AS NAVAL CADET.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 13

AS NAVAL CADET.

NO SPECIAL PRIVILEGES. DEATH OF KING EDWARD VXI. NO. 11. When Edward VIII., then the Prince, was thirteen it was decided in a family council, composed of King Edward VII. and the Prince's parents, to send him to Osborne College as a naval cadet. He was to go as an ordinary cadet, with no privileges because of his rank. This was.the wish of King George, then Prince of Wales, and it is noteworthy that this was the first time the Prince's father definitely expressed an opinion concerning the education of his son that did not altogether agree with that of the Priijce's mother. The matter was being discussed at Buckingham Palace when the then Prince of Wales observed that "David should, bear in mind that he is to be treated at Osborne exactly as an ordinary cadet." "That idea," said the Princess of Wales, now the Queen Mother, "ought not to be too greatly emphasised. David should not forget that his father is the Prince of Wales." King Edward Vll.'s old butler, who told the story, said the King laughed at this (suggestion. -My dear May," he remarked, "believe me,.David won't be allowed to forget it. He will never be treated as an ordinary cadet." And the Prince had not been long at Osborne before he found that his grandfather was right. Displeased by Fawning. There were two classes of cadets at Osborne —sons of wealthy parents and, in the majority, sons of comparatively poor parents. By the latter the Prince was treated with a good deal more civility than any other cadet would have received. He found cadets ready to "fag" for him, to go on errands for him, and clean up his study. When he was punished by being detained to write impositions in the classroom, the Prince could always get a cadet to' do it for him. This • surprised him. He had in his innocence been genuinely under the impression that he would be treated as an ordinary cadet. To find this was not the case displeased him. One day, when he was sentenced to write out an imposition, and a cadet offered to write the impost for, him, the Prince demanded: "Why in the dickens should you write it for me ? Can't I do it myself ?" And he did. Even naval officers at Osborne as instructors favoured the Prince, letting him off punishment. The wealthy cadets were civil enough to him. They-did not kow-tow to him, but they did not bully him. Sometimes they would tease him about his rank, which angered him, but he would put up with the teasing as well as he could. Once, however, he blazed out.

"Infernal Little Cad." This was at letter hour, when the cadets went to the letter rack to get their morning mail. When the Prince came up to get the letters directed to "H.R.H. Prince Edward," there was a group of cadets about the letter rack. "Here you are, Your Royal Highness," exclaimed one. "A girl is writing to you this morning. Does she send her Prince kisses 1"

The letter was from Princess Mary and it angered the Prince to hear the cadet speak as he did. The Prince probably regarded it as an insult to his sister. The Prince took his letters quietly from the rack, put them into his pocket and said to the cadet:, "You infernal little cad, if you speak like that again I'll punch your head." The Prince did creditably in his studies at Osborne. He passed into Dartmouth College, senior college for the Navy, and was bracketed top with another Osborne cadet in the entrance examination. But perhaps most of all did he learn at Osborne how difficult his position made it for him when he desired to be treated as an ordinary person. Here is an example. When the Prince was at Osborne a performance of "Pinafore" was got up by the cadets and they had a professional from Londofl to help. ins producer selected the Prince for Captain Corcoran because he liked the Prince s voice and way of acting. But one cadet, eager to get the part hiineelf, said to the Prince: "You know, you are just getting the part because you are the son of the Prince of Wales. That was enough for the Prince. He chucked the part and would only sing in the chorus. Death of King Edward. Kin* Edward VII. died while the Prince" was at Dartmouth College and the new epoch in the youth's life began. His father became King, and the Prince became Duke of Cornwall and heir to the Throne. He was created Prince of Wales by his father on his sixteenth birthday, about six weeks after the death of King Edward VII. A fact to note in the career of the Prince at this period is that his father became the supreme authority over him. There was now no one over King George who could interfere with the Princes upbringing; but in point of fact Queen Marv remained for some little tune the controlling influence in the Prince s life. No conflict of opinion arose between King George and Queen Mary m this matter, however. , ~ ~ After his grandfathers death the Prince expressed the strongest wish that he should be allowed to enter the as had been planned. King .George did

not oppose his wish, but Queen Mary did. Her view was that the Prince should travel in Europe with his tutor and visit the German and Russian Courts and that then he should go to Oxford and afterward into the Army for a while. No doubt it was in Her Majesty's mind that he next should marry. The Prince went to Queen Alexandra to help him in his plan to enter the Xavy. A member of Queen Alexandra's entourage told the following story of a family council at Sandringliam to decide the Prince's fate. The Prince was brought from York Cottage by his parents and the council took place in Queen Alexandra's boudoir. Prince Appeals to Mother. The Prince 6tood in the centre of the room and said to his mother: "I want very much to enter the Navy. I do not think my father objects and my grandmother hopes I may be allowed to carry out my plan. Will you let me?" "There is only one person who will decide that question," was the Queen's reply; "and that person is your father." Queen Mary looked at King George. "We must think it over," he said, and so ended the council. This took place in the summer of 1910. A few months later,'at Buckingham Palace, the Prince learned of the decision concerning his entry into the Navy. He was to be allowed to do so, but first he was to be formally invested as Prince of Wales, at! Carnarvon Castle. ; Now the Prince had hoped to escape this formal investiture until he had been a year in the Navy. He dreaded the ceremony. He had been through a num-j ber of ceremonies. He had been created! a Knight of the Garter with the most elaborate formalities, and he had been through the coronation of his father. He wanted no more of this business.' He implored that his formal investiture be postponed until he had served a year in the Navy. But his mother was adamant. It was her wish that before he entered the Navy all the world should know with what great ceremony her eldest son had been invested with the title of Prince of Wales and that 1 when he joined the battleship as a middy! no one on board would be likely to : forget the Prince's rank. "That's Over, Thank God." He yielded with as good grace as he could and prepared for the ceremony. This was perhaps one of the unhappiest periods of his life, but he recognised that the ordeal was inevitable, and he went through it splendidly.

"Well, that's done and over, thank God," was his comment to an old servant who had been hie valet since he was ten.

Three weeks after his investiture the Prince joined H.M.S. Hindustan, as a middy. For two days lie was treated much more as a Prince than as a newlyjcined middy. He was relieved of a good deal of duty and escaped ragging. Then the Hindustan put to sea, and a man-o'-war at sea in a different affair from a man-o'-war in port. When the Hindustan began her cruise the Prince for the first time found himself in a world which forgot, or almost forgot, that he was the heir to the Throne. There were officers who did not give a hang that the middy was Prince of Wales. What mattered to them was to have the ship properly worked and when the Hindustan was driving up the North Sea against a full,gale there was no time for politeness. The Prince became simply one of a bunch of middies told by the lieutenant looking after them that they were a miserable lot of young swabs who would get something more ] than they wanted if they were not lively | doing what they were told. j New Experience. j It was a new experience for the Prince and he welcomed it after all the elabo-1 rate Court and State ceremonies. He J settled readily into the common life of; the gunroom. He learned to drink j whisky and soda, to join in "scrape" and choruses and to speak the slang of the gunroom -frith a fluency that gained him the admiration of even the gunroom sublieutenant. It is not certain why the Prince's career in the Navy was cut off so suddenly. There is a story that it reached Queen Mary's ears that although he was learning all his duties very thoroughly, he was also learning other things which middies learn,, but which the Queen did nqt think it necessary for the heir to the Throne to know.

After the Hindustan finished a cruise of three months, the Prince was. called home. He went to York Cottage to be informed of the plans being entertained for him— N.A.N.A. Copyright.

(To be continued.)