King George V -
euthanasia -
Bertrand Edward Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn,
GCVO KCB KCMG PC FRCP (9 March 1864 – 7 March 1945) was a
physician to the
British Royal Family and President of the
Royal College of Physicians from 1931 to 1937. He is known for his responsibility in the death of
George V, who under his care was injected with a fatal dose of
cocaine and
morphine to hasten his passing.
The First World War took a toll on George's health: he was seriously injured on 28 October 1915 when thrown by his horse at a troop review in France,
[105] and his heavy
smoking exacerbated recurring breathing problems. He suffered from
chronic bronchitis. In 1925, on the instruction of his doctors, he was reluctantly sent on a recuperative private cruise in the Mediterranean; it was his third trip abroad since the war, and his last.
[106] In November 1928, he fell seriously ill with
septicaemia, and for the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties.
[107] In 1929, the suggestion of a further rest abroad was rejected by the King "in rather strong language".
[108] Instead, he retired for three months to
Craigweil House,
Aldwick, in the seaside resort of
Bognor,
Sussex.
[109] As a result of his stay, the town acquired the suffix
Regis – Latin for "of the King". A myth later grew that his last words, upon being told that he would soon be well enough to revisit the town, were "Bugger Bognor!"
[110][111][112]
George never fully recovered. In his final year, he was occasionally administered oxygen.
[113] The death of his favourite sister,
Victoria, in December 1935 depressed him deeply. On the evening of 15 January 1936, the King took to his bedroom at
Sandringham House complaining of a cold; he remained in the room until his death.
[114] He became gradually weaker, drifting in and out of consciousness. Prime Minister Baldwin later said:
... each time he became conscious it was some kind inquiry or kind observation of someone, some words of gratitude for kindness shown. But he did say to his secretary when he sent for him: "How is the Empire?" An unusual phrase in that form, and the secretary said: "All is well, sir, with the Empire", and the King gave him a smile and relapsed once more into unconsciousness.
[115]
By 20 January, he was close to death. His physicians, led by
Lord Dawson of Penn, issued a bulletin with the words "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close."
[116][117] Dawson's private diary, unearthed after his death and made public in 1986, reveals that the King's last words, a mumbled "God damn you!",
[118] were addressed to his nurse,
Catherine Black, when she gave him a sedative that night. Dawson, who supported the "gentle growth of
euthanasia",
[119] admitted in the diary that he ended the King's life:
[118][120][121]
At about 11 o'clock it was evident that the last stage might endure for many hours, unknown to the Patient but little comporting with that dignity and serenity which he so richly merited and which demanded a brief final scene. Hours of waiting just for the mechanical end when all that is really life has departed only exhausts the onlookers & keeps them so strained that they cannot avail themselves of the solace of thought, communion or prayer. I therefore decided to determine the end and injected (myself) morphia gr.3/4 [grains] and shortly afterwards cocaine gr.1 [grains] into the distended jugular vein ... In about 1/4 an hour – breathing quieter – appearance more placid – physical struggle gone.
[121]
Dawson wrote that he acted to preserve the King's dignity, to prevent further strain on the family, and so that the King's death at 11:55 pm could be announced in the morning edition of
The Times newspaper rather than "less appropriate ... evening journals".
[118][120] Neither Queen Mary, who was intensely religious and might not have sanctioned euthanasia, nor the
Prince of Wales was consulted. The royal family did not want the King to endure pain and suffering and did not want his life prolonged artificially but neither did they approve Dawson's actions.
[122] British Pathé announced the King's death the following day, in which he was described as "for each one of us, more than a King, a father of a great family".
[123]
The German composer
Paul Hindemith went to a BBC studio on the morning after the King's death and in six hours wrote
Trauermusik ("Mourning Music"), for viola and orchestra. It was performed that same evening in a live broadcast by the
BBC, with
Adrian Boult conducting the
BBC Symphony Orchestra and the composer as soloist.
[124]
At the procession to George's
lying in state in
Westminster Hall, the cross surmounting the
Imperial State Crown atop George's coffin fell off and landed in the gutter as the cortège turned into
New Palace Yard. The new king, George's eldest son Edward, saw it fall and wondered whether it was a bad omen for his new reign.
[125] As a mark of respect to their father, George's four surviving sons – Edward,
Albert,
Henry, and
George – mounted the guard, known as the
Vigil of the Princes, at the
catafalque on the night before the
funeral.
[126] The vigil was not repeated until the death of George's daughter-in-law,
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, in 2002. George V was interred at
St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 28 January 1936.
[127] Edward
abdicated before the year was out, leaving Albert to ascend the throne as George VI.
[128]