12. King George V Monument 1938 Sculptor: Victor E Greenhalgh, Bronze, granite

George V
This monument was made in 1937 by Victor E. Greenhalgh, a Ballarat born man, who also made busts of six of the prime ministers in the Gardens. This, his largest sculpture, is the statue of George V and shows the royal crest of the lion and the unicorn with inscriptions in Latin, 'DIEU ET MON DROIT' ('God and my right').
George V is shown holding the orb and sceptre and is dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Order of the Garter signified by the garter worn on his left leg below the knee.

At a court ball while Edward III was dancing with the Countess of Salisbury her garter slipped and as the King stooped to pick it up, to quell the mockery of onlookers, he uttered the phrase, 'HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE'. ('Evil be to him who evil thinks').
He vowed to make the garter 'so glorious that everyone would want to wear it'. He founded the Order of the Garter in 1349 and his words became the motto of the oldest and most senior order of knighthood still existing in England.
The bronze statue, facing east, is surrounded by extensive granite seating.