George VI the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, J. H. Thomas. King George V had severe reservations about Prince Edward, saying "After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself in twelve months" and "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne." On 20 January 1936, George V died and Edward ascended the throne as King Edward VIII. In the Vigil of the Princes, Prince Albert and his three brothers took a shift standing guard over their father's body as it lay in state, in a closed
Records of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom office of Prime Minister has coincided with the reigns of 11 British monarchs (including a Regency during the incapacity of George III from 1811 to his death in 1820), to whom the Prime Minister has been constitutionally head of government to the sovereign's headship of state. Until 1837 the death of a sovereign led to Parliament being dissolved within six months which led to a general election. Results of such elections were: Stanley Baldwin is the only Prime Minister to have served three sovereigns in successionKing George V, King Edward VIII and King George VI. Through being in office at