Editing George V (section)

==Declining health and death==
{{main|Death and state funeral of George V}}
[[File:Arthur Stockdale Cope - George V 1933.jpg|thumb|Portrait by [[Arthur Stockdale Cope]], 1933]]
The First World War took a toll on George's health: he was seriously injured on 28 October 1915 when thrown by his horse at a troop review in France,<ref>Windsor, pp. 118–119</ref> and his heavy smoking exacerbated recurring breathing problems. He suffered from [[chronic bronchitis]]. In 1925, on the instruction of his doctors, he was reluctantly sent on a recuperative private cruise in the Mediterranean; it was his third trip abroad since the war, and his last.<ref>Rose, pp. 301, 344</ref> In November&nbsp;1928, he fell seriously ill with [[septicaemia]], which localised between the base of his right lung and diaphragm in the form of an [[empyema]] that required [[Drainage (medical)|drainage]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Illness of H. M. the King-Emperor|journal=[[The Indian Medical Gazette]]|date=March 1929|volume=64|issue=3|pages=151–152|pmid=29009522|pmc=5164308}}</ref> For the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties.<ref>Ziegler, pp. 192–196</ref> In 1929, the suggestion of a further rest abroad was rejected by the King "in rather strong language".<ref>[[Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham]], to [[Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone]], 9 July 1929, quoted in Nicolson p. 433 and Rose, p. 359</ref> Instead, he retired for three months<!--9 February to 15 May 1929--> to [[Craigweil House]], Aldwick, in the seaside resort of [[Bognor]], Sussex.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 546; Rose, pp. 359–360</ref> As a result of his stay, the town acquired the suffix ''Regis'' – Latin for "of the King". A myth later grew that his last words, on being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit the town, were "[[Bugger]] Bognor!"<ref>{{citation|last=Roberts|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Roberts (historian)|editor=Fraser, Antonia|editor-link=Antonia Fraser|year=2000|title=The House of Windsor|publisher=Cassell and Co.|location=London, UK|page=36|isbn=978-0-304-35406-1}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Ashley|first=Mike|author-link=Mike Ashley (writer)|year=1998|title=The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens|publisher=Robinson Publishing|location=London, UK|page=699}}</ref><ref>Rose, pp. 360–361</ref>

George never fully recovered. In his final year, he was occasionally administered oxygen.<ref>{{citation|last=Bradford|first=Sarah|year=1989|title=King George&nbsp;VI|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson|location=London, UK|isbn=978-0-297-79667-1|page=149}}</ref> The death of his favourite sister, [[Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom|Victoria]], in December 1935 depressed him deeply. On the evening of 15&nbsp;January 1936, George took to his bedroom at [[Sandringham House]] complaining of a cold; he remained in the room until his death.<ref>Pope-Hennessy, p. 558</ref> He became gradually weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin later said:

{{Blockquote|... each time he became conscious it was some kind inquiry or kind observation of someone, some words of gratitude for kindness shown. But he did say to his secretary when he sent for him: "How is the Empire?" An unusual phrase in that form, and the secretary said: "All is well, sir, with the Empire", and the King gave him a smile and relapsed once more into unconsciousness.<ref>''The Times'' (London), 22 January 1936, p. 7, col. A</ref>}}

By 20 January, George was close to death. His physicians, led by [[Lord Dawson of Penn]], issued a bulletin with the words "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close."<ref>''The Times'' (London), 21 January 1936, p. 12, col. A</ref><ref>Rose, p. 402</ref> Dawson's private diary, unearthed after his death and made public in 1986, reveals that George's last words, a mumbled "God damn you!",<ref name="watson">{{citation|last=Watson|first=Francis|year=1986|title=The death of George&nbsp;V|magazine=History Today|volume=36|pages=21–30|pmid=11645856}}</ref> were addressed to his nurse, [[Catherine Black (nurse)|Catherine Black]], when she gave him a sedative that night. Dawson, who supported the "gentle growth of [[euthanasia]]",<ref>{{citation|last=Lelyveld|first=Joseph|date=28 November 1986|title=1936 Secret is out: Doctor sped George&nbsp;V's death|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|pages=A1, A3|pmid=11646481|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/28/world/1936-secret-is-out-doctor-sped-george-v-s-death.html|access-date=18 September 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008095035/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/28/world/1936-secret-is-out-doctor-sped-george-v-s-death.html|archive-date=8 October 2016}}</ref> admitted in the diary that he ended the King's life:<ref name="watson" /><ref name="ramsay"/><ref name="Matson">{{cite book|last=Matson|first=John|date=1 January 2012|title=Sandringham Days: The Domestic Life of the Royal Family in Norfolk,1862–1952|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ut8SDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT176&lpg=PT176&dq=%22Sandringham+Days%22+%22at+about+11%22|publisher=The History Press|isbn=9780752483115|mode=cs2}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| align             = left
| direction         = vertical
| image1            = GeorgeVlyinginstate.png
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = George V lying in state, draped with the [[Royal Standard of the United Kingdom|Royal Standard]] (''below'')
| image2            = Royal Standard of the United Kingdom.svg
}}
{{Blockquote|At about 11 o'clock it was evident that the last stage might endure for many hours, unknown to the Patient but little comporting with that dignity and serenity which he so richly merited and which demanded a brief final scene. Hours of waiting just for the mechanical end when all that is really life has departed only exhausts the onlookers & keeps them so strained that they cannot avail themselves of the solace of thought, communion or prayer. I therefore decided to determine the end and injected (myself) morphia gr.3/4 [grains] and shortly afterwards cocaine gr.1 [grains] into the distended jugular vein&nbsp;... In about 1/4 an hour – breathing quieter – appearance more placid – physical struggle gone.<ref name="Matson" />}}Dawson wrote that he acted to preserve the King's dignity, to prevent further strain on the family, and so that George's death at 11:55&nbsp;pm could be announced in the morning edition of ''[[The Times]]'' newspaper rather than "less appropriate&nbsp;... evening journals".<ref name="watson" /><ref name="ramsay">{{citation|last=Ramsay|first=J.H.R.|title=A king, a doctor, and a convenient death|journal=[[British Medical Journal]]|date=28 May 1994|volume=308|page=1445|doi=10.1136/bmj.308.6941.1445|pmid=11644545|issue=6941|pmc=2540387}} (Subscription required)</ref> Neither Queen Mary, who was intensely religious and might not have sanctioned euthanasia, nor the Prince of Wales were consulted. The royal family did not want the King to endure pain and suffering and did not want his life prolonged artificially but neither did they approve Dawson's actions.<ref>{{citation|title=Doctor murdered Britain's George&nbsp;V|date=28 November 1986|agency=Washington (PA)|newspaper=Observer-Reporter|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19861128&id=bkZiAAAAIBAJ&pg=2197,3764364|access-date=18 September 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103092557/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2519&dat=19861128&id=bkZiAAAAIBAJ&pg=2197,3764364|archive-date=3 November 2020}}</ref> ''[[British Pathé]]'' announced the King's death the following day, in which he was described as "for each one of us, more than a King, a father of a great family".<ref>{{citation|title=The death of His Majesty King George&nbsp;V 1936|date=23 January 1936|publisher=[[British Pathé]]|medium=short film / newsreel|url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-death-of-his-majesty-king-george-v|access-date=18 September 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504014408/http://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-death-of-his-majesty-king-george-v|archive-date=4 May 2016}}</ref>

The German composer [[Paul Hindemith]] went to a BBC studio on the morning after the King's death and in six hours wrote ''[[Trauermusik]]'' ("Mourning Music"), for viola and orchestra. It was performed that same evening in a live broadcast by the [[BBC]], with [[Adrian Boult]] conducting the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] and the composer as soloist.<ref>{{citation|first=Michael|last=Steinberg|title=The Concerto|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|pages=212–213|isbn=978-0-19-513931-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t8oXNX2tY8AC&q=werner+reinhart&pg=PA213|access-date=11 November 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008070507/https://books.google.com/books?id=t8oXNX2tY8AC&q=werner+reinhart&pg=PA213|archive-date=8 October 2021}}</ref>
At the procession to George's [[lying in state]] in [[Westminster Hall]], the cross surmounting the [[Imperial State Crown]] atop George's coffin fell off and landed in the gutter as the cortège turned into [[New Palace Yard]]. George's eldest son and successor, Edward VIII, saw it fall and wondered whether it was a bad omen for his new reign.<ref>Windsor, p. 267</ref> As a mark of respect to their father, George's four surviving sons – Edward, [[George VI|Albert]], [[Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester|Henry]], and [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|George]] – mounted the guard, known as the [[Vigil of the Princes]], at the [[catafalque]] on the night before the [[Death and state funeral of George V|funeral]].<ref>''The Times'' (London), Tuesday, 28 January 1936, p. 10, col. F</ref> The vigil was not repeated until the death of George's daughter-in-law, [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]], in 2002. George V was interred at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 28 January 1936.<ref>Rose, pp. 404–405</ref> Edward [[Abdication of Edward VIII|abdicated]] before the year was out, leaving Albert to ascend the throne as George VI.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34350|page=8117|date=15 December 1936|mode=cs2}}</ref>