A Memoir of George V

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24633, 14 June 1941, Page 4

A Memoir of George V

In her most famous utterance Queen Elizabeth made proud claim: “I have the heart of a king, and of a King of England, too” So might King Geprgc V have said also, had he been given to declamation. There have been many kings of England,, and many Georges among them—and reading of their lives, one knows that England has had kings good, bad, and indifferent. The norm would be difficult to isolate, but it provide a picture of a king compounded or follies and courage, pleasure-seeking and arrogant, with a freat love for and pride in his country, ut a limited comprehension of the demands of kingship upon his sympathies and understanding.. But apply Elizabeth’s words to King George V and they become, instantly; an exact statement of his personal qualities He was a King whose heart and mind were dedicated to his kingly task; whose feeling for his people was almost too deep for words; wno set a standard of

sober attention to duty and of simple family pleasure, which we might well profit by in these complex and disorderly limes. Mr Gore, under the instructions of ; the present King, has written in King George V a character Study of the ,late monarch which brings Out the deep but morbid devotion to “ my, work ” which ruled his life and dictated his interests. This is not primarily a study of the reign of King George, it is not a recital of his public appearances. For thesewe must look to- other books, of which there are many: and wait until thd cloud of years’,; still thick .about the period Of his reign , has been dispersed and unfettered scholarship makes the appraisal. Yet there will be little, when that, time comes, that will appear different in the life of King George V. The cold analyses of the historians may make it appear-that though ho lived through great events he was nbt • a great king. One looks in vain for sensational pronouncements, one will find no point in his career at which he turned the course of history. But the historian of the future will not have, for all his diligent researches, access to the knowledge of King George and his benign, inspiring influence upon a nation and an empire that we, who have lived through his reign, possess. Nearly all kings have been praised in extravagant terms by one chronicler or another; many have been the pivot of national demonstrations of an enthusiastic nature. It be-

King George V: A Personal Memoir. By; John Gore; Illustrated (Murray), £1 Is.

comes a question whether the most skilled researcher, reading the contemporary records, will be able quite, to divine the utter reality of the public affection for King George V; to understand the emotional depth of those extraordinary manifestations of loyally and regard with which he was hailed during the time of his jubilee. It is the mere statement of the truth to say that when King George died the British people mourned the loss of a friend Mr Gore’s book shows that their instincts were not misplaced; that he was indeed the friend of his people, counting their claim upon him as equal with that of the members of his family, whom he deeply loved. , The life of King George was divided into two periods. Through the first half of it, until the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, when he was in his thirty-sixth year, he lived in a privacy and with a lack of constitutional responsibility which seem almost remarkable. “Soended 1901 ” he wrote in his journal, “ a very eventful year for us.” It was indeed that. When it opened, the future King and. Queen were “ considering the positions they occupied, peculiarly inexperienced and unproved in matters of State and in responsibility.” Before the year’s'end the Prince had become the immediate heir to the throne and had begun to prove his merits .-si a public personality. King Edward, Mr Gore makes desirably clear, trusted his heir without reserve. He gave orders that, so far as might be, no; confidential matters should be withheld from his son. And the Prince, immediately stepped from a position almost of obscurity into the role of, a national figure, whose writings and utterances would be of importance in the destinies of millions of people. His letters of this period, to which the compiler of the memoir has had access, are interesting—and, it might be said, gratifying —as indicating the earnest application of the future ruler to his new tasks. He yvas grateful and humble for the assistance he received from the King and his , advisers; his every public appearance and speech was made as if it marked the most important event in life. In all humility he wrote, when his father had commended him on the success of the; Canadian tour, “ If I have gained your approyid. I am quite satisfied.” He was, MrSCfcre declares,'and* plainly shows, “ unsppilable.” His natural simplicity remained with mm through a life so consequential in the public sense that the head even of a King might have been turned. Politically he succeeded in a task, more dimcult to carry through than it sounds, of maintaining an aloofness from party strains and stresses, while always showing a keen interest in problems both internal and international which his Ministers brought to him. He had created, from early in his reign, a new conception of the meaning of Constitutional monarchy, and none can doubt, •reading this sympathetic appraisal, that Mr Gore is correct in stating that his influence was considerable, and aiways directed to obtaining and assurmg i the welfare of his people. This book, which is handsomely illustrated, is - the best study we have yet had of a king to whom, with his Consort, the British peoples have reason to be grateful. As has been indicated, it confirms rather than illuminates the character of the late monarch, but there is much of quiet personal detail in the study that makes it. in the best sense, an intimate chronicle. A. L. F.