat to the life of the monarch. A little later, the founder of the Windsor dynasty suffered from purulent pleurisy. And yet, in 1935, he celebrated the silver jubilee of his own reign.
And in January of the following year, he died at Sandrigham Palace, while the whole country listened to the BBC, which broadcast reports on the king's well-being. George became a symbol of the triumph of a real constitutional monarchy, when the ruler had only a title, but did not make the most important decisions (this function was transferred to parliament). In this form, the British state system exists to this day.
