In 1925, on the instruction of his doctors, George was reluctantly sent on a recuperative private cruise in the Mediterranean; it was his third trip abroad since the Great War, and his last. In November 1928, he fell seriously ill with septicaemia, and for the next two years his son Edward took over many of his duties.

In 1929, the suggestion of a further rest abroad was rejected by the King “in rather strong language”. Instead, he retired for three months to Craigweil House, Aldwick, in the seaside resort of Bognor, Sussex. As a result of his stay, the town acquired the suffix Regis – Latin for “of the King”. However, despite honouring the King with this change of name, George didn’t necessarily show his appreciation. 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!” (Apologies for the language – it was the King who said it).