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The king who was ‘euthanized’ by his doctor: inside the death of George V, the monarch who changed the name of the Royal Family and died 89 years ago today

The king who was ‘euthanized’ by his doctor: inside the death of George V, the monarch who changed the name of the Royal Family and died 89 years ago today

Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather reigned for 26 years and reformed the monarchy before dying on January 20, 1936.

Claims 50 years after his death revealed that there may have been other factors at play during his final moments.

In 1986, it was claimed that King George V had been sacrificed by his doctor, Lord Dawson, who died in 1945.

A “mixture of morphine and cocaine” was administered in the form of an injection to the monarch on his deathbed, Andrew Morton reported in the Daily Mail in November 1986.

It was given by Lord Dawson with the approval of the king’s wife, Queen Mary, and the Prince of Wales at the time, the Mail said.

The revelation came after Lord Dawson’s biographer Francis Watson wrote an article about the incident in History Today that year.

It is believed that the timing of the alleged euthanasia was in part to ensure that the death appeared on the morning front page of The Times, which was apparently the King’s favorite newspaper.

Lord Dawson’s medical notes detailed: “The determination of the time of death of the king’s body had another object in view, namely: the importance of the death receiving its first announcement in the morning papers, instead of the less appropriate field of the evening newspapers. .’

The king who was ‘euthanized’ by his doctor: inside the death of George V, the monarch who changed the name of the Royal Family and died 89 years ago today

The coffin of King George V in Westminster Hall after his death in 1936

George V, who died 86 years ago today, January 20, 1936.

George V, who died 86 years ago today, January 20, 1936.

Newspaper front pages of January 21 announcing the death of George V

Newspaper front pages of January 21 announcing the death of George V

He explained how he asked his wife to tell the Times to stop publishing the next day’s paper.

The doctor was then president of the Royal College of Physicians.

‘Technically, Lord Dawson could have been prosecuted but he only shortened the king’s life by an hour or two. It wasn’t a matter of several days,” Watson said in 1986.

The biographer added: “He had the full support of the Royal Family, who did not want the King to suffer any longer than necessary.” They left it to Lord Dawson to judge the appropriate time to administer the injection.

At the time, a former president of the Royal College of Physicians criticized Lord Dawson’s alleged decision, describing it as “evil”.

Sir Douglas Black said: “I think he did something that, to me, is bad, so that something good would come of it.”

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth’s press secretary said: “Our comment is that we have no comment.”

Decades later, the claims resurfaced in a Channel 5 documentary, George V: The Tyrant King, which aired in August 2020.

King George V and his wife, Queen Mary of Teck, whom he married in 1893

King George V and his wife, Queen Mary of Teck, whom he married in 1893

George V and Queen Mary in a carriage to Balmoral Church with Princess Margaret

George V and Queen Mary in a carriage to Balmoral Church with Princess Margaret

A representation of King George V riding a horse.

A representation of King George V riding a horse.

The TV show revealed Lord Dawson’s diary entries, which detailed how the doctor “decided to determine the ending”.

One entry said: ‘By 11 o’clock it was evident that the last stage could last many hours. I therefore decided to determine the end and injected three quarters of a gram of morphine (morphine) and shortly after a gram of cocaine into the distended jugular vein.’

Royal expert and biographer Angela Levin explained on the programme: ‘He also manipulated him into dying just before midnight, so that his death would appear on the front page of The Times, which was the king’s favorite newspaper.

‘There has been a discussion about whether it was murder or euthanasia. If you look at it objectively, it was a great decision to kill a king without absolute authority.

“It’s a very dark but interesting mystery,” he added.

But the doctor’s family spoke out against the claims in 1986, the Mail reported at the time.

Lady Bowater, daughter of Lord Dawson, said: ‘My father was devoted to his sovereign and the king was equally devoted to him. He was more than just a patient: he was a family friend.

Born on June 3, 1865, to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, George V was the couple’s second child and was not expected to become king. His older brother, Prince Albert Victor, died suddenly in 1892.

George married his late brother’s fiancée, Princess Victoria Mary, in 1893. She became Queen Mary of Teck.

The couple lived together at York Cottage in Sandringham and had six children together: Prince Edward, Prince Albert, Princess Mary, Prince Henry, Prince George and Prince John.

Daily Mail coverage of the claims in November 1986, written by Andrew Morton

Daily Mail coverage of the claims in November 1986, written by Andrew Morton

George V and Queen Mary with their daughter Princess Mary, who later became Princess Royal

George V and Queen Mary with their daughter Princess Mary, who later became Princess Royal

George V and his wife with their eldest son, Edward VIII, who would later become king before abdicating.

George V and his wife with their eldest son, Edward VIII, who would later become king before abdicating.

George was crowned king on June 22, 1911, following the death of his father in 1910.

He had a fiery temper and ruled his children harshly, once saying, “My father was terrified of his mother, I was terrified of my father, and I am determined that my own children will be terrified of me.”

George reigned during World War I and, as anti-German sentiment grew, changed the surname from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to the House of Windsor in 1917. The name remains in use in the current monarchy.

He also introduced the annual tradition of the Christmas speech which the Royal Family still continues today.

Sitting in a small room at Sandringham in 1932 that offered better sound quality and supposedly calmed the King’s nerves, George V gave his first Christmas broadcast.

The Daily Mail’s coverage of the momentous occasion at the time called it “the most exciting broadcast in the world.”