He was born in as the second son of Prince Albert Edward and was third in line to the throne. After serving in the Royal Navy from to , he became heir to the throne upon the death of his elder brother in He succeeded his father as King in During his reign, the British Empire reached its greatest extent but new political ideologies like socialism and Irish republicanism challenged British rule. He oversaw the UK during World War I and enacted constitutional changes that established the independence of the Dominions within the Commonwealth in the s and s.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Queen Victoria, George was third in the line of succession behind his father, Prince Albert Edward, and his own elder brother, Prince Albert Victor. From to , George served in the Royal Navy, until the unexpected death of his elder brother in early put him directly in line for the throne. He became king-emperor on his father's death in George V's reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, and the Indian independence movement, all of which radically changed the political landscape of the British Empire.
In , George became the first monarch of the House of George in Windsor, which he renamed from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as a result of anti-German public sentiment. He had smoking-related health problems throughout 20 January much of his later reign and at his death was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII.
He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder Commands Torpedo Boat 79 brother, Prince Albert Victor.
Neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. In George as a young boy, on a visit to Japan, George had a local artist tattoo a blue and red dragon on his arm,[5] and was received in an audience by the Emperor Meiji; George and his brother presented Empress Haruko with two wallabies from Australia. He travelled the world, visiting many areas of the British Empire.
