THE LIFE STORY OF H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19451, 26 October 1928, Page 17

THE LIFE STORY OF H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES.

(BY WALTER AND LEONARD TOWNSEND.)

[Edited by Evelyn Graham.] Read and approved by Sir Godfrey Thomas, K.C.V.0., Principal Private Secretary to his Royal Highness. [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] [exclusive to thf. press.] CHAPTER XVI. THE PRINCE IN THE EAST. The Indian tour of the Prince of Wales of necessity differed in many respects from those made in other colonics. Here he had to keep up his dignity more as heir to the Throne and Empire, and the eMcst son of the great British'"Raj." Amongst the natives of India it was impossible to assume the friendly bonhomie which the Prince had liked to adopt in his other tours. Wheal it was intimated to H.E.H. that it was thought that a tour of India would be desirable he realised without any instruction that here he would have to uphold tradition and precedent in a manner which had not beon necessary or desirable in Canada and Australia. He knew that it would be, more or less a State tour, where he would be forecd to appear in the glitter of his many uniforms, and by dignified bearing keep up the prestige and power of tho British "Raj" before the eyes of native India. The Prince's Indian tour was by far the most important of all his travels — for here he wasi to move amongst a people not strictly British by race as the Canadians, the Australians, and New Zcalanders. India being strictly monarchist, and havmg Royalty and a native aristocracy of its own, the Prince travelled to India as representative of his father, and with all the ceremonial which, while he disliked, yet he knew was necessary now as it had been unnecessary during previous tours. The preparations for this, the Prince's third tour, wero even more careful and strenuous than had been those provious to the departure for Canada and Australia and New Zealand.

If was perhaps significant that he had left his Indian tour until he had had experience of ambassadorial duties in Canada and Australia. The Indian tour was, as I have already pointed out, the most difficult task the Prince had yet had to face. He left Portsmouth on October 26th, 1921, (travelling again on board the Renown, which he regarded as much home as York House in London. The first duty of this tour was to open the now Maltese Parliament in Valetta, which lie did with the usual dignity he displayed on all such occasions. While in the Mediterranean he also visited the Mediterranean Fleet and boarded the Iron Duke, on which his younger brother, Prinoo George, was a midshipman. Here ho accepted dinner in the gun-room with tne other "snotties," and an evening was spent such as was very dear to tho Prince's heart. The young Prince George did the "honours" on this occasion with true nautical verve. WHeu ; early one morning, the Renown slipped into Bombay Harbour, the Prince was already on the quarterdeck, with his eyes fixed upon the land in which for the next few months he was to be the central figure. The Prinde had always longed to visit India, for he remembered vividly the stories told him as a boy by his father after King George's tour in the Ophir when he was Prince of Wales. It is not surprising, therefore, that H.11.H. was eager and anxious to see all he could of the greatest of England's colonies. Lord Beading, the Viceroy, received his Royal Highness as he entered India amidst a scene off unrivalled splendour. Wearing white ducks with naval badges, and carrying hio sword in one hand, the Prinoo saluted grandly tho large crowds that had gathered to greet him. The occasion called for dignity. His Royal Highness typified aIF tho prestige of the British "Raj" as he officially saluted India. The Prince now received, in order of precedence, Indian Princes, Chiefs, and officials, and then read the King's address. Speeches finished, he entered the Royal coach, and proceeded jn solemn state on a procession through the town, a slim, upright figure seated beside the Viceroy, Lord Reading, who towered beside the Royal visitor. Daring the Prince's rather short stay in Bombay his staff and the police were a little uneasy with regard to his safety. Unfortunately, at the time of the Prince's arrival Bombay was in the midst of a native upheaval, which, while invariably ending as a storm in a teacup, might at this time constitute a menace to the personal safety of the Prince. • While the police took all the precautions they could to ensure his safety, the greatest safeguard, strajnge as it may sound, was the Prince himself. With that impelling charm of manner which is the real secret of his popularity he won even tho hearts of the native agitators; so much so, that for the period of his Royal Highness's stay in Bombay they forgot their differences and ideals of a "Black India" and joined the crowds to do homiage to the young Prince who represented the very, pillars of their political aversion 1 Such, as I have said, was the impelling force of the "Prince of Wales's dynamic popularity. Towards the end of his few days' stay in Bombay the Prince had vindicated his own opinions, and it was quite evident to the acute observer that the political agitators had discovered that their grudges did not lie against the' handsome young white Prince. As far as was possible the Prince had disarmed criticism and offered a friendly hand, even to the agitators. "I want to know you all!" he said, and so that he could see and be seen he stood up in his car, laughing away the fears of his guard. The Prince's next mission was to visit Poona to lay the foundation-stone of the Shiraji Memorial, erected to the memory of those Indians who fell in the Great War. The scene was one which oould only be enacted in India. Every imaginable colour was displayed on the ronte; brocaded elephants pounded majestically along amidst the slirill cries of native boys. Veiled women looked stealthily towards the young Prince, and all "the spices and aromas of the East pervaded the atmosphere. "I ]ike India," said the irince to the Viceroy before he had in the country many days. The Prmoe was determined, however, to use his own methods to gain the hearts and friendship of native India. On one occasion after a ceremony was concluded he left !iis staff and mixed : freely with the crowd, to the apprehension of the police officers guarding nim. But within a few moments he nad accomplished his purpose—he had won the hearts of the native population of India. It was a triumph of I e !^ rminati . on an d will-power. The Prince spent three days at JUucioiow, during which time he had s°. ® xo eptionally heavy programme to. "ilfil. It was fortunate, too, that his visit was not a short one, for it gave

him the opportunity to "convert" the disloyal faction, and prove that he had no connexion with their grievances. Before his departure these self-same natives who had vowed to wreck the tour were cheering as enthusiastically and fervently as the patriotic oversea men. Despite his heavy engagements, the Prince was able to turn to tho lighter side of life in Lucknow. He often figured at raoe meetings, and actually J rode winners on two occasions. "Games played in the right way," ! the Prince declared to the students of King George's Medical College, Lucknow, "develop those very qualities which we must closely associate with the term —the combination of points in a true sportsman must be seasoned with the spice of determination anci courage. . . The wisdom of a man can often onb be gauged by his utterances. The Prince had shown ever, since those faroff Oxford days an uncanny vision with regard to the psychology of youth. It is the secret of his youth, which sems loath to leave him. He will never "grow up" in the sense that .King Edward grew up into a genial l'oncle. The Prince has studied youth —its aims, its ideas, its failures. He is passionately interested in youth, and is probably the greatest non-academi-cal expert 011 the subject. In his interest in the founger generation he has a message for older people, too, for youth is but the foundation of maturity—a fact we are surprisingly apt to forgot. But not all the Prince's hours were spent at work in India. ( He rode almost daily, and also enjoyed the exhilarating' sports of pig-sticking, duck shooting, horse racing, big game shooting panel' chasing, and polo. His Hoval Highness safr much in India which, to him, was novel and new, although to old Anglo-Indians possessed but little interest. For instance. on one occasion he was astonished to see some natives dancing upon red-hot cinders, who then presented themselves to the Prince to prove that they had not sustained any burns. He also witnessed performances by the übiquitous sword-swallowers and the native jugglers. At Lucknow great anxiety was felt botli for the success of the tour and for the Prince's personal..safety Lucknow lias always been a hot-bed of sedition and conspiracy, and already it had been declared in certain quarters that deliberate plans had been made to spoil the Royal visit. Rumours had ■ reached the Prince's ears, but nevertheless he insisted upon carrying out his programme to the letter. His arrival at Lucknow was greeted by a mixture of loyalty and passive indifference, tho majority of the bazaars and shops being closed by special order, m The n prinee was received bv the Governor ■ and various other lugh and it was noticeable as the day piogressed that enthusiasm for his presence increased instead of diminished even in those quarters where earlier in the day, there had been sullen 351 Another triumph for the Prince.was when at the Gaekwar of Baiodas partv' in his honour, Hindus of every caste mingled together in a atternnt to welcome the Prince. T X know their India will realise to the full exactly what this almost n - precendented occurrence meant. Durine his journeys through India the Prince grew more and more attracted by the life of the country. He saw so much that appealed tol him, in fact, that his staff had to continu ally remind him of the of the official programme. It is not difficult to appreciate the fait that hid Royal Highness became a little »e----wUdeied by the Eastern splendour which surrounded him The m "P nl h ~ cence of the courts and P al » ces ° f A 1 Indian Princes who entertained him contrasted vividly with the sombre atmosphere of Buckingham Paliace and tho other European Courts the» rri ice. had visited. Perhaps, naturally enough, the Princes of India vied with each other to surround tho Koyai cuest with lavishness and luxury. All India set itself out to give the. Prince a good time. Banquets followed banquets, with dances to follow, in the daytime engagements occupied every hour, and except during ins sleeping hours the Prince had very little time to himself. At. each stage of his journey he accumulated presents and souvenirs, and these became so numerous that they could not carried on th© Royal train, and haa> therefore, to be dispatched to Bombay for shipment in the Renown. It was, of course, impossible for the Prince to refuse these gifts, which ranged from an elephant to a diamond encrusted sword. _ 1. j Not since the visit of his father had India been swept with such a wave of loyalty to the British "Raj." _ For somo time tinder the subtle poison of Ghandi India had_ been in the_ throes of a political whirlpool. With the visit of his Royal Highness this was practically stilled, and unconsciously the visit of the Prince of Wales dealt the Ghandi cause a death blow, from which it has never recovered. As one Indian Prince remarked at a banquet:— "East and West, The Prince brings rest!" The peculiarities of the Indian natives did not in any way dismay the Prince. He was able to make allowances for things he did not understand—no one can call the Prince insular ! At the same time, however, he was determined to make them see his side of the picture, and by a wonderf(il combination of winning friendliness, tact, sympathetic understanding, and appreciation of their treasured customs taught them more of the true nature of Englishmen than all the official dignitaries resident there had done in over a hundred years. The Prince's reception at Benares was a great contrast to that of Luck- | now and Allahabad: at which latter | place feeling was so high against the Royal Prince that hardly a soul was seen in the streets from the beginning to the end of the Prince's stay of just over the clock-round. The Prince Was not dismayed. A more sensitive man might have suffered remorse or anger, but Prince, Edward regarded it only ns a spur to greater endeavour to win the people over to Britain. At Benares the young Prince was greeted loyally by the crowds' who waited to see this marvellous Englishman. Dense masses followed him to the building of the Hindoo University, which the Prince had consented to open officially. During the ceremony the degree of Doctor of Letters was bestowed upon him. The Prince has always had a gireat interest in modern education— not for itself, but for what fields it can open out to youth. Quite recently the Prince subscribed £SOO .towards a fund for providing facilities for teaching natural science in the school of Christ's Hospital. It waS while in India that the Prince shot his first tiger. Immediately after the termination of his engagements in Benares the Prince was the guest of Maharaja Sir Chandra Sliumshere Jung at a big.game hunt in Nepal. Then, his short holiday over, the Prince visited in turn Patna, Bibar, and Orison, before proceeding to historical Calcutta. Calcutta was a success! After attending the Indian New Year procession he was unable to get away owing to the enthusiasm of the crowds. He spent a quiet Christmas Day, but more than made up for it during the following week.

After Calcutta the Prince journeyed to Burma 011 board the R.I.M.S. Dufferin. The liappy Burmese greeted him enthusiastically, and arranged a special comic pageant for liim of mock elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, and goats. The Prince applauded frequently, and was seen from time to time laughing in a very hearty fashion. In Burma the Prince walked among the people with perfect freedom, and

when he left he sent a radio message to the Governor. Sir Reginald Craddock: "Please assure the people of Burma of mv gratitude and mv affection for them. *. . It is with 'deep regret that I At Madras the Prince received a Royal reception before putting in some busy hours at Bangalore, Mysore, Kriah-Narajasagra (a name that Iv amused the Prince), and Hyderabad, where the Nizam gave in his honour perhaps the most magnificent banquet throughout the tour. The Prince pronounced Bhopal a good "spot." The Begum of Bhopal is the only woman ruler in Asia, and the Prince paid a warm tribute to her services to the women of her country. At the durbar the Prince and Begum sat upon thrones of turquoise and gold m a white marble hall. Gwalior gave the Prince a warm S re ® ' ing, and then before visiting Delhi the Prince stayed at Agra to see the immortal Taj Mahal. . , In the course 1 of one of his speec ts at Delhi, the Prince of gave a rather mordant opinion of some touris s. "There are, I believe, some persons who come from England, and after spending even fewer weeks than I have m U-> country give their valuable views an impressions about India to the piuic. You must not c::pcct me to-night to disturb their monopoly: I am con en for the present to remain a reverent student of the many wonderful mgs which the book of India has to unfold." While the Prince was in Delhi reports came through to England that his car had been fired at on the road e ween Delhi and Patiala. Consternation at once broke out, until the matter was officially explained. It appears ia while the Prince's car was travelling along the road it was hit by some o ] , close examination of which ruled ou the possibility of a bullet. It may have been caused by a stone kicked up J the car itself, and in any case, it was not thought that any violence had been intended, since, according to official arrangements, the Prince was o ii travelled by train, and no one was svwarc of the changed plnns bPjoiu Prince's own staff. It is interesting to note the Indian Princes who Prince was Ranjitsmhji, the cricketer, whoso opinion of the Prince was. i© lovable, the tactful, the experienced ambassador of fellow-feeling <ind ship between all the scattered par so the Empire." . TT - The Prince had been studying " in " dustani during his tour, and managed a little speech in this ™ ie P he presented colours to the loth JiajPU Deihi thoroughly exhausted the Prince, so that when the time came tor him to visit Lahore lie was advised to cancel this part of the ' ;oxir ,' , answer cannot bo given better than »y explaining that he had a magnificent reception there, to the great wonder or the agitators. The Prince visited an Indian fan while in the neighbourhood, oi Lahore. As he rode into the fair ground he was pressed bv many Indians. There was no hint of unfriendliness about them, however, they spemed more curious than anything else to get a closer view of the Prince of Wales. Despite the political unrest, which was perhaps more marked in Lahore than elsewhere in India, tho Prince mingled freely with the natives. From his pavilion the Prince witnessed the festivities got up in his honour, which consisted chiefly of tug-of-wars, wrestling matches, acrobatic performances, and feats with trained animals. There were also weird round-abouts, fireworks, cinema shows, and. last but by no means least, exhibitions of native dances. . . . Representatives from districts aroiina Lahore were present, some having travelled over a hundred miles to view the double attraction —the Prince of Wales and the mela. Over 20,000 people were present on the fair ground, and it is a significant tact -that at the mercy of this mob, as the Prince of Wales undoubtedly was, there was not one. hostile sign during the whole of the day 1 Peshawar, the Khyber Pass, Rawal Pindi, llapurthala—all were visited, and then the Prince reached Karachi, where he hoarded the Renown for Colombo to enjoy a game or two of polo after he had completed his long list of engagements. The Indian tour had been an arduous one, but the indefatigable Prince of Wales had still another visit to make. ITo proceeded onward to Japan, to bo received with the greatest possible welcome. During his short stay in this Oriental land the Prince made a firm friend of the Prince Regent. When the Prince landed home towards the end of June, 1922. it was with the knowledge that he had completed an almost impossible task, tor, single-handed, he had truly knit India a thousand tiroes more firmly to Britain.