KING EDWARD VIII

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 84, 21 January 1936, Page 7

KING EDWARD VIII

LIFE AS PRINCE OF WALES. A CHARMING PERSONALITY. PREPARED FOR DIFFICULT DUTY. King Edward VIII. was born at White Lodge, Richmond Park, on June 23, 1894, and in pursuance ol custom was presented’ soon after his birth to the Home Secretary and other Government officials representing the nation. On July 16 the christening ceremony was performed in tlie drawing-room of White Lodge by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Prince’s sponsors were his four grandparents, and lie was given the names Edward, Albert, Christian, George, Andrew, Patrick. David, The three first names were those of his grandfather, the Prinqp Consort, and Queen Alexandra’s father respectively, while the last four are those of the patron saints of Lngland, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. On January 22, 1901, Queen Victoria died after a reign of 64 years. Her funeral, at which seven kings walked as mourners, was one of the most solemn State ceremonials that have ever been witnessed. The Prince of Wales made his first appearance at a public function in the funeral procession, sitting in a carriage with Ins mother. . Up to the age of 13 tlie education of the young Prince was conducted in his parents’ home. While still young he displayed a strong mechanical bent. He also showed a lively interest in history and biography, the young Prince being to a considerable degree a hero-worshipper. At the age of 13 tiie Prince was sent to Osborne as a naval cadet, and two years later life was transferred to Dartmouth. The Prince spent approximately five years at Osborne and Dartmouth, completing the lull course of shore-train-ing for the Iloyal Navy. Carnarvon Investiture. In between leaving Dartmouth and proceeding to sea to complete his naval training, he. was introduced to the realities of his heritage as hie father’s son. From the cheery camaraderie and self-effacement of engineering shops and navigation classes, and the nickname of “The Sardine,” he was jerked suddenly to the aloof dignities of Prince of Wales by his investiture at Carnarvon. A few weeks, after the investiture lie joined tiie Hindustan as a fully-fledged' midshipman, where he underwent three months’ intensive training on board ship. After leaving the Hindustan the Prince went to live for twelve months in France, where he made his home with the Marquis and 'Marquise de Breteuil. He there gained a sound knowledge -of the French language, history and literature. . October of 1912 found the Prince of Wales entered as an under-graduate at Magdalen College, Oxford, where lie remained for two years attending lectures and devoting special attention to constitutional law. To the Prince of Wales. Oxford was much more of a definite proposition than it is to the average fresher who proceeds there from a public school. To him the University was not the culminating stage of liis previous education, hut a revolutionary change in it. As a trained and qualified member of a combatant profession, lie bad to readjust himself to the position of student iii a civilian finishing academy. ' Sports and pastimes. j However, tlie comparative freedom ol an undergraduate’s life gave the Prince of Wales his first real opportunity of indulging generously in games and sports. He hunted with three packs, "played polo, some tennis, and a little golf. He also played a certain amount of “Soccer ’ in tiie Magdalen second eleven. The 1 Prince was light, but very fast, and when, any player in an opposing team wanted to bring down the Prince just lor the fun of rolling a future King in the mud, he had to work extremely hard for the* privilege. A factor that was important in the rapid growth of tlie Prince's affection for hunting and polo at Oxford was his equerry, Major the Hon. W. Cadogan. of the 10th Hussars. Not only at games, but in outlook and point of view. Cadogan, who was of the type of British officer who is loved nr: much by the rank and file of bis regiment as by all his brother, officers, influenced the Prince enormously. Then came the outbreak of hostilities. and a few days after Britain declared war the Prince was granted

a commission ia the Grenadier Guards. iHe was the first heir-apparent to the ■ British Throne to see service overseas [since the days of the Black Prince. [Though lie was never allowed to fight [in the trenches, he saw much service [at tiie front as a staff officer. The [Prince bewail his military career as a [full-blown private in the Oxford UniJversity Officers’ Training Corps, where ■lie did his weekly drills and his mus[ketry parades in precisely the same, [way as any, ordinary private soldier. 3 bir George Arthur’s official life of the late Lord Kitchener records that the Prince of Wales pleaded with Kitchener to permit him to accompany his regiment to the Front in 1914, saying: “What does it matter if I ain shot; I have four brothers?” Kitchener replied: “If I were certain you would be shot, 1 do not know that I would be right in retaining you; but what 1 cannot allow is the risk of the enemy securing / you as a prisoner. That chance exists until we have a settled line of battle.” After the war the Prince of Wales started upon the series of trips to various parts of the world which earned him the title of Britain’s Greatest Ambassador. The first of these was the tour through Canada in 1919, when he Contrived to do almost everything during his short visit. He visited tlie towns, toured the agricultural districts, and yet found time for sport. While in Alberta, H.R.H. bought a ranch in which he displayed great interest, and to which lie returned for a holiday in 1924. In March, 1920, only a few months after hie return from Canada, H.R.H. started upon a tour to Australia and New Zealand. Travelling via Panama, Honolulu and Fiji, he arrived at Auckland in the Renown oil Saturday, April 24. The waters of Auckland harbour were dotted with yachts and motorboats, forming two lines out past the North Head, round which the Renown slowly felt her way into the harbour. After the vessel bad berthed, the Governor (Lord Liverpool), the Prime Minister (the Hon. W. F. Massey) and] his Cabinet colleagues paid their re-1 specte, and the Prince then landed and! drove to Government House, where he! received an address from the Govern-I moot at the hands of the Prime! Minister.

Throughout the Dominion the Prince was enthusiastically received, a railway strike being the only disturbing factor to interfere in any way with the arrangements.

Tour in Australia. The Renown left New Zealand on May 22 for Melbourne, where the Prince arrived on May 26. Tlie Australian tour was also most successful, but the Prince underwent a most exciting experience when the Royal train was derailed and the carriages overturned. Fortunately there were no tragic consequences. On October 26, 1921, tlie Prince left upon a tour of India and tlie East. The tour of India subjected him to a new experience, as> he had to' face a definite movement of hostility directed against him by the non - co-opera-tionists. Even among these ‘ diehards,’ however, bis winning personality had consideraLie effect. The Prince’s tours did not make him into an. international lexicon or convert him into an encyclopaedia of obstruse’ information, but they equipped him with a remarkably varied know-, ledge of most questions 4 of the day and most peoples of 'the world, especially the peoples of the Empire. They gave him an intimate insight into the basic human factor which can lie gleaned from no library and can be gathered very imperfectly by any perambulating specialist. / Influencing Personalities. Queen Victoria was deeply attached to all her great-grandchildren, and the Prince of Wales was a great favourite of hers. It is said that lie finally disposed of the rule that laid it deevn that she was only to be kissed on the hand, by insisting on kissing her upon the cheek, nn heroic action which seems to have been received without rebuke. A great bond of friendship also existed between the Prince and his grandfather, and the two had many qualities in common. Among them was t.be power of making friends and of winning the hearts of tlie people. In King Edward’s attitude towards his young grandson (David, as he was known in the Royal family) there was gaiety and exuberance of the grandsire with the youthful heart. He captured David’s imagination and' affection. rot because lie was King, but because be was never King, but a very jolly equal and experienced contemporary. King Edward would rag like] a large boy and would chat as if David] were a grown man. Ho never talked j down and be never talked up. This companionship of his grandfather's bed a ennsidovable effect on David, asj King Edward was the only person in’ bis circle who did not try to teafii

him something. For that reason lie taught him a lot. To David, King Edward was about the only adult person he knew who had not to be treated with circumspection. To hirf father and mother he had to he ;i dutiful child, to his governess and tutor ail obedient pupil, to all servants very polite and! gracious; but to his grandfather lie could be himself. Late King's Influence. King Edward’s influence was only a phase”of the Prince’s youth and an intermittent one at that, whereas the I influence of King George was a con-j dition definite, controlling and responsible. In the nursery tho 1 mice s lather had been merely a father, unobtrusive and of no particular consequence. In the schoolroom he gradually assumed the proportions of an invisible but omnipresent Providence. As the Prince’s perceptions were deepened by the progress of his education and a fuller grasp of his tasks, he be<nin to regard his father as the personification of that duty which seemed to be at the back of everything and to associate him inseparably with the motive of existence. It is difficult to decide which was the most definite influence of the Prince’s domestic years in so far as the formation of Ins character was concerned; but there is no doubt that his tutor, Mr Hansel!, was the most active agent in the moulding process, and a very Substantial factor in the Prince’s earlier life. Mr Mansell was a typical public school man. There were many subjects ho had to teach the Prince which were outside the normal curriculum of a _ public school, hut it was his task to implant, certain principles which were outside the routine of the Royal addition to build ing the grounds oi k of a general education Mr Hnnsclltau the Prince the public school point of view; the readiness to take tie ™ with the smooth, to work well and to play well, to snule cheerfully tv lien things went wrong, and! not to ge swollen-headed when things went right. An intrinsic Personality. As an English periodical once pointed out, the popular view of the I of Wales was expressed by the aveia<rC attitude toward his photograph. Any new picture which showed him with a broad grin and a boyish expies sion was acclaimed ‘ exactly like him and sold in immense quantities; wheieas a photograph which presented him ns. a prave mar* of 30 of age invariably evoked the comment: _DI that’s hot a good one,” and remained in no demand. . j Similarly an intriguing paragraph on the Prince’s skill at dancing was rogd with considerably more popular avid ity than a column on his promise as an Ambassador. In fact, in obedience to the law of supply and demand it was usually the dancing that got the column, and the diplomacy that got the paragraph. , This conception of the Prince of Wales was misleading because it was one-sided. It was not only one-sided, but it was distorted. Ihe distortion, however, was an affectionate one, but it was nevertheless a malformation. 1 j With people of nearly every nationality and language the Prince of Wales was found to be a strong topic of conversation. Constitutional revei-l GncG <inct Royal ctlumour wus? uiicloubt-j ed'lv the inspiration of a great amount of Prince adulation in Britain and in America, and, to a more limited extent in the Colonies; for snobbery and the feudal instinct die hard in all who are of British origin. But hereditary peculiarities and respect for the Prince did not explain one-tenth of the active interest which was displayed in the Prince. None of the Royal blood

ever attracted such interest as the Prince of Wales. 1 Tire impression the Prince made on the world generally, and the effect he produced in the British Empire, was due almost entirely to his intrinsic personality. Enjoys Leisure Hours. If a person had been hold enough to ask the Prince of Wales how he spent his leisure, his Royal Highness would probably have replied with that charming smile of his: “The answer is simple—l have none to spend!” At times this was literally] true. In arranging his engagements the Prince’s adviser always endeavoured to leave him a certain amount of 1 leisure, but the Prince was so conscientious that he was continually trespassing cn the small margin of time allowed to himself, accepting engagements which, but for his insistence, his staff would readily and reasonably! refuse. Thus it was that he not infrequently found his diary full oil official and semi-official engagements For a whole fortnight* during which J "time breakfast was the onlv meal liOj could take in solitude, and an oeca-j sional hour for changing his clothes'

was the only time lie could call his own. Nevertheless there were delightful evenings when lie had no. engagement on his diary. , For such happy privileges lie was indebted to a considerable extent' to his tactful secretaries, who contrived, with remarkable skill, to prevent the outside world taking from the Prince all his precious hours ot ease. On such evenings his Royal Highness might have dined at one of the more exclusive hotels, hut it must he remembered that the Prince was so frequently “dining out” as a duty that it was a pleasurable change for him to take his evening meal in his own bachelor home. Here the menu would be simple; for after so many banquets and luncheons of a grandiose kind it was a- joy for him to sit down ano take a meal at his own table, and tc take a meal designed by those who knew his own tastes beat, and who could provide iust those dishes loi which he lias a “weakness.” On such evenings' dinner would he served early so that the Prince might attend a theatre if he so desired. But frequently no plans would be made in advance/ and the Prince would walk out with an equerry or one of his bachelor friends, their plans being made as they walked along. Perhaps they would ’ stroll casually into a theatre and see a few scenes of a revue, and later they would slip Away to the ballroom. , A Call at the Club. After leaving the theatre the Prince might drop into one of his clubs, not because he is particularly fond of club life, but because he likes to keep “in touch” with the institutions to which lie belongs. Moreover, after the theatre a glass of something eoo) did not go amiss. He might select foi his call Marlborough, a favourite retreat of King- Edward, or he might favour tho Guards’ Club, vvhero hcmight meet old Army friends. Following this, if the Prince were disposed to dance he would go to one of the hotels where he was likely ti. meet people known to him, or ue woulc proceed to a private ball. Royalty have the privilege of inviting themselves to the houses of any person* they have met, hut on such occasions as the Prince followed this course if jis- hardly necessary to say that the j honour was no Ices appreciated foi j being unexpected. 1 If the Prince intended to he out j much longer, he might take a light |supper at one of the restaurants. A certain Soho establishment, well known to the late King Edward, was favoured jby the Prince- for such a meal, and in a’ corner seat, in the principal room he would enjoy a few oysters and. perhaps, half a lobster, He had noted the excellence of the grape-fruit cocktail at this restaurant, and invariably ordered it; also there wars shocked a particular brand of Grayes, of which he might take a glass. A new day might be several hours old before his Roval Highness returned to York House after his well-deserved “evening off.” i Likes to Take a Chance. The traditional view of the Prince is that he commenced life with every human advantage plus a liberal donation of Divine Right: that the accident of his birth equipped him from the beginning with an unobstructed course and an adjustable winning-post.* The popular conception of his adolescence is that lie had nothing- to do but grow on, -smile, and leave the rest to his Royal setting. In such n conception, however, is disregarded* the fact that trie King’s Heir is horn hr ordinary an any commoner, that evolution is at work with Royalty as with any other class of the community, .and that the qualities of a modern King must

1)0 as high as his rank if he is to survive. •

The Prince never had any illusions cf (Divine favouritism or Providential partiality; in fact, is suspected the opposite. Tn his earlier days his rank was more than a handicap to him and to use his own words, “As a kid, if was the very devil.” From the cradle his future was marked out for him by the relentless laws of his own destiny, and by the high' sense of service to the State which governs his family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, hut a curb hit. and to the young and spirited, and all whose veins are fuller of blood than nhilosophy. a curb bit and an iron-grooved destiny is gn intolerable combination. The new King is much too human and far too vital to become ease-hardened to the deadening inevitability of living to a cast-iron plan. To H.R.H. chance was an essential factor of life. He actually needed this common heritage which was so remorselessly denied him by the accident of his birth. _ It has often been alleged that the Prince was a rcoklew rider, hut such was not the case. However, there is np den vine the fact that he took chances, and sought rather than avoided a risk. The Prince’s “chance” oppor-

tunities were practically confined to die hunting field and the polo ground. Yet even in sport, and at a time when age and experience had won lulu the flidit of a certain amount of personal liberty, destiny stepped in and laid a sticky hand upon his shoulder. In {t)24 a leading member of the House of Commons stated to a full House: “ This youmj; man has one day to be King. ‘The"nation views with apprehension the manner in which he exposes himself to danger, and trusts that his Royal father will exercise upon him an appropriate measure of restraint.” The pronouncement was accepted hv the King and by’ the Prince as evidence of national concern, and conseouently the Prince’s activities as a horseman were curtailed.