King George V's Real Name: George Frederick Ernest Albert

Quick answer: King George V's real name is George Frederick Ernest Albert. He was born on June 3, 1865, in London, England. He died on January 20, 1936.

Real name and early life

Biography.com records his full name as George Frederick Ernest Albert. Unlike his son George VI, he reigned under his own first name. He was the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

As a second son he was not expected to become king, so he trained for and served in the Royal Navy from 1877 to 1892. When his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, died unexpectedly in January 1892, George became second in line to the throne. In 1893 he married Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, who became Queen Mary, and they had six children.

Quick facts

• Real name: George Frederick Ernest Albert
• Known as: King George V
• Born: June 3, 1865, in London, England
• Died: January 20, 1936
• Known for: British monarch
• Sources checked: Biography.com

Career highlights

When Queen Victoria died in 1901, his father became Edward VII and George was created Prince of Wales. He became king on May 6, 1910. His reign spanned the First World War, the Parliament Act 1911, which established the Commons' supremacy over the Lords, and the rise of Irish republicanism and the Indian independence movement.

In 1917, with anti-German feeling high during the war, he changed the royal house name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor. He died on January 20, 1936. His eldest son briefly reigned as Edward VIII, and his second son, Albert, then became George VI.

Name notes

George V is his real first name plus a regnal number. The surname "Windsor" was a name he adopted for the royal house in 1917, not a birth surname. Fan sites often copy names from one another, so we checked this page against Biography.com. Where sources disagree, we say so rather than guess. We also leave out middle names, nicknames, and origin stories that we couldn't confirm in a reliable source. A popular claim isn't enough to earn a place on this page if no encyclopedia, official record, or major news outlet backs it up.