That Time Prince George Went to a Rodeo in Hollywood

Jenni Wiltz
9 min readAug 5, 2020

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Britain’s youngest prince made a splash when he visited California in 1928. But did he really cause as much trouble as the press said he did?

Born in 1902, George was the fourth son of Britain’s King George V and Queen Mary. They were distant parents at best, and George grew up without obvious examples of love or approval.

By the time George (the third spare) was born, his parents were pretty sure that, barring a total tragedy, he wasn’t going near the throne. As a result, he had a more relaxed childhood than his brothers, and was the only one of the kids who even attempted to tease his straitlaced parents.

The six kids of George V and Queen Mary, dressed in suits and sailor outfits.
Left to right, top: Bertie, Mary, David. Bottom: John, Henry, George. Photo by W. & D. Downey (1910), public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

The funniest thing I can tell you about young George is that when Queen Mary refused to give him more than four shillings a week for his allowance, George sold his autograph and a letter from his dad (the king of England) to get more spending money.

A budding entrepreneur? A schemer? Or just ruthlessly practical?

You make the call.

In the Navy

George loved music, art, and design, but princes can’t grow up to be artists. It…

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Jenni Wiltz

I write about fascinating royal women, their jewels, and quirky aspects of royal history no one else talks about. Find me at https://girlinthetiara.com.