King George V (1865 - 1936) was King of the United Kingdom from 1910 to 1936. He also ruled as Emperor of India.
He was the great-grandfather of the current King Charles III.
In his royal life, George V was nicknamed the "Tyrant King" because he could be cold and demanding. However, he got through several crises during his reign including World War I.
George V was a smoker and towards the end of his life, he suffered from smoking-related ailments.
In the last year of his life, he was administered oxygen and placed on bed rest.
When he was close to death, his physician, Lord Dawson, who supported euthanasia injected morphine and cocaine into his jugular vein.
At the time, the public was unaware of the true nature of George V's death. It was believed that he had died naturally.
In 1986, the Royal Archives released Lord Dawson's diary. In the diary, the doctor had written that he decided to "determine the end" and thus he personally injected the king with the fatal dose of drugs. The intent was to ensure that the king would "die with that dignity and serenity which he so richly merited."
Royal experts also claim that the doctor manipulated the death so that the king would die before midnight on January 20, 1936. Then, the death could be announced in the morning paper.
It was reported that the King's wife, Queen Mary, and his son, the Prince of Wales were not notified prior to the doctor's actions. However, the family did mention that they did not want to see George V needlessly suffer.
In 2017, an article in The Guardian stated that the manner in which the king died was "murder."
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