Tag Archives: King George V

Manchester City’s Three Royal Boxes!

Last Saturday (25 October 2025) I was fortunate to be invited to the England v Brazil women’s international as a guest of the FA. My seat was in the Royal Box at the Etihad (City of Manchester Stadium as it was named on the night due to sponsorship reasons). On social media someone commented that the Royal Box was a bit of a stretch in terms of its name but the truth is that the Directors Box (as it’s more commonly known) has housed members of the British royal family, including the late Queen Elizabeth II. In fact it was originally named the Royal Box for the Commonwealth Games in 2002. Back then I remember suggesting it should retain the name and now, maybe, the original name should return?

Other royals, including the former King of Spain, have sat there for Manchester City games and other events, so the name would be quite apt. Funnily enough, the Etihad’s ‘Royal Box’ isn’t the first part of a City ground to be given that name. It’s not even the second but the third! Both Maine Road and before that Hyde Road, had visits from senior members of the British Royal Family and on each occasion the Directors Box was spruced up and renamed the Royal Box for the game. Here’s the current King’s great grandad at Hyde Road’s Royal Box in 1920:

The King with the Mayor in Hyde Road’s ‘Royal Box’. Notice Lawrence Furniss stood, behind the King. Furniss was a major figure from the 1880s to the 1940s at City.

So, City, how about renaming the Directors Box the Royal Box again?

The following subscriber article talks about all of that, but in essence the current King’s dad, grandad and great grandad have all attended City matches at one of City’s home grounds. You can read about those visits here:

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The 1920s: The King’s Blues

A new series on Manchester City in the 1920s begins today with a 2,350 word subscriber article on the 1919-20 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

Here’s the article:

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As well as subscriber pieces this series on the 1920s includes some free articles. Watch out for a daily post.

Royal Blues

On this day (20 October 1934) King Charles III’s grandad attended Maine Road to watch Manchester City face Derby County in the League. It wasn’t the first time a senior member of the royal family attended a City home game, nor was it the last time a future monarch or monarch attended Manchester City’s home. You can read about those visits here:

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Read this 1,600 word article when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel any time) or £20 a year. As well as this article you get to access books, videos, history talks, interviews and other articles.

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Annual subscribers access everything since the site went live in December 2020. Monthly subscribers get everything since 1 October 2022. All subscribers access new posts throughout their subscription.

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Maine Road 100 – Day 54

The 54th post in my series counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game is a simple reminder of City fans and players paying their respects. The main image is from the game with Liverpool at the end of the 1995-96 season. That day City fans and the players paid tribute to former chairman Peter Swales. We all knew it would be respected even though many fans had not forgiven Swales for how he and his supporting directros had transformed the club from a major, profitable European trophy winning club into one that was struggling financially and out of touch with its traditional rivals.

There have been many minute’s silences, or two minutes in many cases going back, at Maine Road. This image is from the two minutes silence for King George V in January 1936. That day City faced Luton. Note: back then we did not cancel games the weekend after a monarch’s death.

Here are two photos of King George V in happier times when he visited Hyde Road in 1920:

King George V at Hyde Road in 1920
The King with the Mayor in Hyde Road’s ‘Royal Box’. Notice Lawrence Furniss stood, behind the King. Furniss was a major figure from the 1880s to the 1940s at City.

Here’s an image from a film that Will McTaggart and I showed during our Boys In Blue film show. This was from a film profile of the Manchester City chairman Peter Swales.

You can use this 1971 image to work out where the images of fans/players paying their respects were taken. The colour image of City v LFC was taken from the new Platt Lane Stand which was built where numbers 4 & 5 are. I was sat in the stand that day, looking towards the North Stand (10). The King George V silence sees the players lined up in front of the players tunnel (1) with the camera on the pitch looking towards that tunnel.

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

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