King George V, the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II, reigned from 1910 to 1936. He was king in the years of Downton Abbey, but tragically, he is almost forgotten today. George’s life story is terrific, and as Jane Ridley’s new biography argues, he was the architect of the reinvention of monarchy, allowing it to survive, and indeed thrive, when it could more easily have floundered. Behind the scenes, what has been cast as a loveless arranged marriage between a widow and her dead husband’s brother was actually keeping the monarchy, and the nation, afloat. George was in love with his wife, Mary, and GEORGE V reveals for the first time that this royal marriage was a lifelong romance. George rebranded the monarchy as British rather than German and, with Mary’s help, he modernized it, forging a new compact between king and people.