George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. The statue was sculpted by William Reid Dick prior to the second World War, but was hidden in a quarry during the war years. Other locations were suggested for the statue, including Parliament Square, but it was eventually unveiled in 1947 at its present location outside Westminster Abbey and facing the House of Lords.