Friday Fun: King George V and Queen Mary Visit Wounded Soldiers

Queen Mary with her daughter,
Princess Mary, during the First
World War

In this silent newsreel footage from about 1916, we see King George V and Queen Mary visiting with wounded soldiers during the Great War. King George wears his military uniform as he and his consort walk amongst the wounded, pausing to smile and chat with them. Such visits by a Monarch were unusual at the time. King George V and Queen Mary were champions of interacting with their subjects both at times of grief and times of joy.


As we can see from the crowd’s reaction—though silent—they were cheered by the Sovereign’s visit and comforted by this show of support. Both George and Mary were keen for the public to understand that as the Empire endured the war, all were equal—King and commoner. They wanted to show all of Britain that they would triumph as a great family.