King George and Queen Mary

[3] The programme explores the lives of King George V and Queen Mary, and their attempts at modernising the British monarchy in response to the massive social changes during and following World War I.

[5] George V is presented in the series as a disciplinarian, who strictly punished his children, but was known to be much more loving to his granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

[3] John Crace of The Guardian criticised the documentary, remarking that it "repeated familiar mantras about how the royal family cared a great deal more for the country than they did for each other" without ever "asking if we might not have been better off as a republic."

Crace notes that the series was one of many programmes about royalty released in 2012, taking advantage of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.

[6] Patrick Smith of The Daily Telegraph was more positive, praising the first episode for its "eye-opening, and at times amusing anecdotes about George's private persona, which were in sharp contrast to the warm description of his public one.