Long live the King, the King is Dead

George V, having ruled over the UK and its colonies from 1910-1936, passed away today in 1936, leaving a legacy of a strong British Raj mauled by independence movements behind

Portrait of King George from 1923; Source: Wikipedia; Public Domain

20th January 1936 - The King is dead, long live the king, they said.

King-Emperor George V had just died after a 26 year-long reign from 1910 onwards and had witnessed Britain go through the trials of the First World War, the Great Depression, and arming up for another oncoming war, as well as numerous colonial disturbances around the vast British Empire, which grew to its maximum height during his time.

His reign was tumultuous internationally as well - communism and fascism made their mark on British society in his period, and the Irish republican movement sought independence from the crown.

The House of Lords became ineffective and the Commons ruled over the United Kingdom.

His reign was tumultuous internationally as well - communism and fascism made their mark on British society in his period, and the Irish republican movement sought independence from the crown.

The House of Lords became ineffective and the Commons ruled over the United Kingdom.

But even more than all these, his position in India is of concern to us. His connection had started early -when in 1905-06 he and May had toured British India, where they had expressed concerns over rampant racism and wanted greater native involvement in the local government. When he was crowned as the king of the British Empire, he would take a tour to his Indian holdings in 1911 - and a Delhi Durbar would be assembled by December 1911 for the King Emperor.

Thus he became the only Emperor of India (of the British crown) to be actually present at his durbar. The older ones had been handled by the viceroys on royal behalf. He would also hunt lavishly - tigers, rhinoceros, bears - showing off his marksmanship.

His days would see the rise of the 1919 Satyagraha, the Non Cooperation Movement, the Khilafat Movement, the Civil Disobedience movement on one hand; yet on the other hand, Indians were granted more local government positions, they were in contact with their English rulers over the question of representation and movement, and sometimes even the king was visited by them - like Gandhi’s famous visit.