King George V was a shy man who became monarch by accident. He lacked charisma, but with his generous heart and loyal wife, Queen Mary, he eventually won over his people. Prince Edward, his son and heir, was handsome, charming, and a natural communicator who loved modernity (he was everything his father wasn't). Prince Albert (Bertie), George and Mary's second son, was even more shy and modest than his father. He reluctantly became king when Edward neglected his royal duty for the love of a woman, Wallis Simpson. The abdication would nearly bring the House of Windsor to its knees.
