He Was Such a Prince Trivia Quiz

George was only a prince and a teenager when he visited Japan while serving in the British Navy. Along with him were his older brother Albert (who was ahead of George in the line of succession until dying in 1892. The two princes paid a formal visit to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken of Japan.

While there, George received tattoos of a dragon and a tiger on his arms while Albert had a pair of storks tattooed on his. In addition to the tattoos, the brothers also rode in a rickshaw, used chopsticks for at least one meal, and engaged in a great deal of sight-seeing.

In future decades, George would speak very positively about this visit.

George served on active duty of the British Royal Navy from 1877 to 1892. (Had his brother Albert not died as a young man, George would probably have continued his career in the Navy.) He was in command of the gunboat "HMS Thrush" from 1889 until 1891 as a Lieutenant. During George's years in command of the ship, it was stationed in the West Indies and Canada. George would reach the rank of Captain while on active duty and Admiral of the Fleet after leaving active duty.

By 1894, George was second in line for the throne so it was appropriate that he attended these events along The with his father and mother. St. Petersburg had been the capital of Russia since the early 1700s. The deceased uncle was Alexander III (1881-1894) of the Romanov dynasty.

The marrying cousin was Alexander's son, Nicholas II, of whom George was rather fond. Nicholas II was marrying Princess Alix of Hesse, who was one of George's paternal cousins.

By 1901, George was the heir to the throne since his father, Edward VII, had become King near the beginning of this year. George would officially open the Parliament for the new Australian commonwealth on May 09. in the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, Victoria, which would serve as the temporary capital of Australia until it was moved to Canberra in 1927.

George's cousin was Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (another paternal cousin). She had been a particular favorite of Queen Victoria. Unfortunately the marriage between her and Alfonso XIII was not particularly happy, as he had several mistresses during their marriage. Alfonso would later return the favor and visit George's United Kingdom more than once, including at the 1910 funeral of George's father, Edward.

George, as Prince of Wales, the representative of the royal family, was in attendance at the Tercentennial celebration of Quebec City. The settlement had been founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. It, along with Quebec and the rest off what was considered Canada, became British following the conclusion of the French and Indian War.

The attendance of George and his wife, Queen Mary, was commemorated in 1908 Canadian postage stamp.

The Delhi Durbar, which recognized the British King/Queen as the Emperor/Empress of India, had previously occurred in 1877 (Victoria) and 1903 (Edward VII). George, however, was the first monarch to attend in person. The ceremony took place in Coronation Park in Delhi, the capital of India. Following the ceremony, George and Mary visited other places in India, as well as Nepal, where George was able to indulge in his hobby of hunting.

Britain was involved in World War One from 1914 until 1918. On six occasions during the war, George paid visits to the troops stationed on the Western Front (in France and Belgium). He also paid numerous visits in Britain to meet wounded soldiers in military hospitals. In 1917, to reduce connections to Germany, George changed the name of the Royal Family's dynasty to Hanover.

George again traveled to Belgium and France in the post-war period on behalf of the Imperial War Graves Commission. He visited various cemeteries including the memorials that were built or being built there. One piece of information I would like to know is if some of the deceased soldiers who were buried in the military cemeteries were soldiers he had met on his visits to the front during the war.

This was one of the last times that George traveled outside of Britain during his lifetime.

By the mid to late 1920s, George began suffering from various health issues. As he lay on what would be his deathbed in January 1936, medical personnel tried to cheer him up by suggesting that when the weather was better he could visit the seaside town of Bognor. George, who was just tired of it at this point is said to made his famous statement.

While in one sense he was not making a journey, in another his death would represent the beginning of his final journey to the hereafter.