10. King George V Was Given A Lethal Injection By His Own Doctors (1936)
Having been thrown from his horse while overseeing a troop review in France In October 1915 during the First World War, King George V was blighted by health issues for the remainder of his reign. Lung disease, septicaemia and other ailments made him weak in the following 21 years and, after the illnesses grew worse and left him bed-ridden, he was euthanised on January 20, 1936. A nurse had provided George V with a sedative and, due to the King's painful last few hours alive, his physician Lord Dawson admitted that he quickened the death by giving a lethal combination of morphine and cocaine via injection. Dawson commented that he had made the decision in order to preserve the King's dignity, lessen the strain on the family, and so The Times newspaper could announce it in the morning as it is "less appropriate (to do so in) evening journals". Brutal...
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.