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George V was born on June 3, 1865, at Marlborough House in London, the second son of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, who at that time held the title of Prince of Wales. As a younger son, there was no expectation of George ever taking the throne, the direct heir being his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, known to the family as "Eddy". As children, the two boys were very close, and were sent away together to naval college as a way of finishing their education. However, their characters were very different. Eddy was unstable - possibly even mentally retarded - whilst George had inherited the steady, dutiful disposition of his grandmother, Queen Victoria.

After becoming engaged to Princess Mary of Teck, Eddy died suddenly, leaving George directly in line for the throne. George married Mary himself, in 1893, and they lived mainly at York Cottage, Sandringham, a relatively small house where their way of life was almost that of an ordinary family - except that both parents set very high standards for their children, of which they had six, five boys and a girl. On his father's accession to the throne in 1901, George took the title of Prince of Wales, which he retained until his father's death in 1910.

As king and queen, George and Mary saw Britain through World War I, a difficult time for the royal family as they had many German relatives. It was during the war that the decision was made to change the surname of the royal family from the German-sounding Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. Following the war, George's health began to deteriorate. He always had a weak chest, but managed to see the silver jubilee of his reign, in 1935, by which time he had become a well-loved king. He died on January 20, 1936, at Sandringham.