Evening star., 1936-01-21
George Y Mourned Sincerely
Bv Entire British Nation
King Was Beloved Not Only by Court
iers and Politicians, but by Ordinary
MAJ, IL, the Street.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.

6x CONSxANxANE DhVWNs
The death Of King George v, THE
Pillar of the British Empire" IS
mourned by the entire British nation
more sincerely than that Of any
monarch in England's modern history.
The affection of his subjects
throughout the empire was not an
idle word. He was beloved not only
by the courtiers and the politicians
holding Office, whose business 1t is to
find the ruling sovereign invariably
perfect, but by the ordinary man in
the street, who frequently referred to
the sovereign as governor" He was
loved by everybody from the wretched
miners in bleak Wales coal fields, to
whom he was "a damned good scout"
to the wealthy financiers in the city
or the politicians in Westminster, be-
cause he was truly constitutional and
the welfare of his subjects was the
object to which he devoted the whole
of his extremely active life.
Brother Slated to Rule.
King George was not brought up TO
be king. He was Edwards second son
and as such he was not expected 10
be intrusted with the crown and the
scepter OF the vast empire. His great
love for the sea decided his father to
give him & sound naval training. After
leaving the naval college at Dart
mouth he went to sea as naval of11-
Ger and did his duties like COM
moner, regardless Of his rank.
The death of his brother, the Duke
of Clarence. found the king as COM
mander of the destroyer Thrush in
the Mediterranean. He regretfully
abandoned his ship and returned to
London to get acquainted with the
complicated machinery Of state and
profited much from the sound advice
of his clever father. King Edward VII.
But George did not agree with his
| fathers methods. He did not see why
a constitutional monarch should en-
deavor to dictate to his ministers what
line of policy they should take. and
when in 1910 he came to the throne
he made up his mind to leave the en-
tire burden Of government. to the
country itself, as represented by the
Houses of Parliament and the minis
ters of the crown. This, however, did
not mean that King George was not
| interested in what was going on in
the empire. On the contrary, he un-
doubtely was the hardest working head
OF a state in Europe. He used to get
up at in the morning and go for a
ride in Hyde Park, return to the
palace at 7:30, and from $50 till late
at night he read reports Of ministers,
ambassadors, chiefs of the naval, mill
tary and air stats and gave audiences
| and discussed with his cabinet minis
tiers all the important bills they in
tended to present to Parliament.
Advised Ambassadors.
Newly appointed British Ambassa-
dors to foreign countries used to have
the longest audiences. The King
gave hints and advice regarding the
personality of sovereigns and presi-
dents of republics and the general
situation in the countries where they
we're going to represent Great Britain,
and he used to speak very frankly
To an Ambassador who some time ago
was appointed to Spain, he said:
You will find there most charming
King who is up against very diff
cult situation. I wouldn't like to be
in his shoes for anything in the
world"
In 1910 nobody imagined that King
George would become the most popu-
lar monarch in English modern his
tory. When he first ascended the
throne, because he didn't inherit hi.
fathers sparkling wit he was de-
scribed as dull by some people anc
naughty by others. He was neither
His natural shyness was misunder'
stood by all who approached him. HI
fought and in the end conquered thai
natural defect. He started his reigr
by encouraging his then prime min
lister, Herbert Asquith, to pass Law
cutrailing the medieval privileges O.
the House of Lords. When the peer
endeavored to block measures which
gave the House of Commons create
power he let them know that he woult
use his royal prerogative and Greats
400 more peers and send them to th'
Upper House in order to facilitate th'
passing of the new bill. The lord
did not oppose it and the famou
Asquith bill became law.
When the War Came.
When. at a critical hour. the Brit
ish cabinet decided to declare war OF
Germany, Viscount Grey was great.
worried that the Kings blood rela
tions with the German imperial fam
lily might prove handicap and tina
the King might possibly try to in
f1uence the cabinets policy and asl
it to revise its decision. This woult
have been possible, especially as th'
public was not yet prepared for wal
and relations between Germany ant
Britain had been quite cordial.
This was one Of the few errors o.
judgment that the former foreign sec
retary made. The King gave hi!
wholehearted consent at once. Dur
ing those four critical years he nevel
attempted to interfere with the con
duct of the war, although tears fire.
quently rolled down his cheeks wher
| shortly before Athens recalled tn,