It was during the reign of George V that constitutional monarchy reached its maturity. It came to be taken for granted that the powers of the sovereign would be used in a genuinely impartial way. This proved of particular importance with the advent of the first Labour government in 1924. George V’s reign coincided with the fall from power of five emperors, eight kings and eighteen other dynasties. But in Britain the monarchy gained in popular esteem and this helped to preserve parliamentary government in the difficult years between the wars.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/king-george-v

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