Queen Victoria was succeeded on the throne by her son King Edward VII. He did not take a particular interest in St George's or make a noticeable contribution to the fabric, though he was both baptised and married in the chapel. His tomb rests on the north side near the High Altar; in an human touch, his dog Caesar, who walked in his funeral procession, is depicted at his feet, where other kings have the heraldic lion. Unusually, the King is depicted as being on the Queen's right.

His successor, King George V, presided over the important restoration of the chapel between 1920 and 1930. A survey was carried out by Sir Harold Brakespear in 1918 which highlighted serious structural problems within the building. The great roof tie-beams no longer rested on the walls and were further damaged by the attacks of death-watch beetle. Moreover the foundations of the chapel were unsound in places and the consequent cracks in the vault were so alarming that there was danger of a collapse.

Between 1920 and 1930, the foundations were made secure, buttresses were added to the exterior of the north and west transepts and existing buttresses replaced to support the weight of the roof. The King's Beasts (originally removed by Wren) were restored to give stability to the flying buttresses. Over a period of seven years the roof of the choir was dismantled and restored. When that was done, the Nave was tackled. Finally, on 4 November 1930, the restoration was complete and King George V and Queen Mary attended the re-opening, with sixteen Knights of the Garter, and King Manoel of Portugal, a Stranger Knight.

The prodigious cost of this restoration was £175,000. King George V was one of the benefactors, as were the Knights of the Garter, and there were substantial donations from Lord Cowdray and Lord Woolavington. At the time of the re-opening, there was a leading article in The Times which declared: 'Perhaps nothing better could be wished for our land than that this material restoration should be quickly followed by a spiritual restoration of the ideals which such a place as St George's seems to affirm - the English temper of self-discipline and restraint, the spirit of unrestrained chivalry and of individual effort for the common weal, the courage which in the face of omens however dismal will send us into battle with stout hearts, to fight our dragons and, please God, to slay them.'

In 1935, the College received generous donations as a gift to mark George V's Silver Jubilee, and acquired the freehold of St George's School. The King lived long enough to inspect the site of the new school playground.

A Garter ceremony was planned for Silver Jubilee year in 1935, but cancelled due to the King's ill health. He died in January 1936, and was buried in a sarcophagus designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. His effigy was executed by Sir William Reid Dick. There soon followed the Abdication of King Edward VIII (described thus by the Dean: 'All the hopes with which we began last year have been frustrated. But this time our sadness has in it a note of tragedy.') However, the new King, George VI, immediately commanded a Garter Ceremony to be held, and this took place on 14 June 1937.

To King George VI goes the credit of reviving the full ceremony of the Garter, which he achieved on St George's Day 1948, the 600th anniversary of the founding of the Order. Since then, almost every year in June, a Garter Ceremony has taken place.

It was because of the unusual circumstances in which George VI was called to the throne, the strain of the war years that followed, and the special love that he felt for St George's, that a special chapel was commissioned, the King George VI Memorial Chapel. It was built in the winter of 1969, and dedicated on 31 March 1969. He and Queen Elizabeth now lie there (re-united after 50 years), with the ashes of Princess Margaret, placed in the grave.

The Queen and Princess Margaret had spent most of the years of the Second World War at Windsor Castle, but King George and Queen Elizabeth also maintained the home they had had at Royal Lodge when Duke and Duchess of York. It was at Royal Lodge that the Queen Mother died in 2002. Thus when Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne, she had no weekend home near London. She and The Duke of Edinburgh decided to open up some rooms at the castle, and liked it so well that they made it their home. Living in the castle, they took a keen interest in the College of St George and encouraged it in its efforts to develop a wider and more distinctive role.

Helped by a particularly energetic Dean, Robin Woods, they readjusted the living quarters of some of the Canons, and created St George's House, making this an important residential consultation centre, which now forms a crucial part in the life of the College of St George, and the Dean and Canons. St George's House was dedicated and opened on 23 October 1966 and has flourished ever since. The Duke of Edinburgh plays a key role in the work of St George's House, and invariably presides over the annual St George's House lecture, instigated by Michael Mann, when he was Dean, which has featured many speakers of international importance.