Bugger Bognor: George V

WHILE I’M in San Francisco I am staying part of the time at the strangely titled George V Hotel in Mason.

George V was a freemason, AFAIK a 33° mason, but I can’t spot any sign of the floor being made of black and white tiles and the only aprons I can spot seem to be worn by the maids. But he’s not listed on this page, unlike his daddy Edward VI, and his son Edward VIII, so maybe that’s apocryphal – like Bugger Bognor.

This George, according to Whackypedia anyway, was famous for shooting things including tigers and well, just about anything that moved.

He also collected stamps – big time.

He’s also famous for his apocryphal last words – apparently when he was ill and was told he would be soon well enough to visit Bognor Regis again, he said “Bugger Bognor”.

The hotel named after him in San Francisco  is called King George and was opened in 1914. Why, we don’t know, except that he was the reigning British monarch at that time.

Another famous George, of course was George III – who seemed to let the United States slip through his fingers.  George II defeated the forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden and is not fondly remembered north of the border, by many.

What a load of Georges! And what a sprinkling of Edwards! The Hanoverian dynasty in the time of George V and during the First World War changed its Germanic name  to Windsor.

According to Britannica, King George V was distinguished by no exercise of social gifts, by no personal magnetism, by no intellectual powers. He lacked intellectual curiosity and only later in life acquired some measure of artistic tastes. “He was, in other words, exactly like most of his subjects.”

Here’s a view from my room in the King George hotel. Not much to see here either. ♣