The King who was 'euthanised' by his doctor: Inside the death of George V, the monarch who rebranded the Royal Family and died 89 years ago today
Queen Elizabeth's grandfather reigned for 26 years and reshaped the monarchy before he passed away on January 20, 1936.
Claims 50 years after his death revealed there may have been other factors at play during his final moments.
Back in 1986, it was claimed that King George V had been euthanised by his doctor, Lord Dawson, who died in 1945.
A 'mixture of morphine and cocaine was administered' in the form of an injection to the monarch who was on his deathbed, Andrew Morton reported in the Daily Mail in November 1986.
It was given by Lord Dawson with the approval of the King's wife, Queen Mary, and the Prince of Wales at the time, the Mail said.
The revelation came after Lord Dawson's biographer, Francis Watson, wrote an article about the incident in History Today that year.
It is thought the timing of the alleged euthanasia was partly to ensure the death would be printed on the morning front page of The Times, which was apparently the King's favourite newspaper.
Lord Dawson's medical notes detailed: 'The determination of the time of death of the King's body had another object in view, viz: The importance of the death receiving its first announcement in the morning papers, rather than the less appropriate field of the evening journals.'
King George V's coffin lying in state at Westminster Hall after his death in 1936
George V, who passed away 86 years ago today on January 20, 1936
Newspaper front pages on January 21 announcing the death of George V
He explained how he asked his wife to tell The Times to pause publication of the next day's paper.
The doctor was the president of the Royal College of Physicians at the time.
'Technically, Lord Dawson could have been prosecuted but he only shortened the King's life by an hour or two. It wasn't a question of several days,' Mr Watson said in 1986.
The biographer added: 'He had the full support of the Royal Family who did not want the King to be in pain for longer than was necessary. They left it to Lord Dawson to judge the right moment to administer the injection.'
At the time, a former president of the Royal College of Physicians hit out at Lord Dawson's alleged decision and described it as 'evil'.
Sir Douglas Black said: 'I think he did something which, to me, is evil, in order that good should come of it.'
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth's press secretary said: 'Our comment is that we have no comment.'
Decades later, the claims resurfaced in a Channel 5 documentary, George V: The Tyrant King, which aired in August 2020.
King George V and his wife Queen Mary of Teck, who he married in 1893
George V and Queen Mary in a carriage to church in Balmoral with Princess Margaret
A depiction of King George V riding a horse
The television show revealed Lord Dawson's diary entries, which detailed how the doctor 'decided to determine the end'.
An entry read: 'At about 11 o'clock, it was evident that the last stage might endure for many hours. I therefore decided to determine the end and injected three-quarters gram of morphia [morphine] and shortly afterwards one gram of cocaine into the distended jugular vein.'
Royal expert and biographer Angela Levin explained in the programme: 'He also manipulated it so that he would die just before midnight so that his death would make the front page of The Times, which was the king's favourite paper.
'There's been this argument about whether it was murder of euthanasia. If you look at it objectively, it was a huge decision to make to kill a king without absolute authority.
'It's a very dark but interesting mystery,' she added.
But the doctor's family spoke out against the claims in 1986, the Mail reported at the time.
Lady Bowater, Lord Dawson's daughter, said: 'My father was devoted to his Sovereign and the King was equally devoted to him. He was more than just a patient - he was a family friend.'
Born June 3, 1865, to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, George V was the couple's second son and was not expected to become king. His older brother, Prince Albert Victor, suddenly passed away in 1892.
George married his late brother's fiancée, Princess Victoria Mary, in 1893. She went on to become Queen Mary of Teck.
The couple lived together at York Cottage in Sandringham and had six children together - Prince Edward, Prince Albert, Princess Mary, Prince Henry, Prince George and Prince John.
The Daily Mail's coverage of the claims in November 1986, written by Andrew Morton
George V and Queen Mary with their daughter, Princess Mary, who later became Princess Royal
George V and his wife with their eldest son, Edward VIII, who would later become King before abdicating
George was crowned King on June 22, 1911, following the death of his father in 1910.
He had a fierce temper and ruled harshly over his sons, once saying: 'My father was terrified of his mother, I was terrified of my father, and I am determined that my own children shall be terrified of me.'
George reigned during the First World War and, as anti-German sentiment built, he changed the family name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the House of Windsor in 1917. The name still stands in today's monarchy.
He also introduced the annual Christmas speech tradition the Royal Family still continues today.
Sitting in a small room in Sandringham in 1932 that provided better sound quality and reportedly calmed the King's nerves, George V gave his first ever Christmas broadcast.
The Daily Mail's coverage of the momentous occasion at the time called it the 'world's most thrilling broadcast'.
