Monarchs - King George V - Oxford, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member dtrebilc
N 51° 45.146 W 001° 15.225
30U E 620536 N 5734947
This statue is on the facade of the Rhodes Building of Oriel College.
Waymark Code: WM1228M
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/07/2020
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Alfouine
Views: 4


"The Rhodes Building forms the north range of St Mary's (or 'the Third') Quadrangle at Oriel College and was built to house undergraduates and Fellows of the college. It was built between 1909 and 1911 to the designs of Basil Champneys (1842-1935) in a bold Jacobethan style and remains largely unaltered except for modifications to the south-east wing in 1981. In 2010 it provides both student and office accommodation." link

"Cecil John Rhodes PC (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British businessman, mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his British South Africa Company founded the southern African territory of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia), which the company named after him in 1895. South Africa's Rhodes University is also named after him. Rhodes set up the provisions of the Rhodes Scholarship, which is funded by his estate. He also put much effort towards his vision of a Cape to Cairo Railway through British territory...

...Rhodes Scholarship

In his last will and testament, he provided for the establishment of the Rhodes Scholarship, the world's first international study programme. The scholarship enabled students from territories under British rule or formerly under British rule and from Germany to study at Rhodes's alma mater, the University of Oxford. Rhodes' aims were to promote leadership marked by public spirit and good character, and to "render war impossible" by promoting friendship between the great powers." link

It was the money from Rhode's will that led to the erection of the Rhodes building.

At the top of the building is a statue of Rhodes himself and below him are a number of statues spaced along the front of the building.

These statues include two monarchs, Edward VII who was monarch when building work started and George V who was monarch at the time the building was completed.

The details of King George V, this statue, are as follows.

King George V
"George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.

Born during the reign of his grandmother Queen Victoria, George was third in the line of succession behind his father, the Prince of Wales, and his own elder brother, Prince Albert Victor. From 1877 to 1891, George served in the Royal Navy, until the unexpected death of his elder brother in early 1892 put him directly in line for the throne. On the death of his grandmother in 1901, George's father became King-Emperor of the British Empire as Edward VII, and George was created Prince of Wales. He became king-emperor on his father's death in 1910.

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. The Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords. As a result of the First World War (1914–1918), the empires of his first cousins Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany fell, while the British Empire expanded to its greatest effective extent. In 1917, George became the first monarch of the House of Windsor, which he renamed from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as a result of anti-German public sentiment. In 1924 he appointed the first Labour ministry and in 1931 the Statute of Westminster recognised the dominions of the Empire as separate, independent states within the Commonwealth of Nations. He had smoking-related health problems throughout much of his later reign and at his death was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward VIII." link
Monarch Ranking: Emperor / Empress

Proper Title and Name of Monarch: King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, Emperor of India

Country or Empire of Influence: United Kingdom and India

Website for additonal information: [Web Link]

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