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Death and state funeral of George V

George V, King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, died at Sandringham House in Norfolk on 20 January 1936, at the age of 70. He was succeeded by the eldest son, Edward VIII, who abdicated that year.

Death and state funeral of George V
George V lying in state, draped with the Royal Standard
Date
  • 20 January 1936 (1936-01-20)
  • (death)
  • 28 January 1936 (1936-01-28)
  • (state funeral)
Location
ParticipantsBritish royal family

Death

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Main article: George V § Declining health and death
 
Sandringham House in Norfolk, where King George V died.

King George had suffered several bouts of serious illness since the First World War; he suffered from chronic bronchitis exacerbated by heavy smoking.[1] By 1935 he required the occasional use of oxygen tanks kept at his bedside.[2] By the end of that year, his personal physician, Lord Dawson of Penn, told the prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, that the king was "packing up his luggage and getting ready to depart".[3]

In the new year of 1936, King George took to his bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk; family members were summoned on 16 and 17 January by an anxious Queen Mary.[4] At 21:25 on Tuesday 20 January, Lord Dawson wrote a press bulletin on the back of a menu card; "the King’s life is moving peacefully to its close". King George died at 23:55 with the queen and his children at his bedside and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang, reciting prayers. It was revealed decades later from Dawson's account in his personal diary, that he had hastened the process by injecting an overdose of morphine and cocaine into the king's jugular vein, with the intention of having the announcement in the morning broadsheet newspapers, rather than "the less appropriate evening journals".[5]

Sandringham to London

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Church of St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, where King George's coffin lay overnight on 22–23 January.

On the afternoon of 22 January (the day of the 35th anniversary of the death of Queen Victoria), the king's coffin was taken from Sandringham House to the parish church of St Mary Magdalene, where it lay in state overnight with an honour guard of estate workers. On the following morning, 23 January, the coffin was taken in a 2½ mile (4 kilometre) procession from the church to Wolferton railway station, with King Edward VIII and his brothers walking behind and the rest of the royal family in carriages. Also accompanying was the late king's grey pony Jock, led by a groom, and his parrot Charlotte, whose cage was carried by a servant.[6]

The funeral train, hauled by Class B17 locomotive No. 2847 Helmingham Hall,[7] arrived in London at King's Cross railway station and then the coffin was carried on a gun carriage escorted by Grenadier Guards through crowded but silent streets with King Edward and his brothers walking behind, arriving at Westminster Hall at four o'clock.[8] As the coffin was carried into the hall by guardsmen, the Maltese cross which surmounted the Imperial State Crown, fell off and landed in the street; Edward was heard to exclaim "Christ! What's going to happen next?"[9]

Lying in state

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Upon entering the hall, the choirs of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal sang Psalm 103; "Praise the Lord, O my soul".[10] A short service was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, which included the hymn, Praise, my soul, the King of heaven, at the suggestion of Queen Mary.[11]

Following the departure of the royal family, Members of Parliament, led by the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House of Commons, were the first to file past the catafalque to pay their respects. They were followed by ordinary members of the public, who formed a queue fifteen deep through the streets of Westminster; during the four days of the lying in state, 809,182 people were recorded to have passed through the hall. Also visiting were royalty and dignitaries from overseas who had arrived in London for the funeral.[10] The doors of the hall were finally closed at 04:00 on Tuesday, 28 January.[12]

Vigil of the Princes

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A plaque in Westminster Hall commemorating the lying in state

During the lying in state, the catafalque was guarded at all times by twelve men; four Yeomen of the Guard, four Gentlemen-at-Arms, and four officers of the Household Division, either the Foot Guards or the Household Cavalry. The guard was changed every twenty minutes, except for the Yeomen who were relieved every hour.

At midnight, after attending a state dinner at Buckingham Palace for the visiting dignitaries including five kings,[10] the late king's four surviving sons, King Edward VIII, the Duke of York, the Duke of Gloucester, and the Duke of Kent, stood vigil replacing the four guards officers. This event became known as the Vigil of the Princes.[13] They were dressed respectively in the full dress uniforms of the Welsh Guards, the Scots Guards, the 10th Royal Hussars and the Royal Navy. It was reported that many of the passing mourners failed to recognise the King and the princes.[10]

London to Windsor

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The funeral procession began at 09:45 on Tuesday, 28 January, with the tolling of Big Ben. The coffin was placed on the Royal Navy State Funeral Gun Carriage, drawn by a team of 142 naval ratings. Following the gun carriage on foot were the king and the Royal Dukes, after which came the kings of Denmark, Norway, Romania, Bulgaria and Belgium, along with the President of France and other dignitaries. The queen, the Princess Royal and the Royal Duchesses travelled in horse-drawn state coaches. The procession was watched by huge crowds along the route, often twelve deep, many of whom had braved overnight rain. Some 150 members of the public had to be taken to hospital and it was reported that first aiders had treated 10,000 cases of fainting. In some places, the crowd had burst through the police cordon, delaying the proceedings by 22 minutes.[12] The route from Westminster Hall passed down Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, under Admiralty Arch into The Mall, turning into St James's Street and then along Piccadilly to Hyde Park Corner. Entering Hyde Park, the procession passed along the East Carriage Road to Marble Arch and from there to Paddington Station via Edgware Road.[14]

On arrival at Paddington Station, the coffin was loaded onto the funeral train, hauled by 4073 Class locomotive No. 4082 Windsor Castle, which left at around midday. A further six special trains carrying dignitaries had preceded it, leaving at 10-minute intervals.[7] At Windsor & Eton railway station, the coffin was transferred to the state gun carriage again and drawn through the streets of the town towards Windsor Castle, escorted by the Coldstream Guards.[12] The procession moved along the road (today the B3022) from the station past the castle and St John the Baptist Church before turning into Park Street at the Soldier's Statue and eventually moving up the Long Walk towards the castle. At St George's Chapel, sailors used boatswain's calls to signal "Admiral on board" and "Admiral over the side", followed by Highland pipers playing the lament, Flowers of the Forest.[15] The king and his brothers saluted as the coffin was carried up the chapel steps.[12]

Funeral service

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Monumental tomb of King George V and Queen Mary at St George's Chapel, Windsor

The service itself was a fairly simple affair following the text of the Book of Common Prayer and lacking any additional anthems, which had been a feature of other royal funerals. Instead, a congregational hymn, Abide with me, was included. The last funeral sentence, I heard a Voice from Heaven, was sung to a setting by Sir John Goss, rather than the traditional music by William Croft. After the Garter Principal King of Arms had pronounced the style of the late king, God be in my Head by Sir Henry Walford Davies was sung.[15]

Initially interred in the Royal Vault beneath the Quire at St George's Chapel, King George's body was transferred to a monumental sarcophagus in the North Nave Aisle on 27 February 1939.[16] It is surmounted by tomb effigies of George and Mary, sculpted by Sir William Reid Dick (1878–1961).[17] Queen Mary was laid to rest next to her husband following her funeral at St George's on 31 March 1953.[18]

The service was broadcast live on BBC Radio and relayed across the empire; also newsreel films of the funeral processions were later shown in cinemas. Ecumenical memorial services were held in churches and chapels throughout the country, for which a special "form of service" had been printed, to be used "either on the Day of the Funeral or on the Most Convenient Day within the Octave, by His Majesty's Special Command".[19]

Guests

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As per report in London Gazette.[20]

British royal family

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The House of Windsor

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See also: House of Windsor

Teck-Cambridge family

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See also: Marquess of Cambridge

Mountbatten family

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See also: Mountbatten family

Foreign royalty

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Other dignitaries

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Departure of the French delegation from Gare du Nord, Paris. From left to right: Albert Sarraut, (President of the Council, i.e. Prime Minister), John Clerk (British Ambassador to Paris), Albert Lebrun (President of the Republic)[21].

Nobility

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rose 1983, p. 301
  2. ^ Bradford 1989, p. 196
  3. ^ Bradford 1989, p. 198
  4. ^ Bradford 1989, pp. 198-199
  5. ^ O’Mahony, Seamus (October 2021). "The death of King George V". Hektoen International Journal. 13 (Special Issue – Fall 2021). Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  6. ^ Makin 1936, p. 311
  7. ^ a b "Workings of Royal Special Trains in connection with the Funeral of the late King". The Locomotive Magazine and Railway Carriage and Wagon Review. 42 (522): 42–43. 15 February 1936. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  8. ^ Makin 1936, pp. 311-312
  9. ^ Bradford 1989, p. 204
  10. ^ a b c d Makin 1936, p. 312
  11. ^ Range 2015, p. 278
  12. ^ a b c d Makin 1936, p. 313
  13. ^ "Frank Ernest Beresford (1881-1967) - The Princes Vigil - 12.15 am January 28th, 1936". www.rct.uk. Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  14. ^ "A graphic map / plan of the funeral procession route of King George V on the 28th January 1936". www.alamy.com. Alamy Ltd. 9 July 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  15. ^ a b Range 2015, p. 282
  16. ^ "Royal Burials in the Chapel since 1805". www.stgeorges-windsor.org. Dean & Canons of Windsor. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Photograph of Sir William Reid Dick's effigies of King George V and Queen Mary, on their tomb". www.tate-images.com. Tate Images. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  18. ^ "On this day - 1953: Queen Mary laid to rest in Windsor". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  19. ^ Range 2015, pp. 286-287
  20. ^ "No. 34279". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 April 1936.
  21. ^ "Les funérailles du roi George V se sont déroulées hier avec une pompe sans précédent" (PDF). Feuille d'avis de Neuchâtel. 1936-01-29. pp. 1/6. Retrieved 2023-05-05.

Sources

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