PRINCE OF WALES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 85, 20 October 1928, Page 17

PRINCE OF WALES

STORY OF HIS LIFE SCIENCE OF ROYALTY ... COMPLEX PROBLEMS (■Read and Approved by Sir Godfrey Thomas,. K.C. V.0., . Principal Private Secretary to ■ - ' , H.R.H.f (All Rights Reserved.) -. ..Any .chronicle of the. Prince's life after he commenced his career as an Empire builder must, for the sake of lucidity, be allocated into sections labelled "on tour" and,"on holiday," This is only a figure-of speech, however, for the, holiday periods arc quite as stronu; Ous as the ambassadorial missions. Even 'during..his stays in England his official programme of'engagements-is always mapped out for months, ahead. It has always been a source of surprice that the Prince docs not suffer physically by his strenuous life. It would be untrue to say th.at.the Prince is possessed of such abounding vitality that he never feels the strain which is imposed upon him. \ There are times, of course, whoii he is as nick and tired as,anyone else, ami has to allow his doctors- tor.take him over; but the! fast is the Prince does possess one of (he strongest constitutions. Ho has often been1 compared with his brother, the' Duke of York, whom he a-esembles .markedly in. features and Ijuilc'l. .But here flic likeness ends, for "The Duke' of York is at once more studious, and' "possibly less gregarious, than: his elder: brother. This may be accounted for by reason of the differ-' ■once in-the upbringing and young 211 anhood of the two brothers. The Duke ■has not received the same opportunities as ..Prhteo Edward •to widen his. vision and introduce him tp such a galaxy.'of human types. : > The difference in temperapieut after the 21st birthday of each: of,those two Princes forms a fascinating study for the student of human psychology who is interested in the, question of environment versus hered-' it.y. Be that as it may, however) the fact remains that both fulfil their to-. spective roles, of necessity more or leesdiverse, in a. satisfactory manner pecu-: 3iar to themselves. , .It has often been suggestd that the Prince, is not enthusiastically keen to' ascend the throne of England, and we remember his youthful lugubriousaess; At the knowledge that he would one <lay.be .called.to the throne. It is, vastly unfair, however, to charge, the Prince on this score without taking into consideration the fact that the :Prmcc'hcts his own ideas upon the position';of modern Royalty, and the way /they- should conduct themselves both1 ■individually and as far as the State is , (jo.ncerned. The Prince of Wales has probably spent.l more time and thought jiboii, the "science of, Royalty—for it ,2s : .«i science, like statesmanship—than 'any, other living person, and if he has :comc to'vthc decision that.his attitude, iand outlook are practically sound, then, ■■who (shall, dejiy • him the right of his opinion? -''■'■'[ '"■"' .: ■ , ■ ' Few '.know the^ Prince's problems on; the'subject'of'Royalty. .- He is faced on the, .one hand with medieval traditions and-beliefs, of a large mass'of people with .a. pleasant fund of historical ■lore, and on the other .with the reactionary thousands : who arc. not.at all ■sure -whether, they; 'believe 'Royalty- is !iiocpss.ai-y. ito.-diiy- or not.■.. Tho-Prince, .has enough sympathy and ecbnoniic'liis-' ■torical education to realise that, both; parties have good points in their favour, and that each has a right to be satisfied either one way or the other hy Royalty itself. When the Prince, agrees with workers that the economic situation is serious and the imemploy-' incnt, problem, practically vmsolvable in this decade, and then continues his, journey and takes part in an expensive State banquet, ho is not guilty of com-; promising between the two extremes. It- is- thp Prince'!,, natural- and irrevoe- . able spirit of comradeship which allows him to shake'hands' with the toiler and smoke air expansive cigar -with a peer of the realm. In this respect i:o differs from the Duke of York, for, though lie is a student of economy and industrialism,, ho is more concerned with the; human aspect of the individual than the machine-made welfare of the masses. -The Prince is no theorist, and .believes' that Human happiness- springs' from human sorrows as well as joys. . ■ .' '"A KING OF THE FUTURE." • .. The Prince of Wales, naturally, , as 'the. heir.,apparent to the Throne, has decided-ideas, upon the future position Eoyalty will hold. Many of the onetime strong European Crowns havo tottered, yet the Houso of Windsor has never, been firmer establislid in the. • annals of the British Empire than it is to-day."' - Despite the Englishman's dislike -for changes, this solidity to the Throne has only been made possible by the pers&nid qualities of our Huler and. Ilia family.' . The. Prince of Wales will, without' question, mako -«ts good a King as his .father. ; King George has already earned:.the, gratitude of his millions' of subjects; his 'simple.characteristics and' •warm oarhestne.Hij are well kuOwn.: Prince Edward is a different typo of Juan altogether. He is a.King of the future. The' strenuous training he is ; receiving.to-day is fitting him especially as no other training could do forIhe future position of King of Bug- • land. It requires but little intelligence amd observation to see that the youth of our country to-day is moving in a different world from their elders, yet constrained by their very youth to modify'their views and conduct. Some day the youth of England will be the 3uiddle-agod po.ople ot! England—its backbone! . They will then havo put 311 to practice the theories and views •they now passively hold. And their leader will be the Prince of Wales. JTe.is the.one leader amongst, so many jic'lf-sty.lcd .pioneers of the younger generation1 who. can be relied upon to tein'■•per his reactionary outlook with rare common-sense and discriminating ideals: You have only to look round and observe-the sayings and writings of our modern- literary men of the younger school to ri'o'tc that a great deal of their seemingly passionate desire to emanci-pate-themselves from tradition is hot air, aml-.that when they have recorded their views there is a noteworthy lack of 'solutions'Oi* suggestions of how to,.set about' : the. social revolution. You will look lojig-and.in vain for any unsound statements in the Prince's speeches, despite the fact that they are often strongly-charged with modern sentiments. ■Those who have some misgivings as to the kind of .King ho will-make fall into, a common terror of supposing that, the.Prince will conduct himself -.the same as he does to-day, when later sitting upon the Throne': As the Prince of Wales, important though his title is to (hi: people, he does not hold such a dignified position as the King. .Me ran enjoy a comparative freedom in his present roh; which will be immediately debarred him when he relinquishes his prcirmt tj|,|,. r O r Hi/it of King. Who. then, can blame, him if he pursues the most lonian course of all, and takes advantage of partaking of the easier relationship with the- peopJo which his rank aIIODrS? .'.: :.....-.. . •_■•>• One day, after having ridden in a steeplechase," the . Princo returned to a nearby frirhi where, quite unreeoguiised, lus'i.JuMl;- garaged his car. The' farmer,:

handing over the motor, remarked: "Prince o' Wales ridin' they tell me. Did he .win?'- ... "No!" replied the Prince, "he had a. .fall!" . "Ah!" came the farmer's grim reply, "he'll break his neck one of those days, mark my'words." ''Well," the Prince smiled, "it's his own neck, so it doesn't matter, does it?" ' . . PERSONAL SAFETY. This story is typical of the- Prince of Wales's attitude, towards his own personal safety; .He is most obstinately determined to',maintain the right to govern his own activities during his leisure liours, and is quite prepared to take any risks that mny accrue from them.. But.there is no-, reason to believe that his attitude will not change if he came to the Throne. The Prince docs not hold life cheaply by any means, however. ■ When'the crowds thronged round his car- on one occasion during his Aus-. tra'l-iiui-- tour, ■ the Prince was most arixjous and concerned lest any. one of them. bo. injured in. their excitement to greet- him. , When therefore, he saw a woman being .sadly .crushed in the crowd; he .turned to- one of thu escorting mounted police and asked that a way should be made for her to the car. When she reached this position ho shook; her 'warmly by, the hand. ■ -.With:himself, however, the Prince has a,' different ; idea. ■He realises, despite his elevated position, that being unmarried as yet, the only ties-that bind him to take precautionary ■ measures against the chance of.iaccident .to himself, aro those .of .State. Willing: .enough to meet the . State's demand:) half-way, the Prince contends that any of -his 'brothers could take his place, should the need' arise, and fill it with the utmost satisfaction, and efficiency. As the King of England, however, (lie Prince':of Wales \vould of necessity take a different viewpoint. His 'life would ,bo of the. utmost importance to

tho nation, and—if he wore married—' to his family. As it is, tho Prince is by no means unaware that his rank is an important one, and if not for his own sake, at least for his country's, he keeps up the dignity of his position in a way which can only be described as irreproachable. If you see the Prince of Wales at some big;-banquet, yd.v will 7je impressed by. the dignity he is able to confer upon the whole ceremony merely by his quiet manners and unostentatious bearing. When abroad visiting other European Eoyal Families, tho Princo is quite at ease, and always in demand, both for his. sporting proclivities and his personal charm. He is the most tactful member of the younger royalty in Europe. This is in no little way due to his reserve, which still lingers over his temperament, despite a thousand and one .adventures and experiences in all countries, and his marvellously wide circle of acquaintance in every sphere of life. PEINCE AS A SPEAKER In his speeches the Prince shows a ready .wit as well, as a masterly command of modern,phraseology. Seldom is ho embarrassed for the right word. Often his speeches scintillate with "bon mots," and he sometimes forgets that his audience is drinking in every ■word he utters with critical approbation. This is true of all trained orators. Tho Prince has necessarily to speak a. ; -great deal from manuscript, but he prefers the impromptu address when he can dispense with tho formulae .of ready-made speeches, and loves to get down to "a heart-to-heart talk." When discoursing publicly on subjects near and dear to his heart, the Prince is eapiible of flashes of real eloquence. His voice-is pleasant and resonant —a voice that surprises the listener who hears him- for the first time. Tho Prince is not a willing speaker/ however, and prefers to listen rather than talk himself. His almost daily conquest over his dislike of. specch-mnk-ing, therefore, is one. of his many personal,triumphs. ' , On tho.radio the Princo finds n congenial medium for speech-making, and he is no stranger at Savoy .Hill, where he has made broadcast "talks" on behalf of several deserving charities and movements. .' There is no need, indeed-, for anyono not to lie conversant with the quality .of the Prince's voice. On two occasions he has made records for gramophone recital. Tho first was in September, 1924, when he recorded for .the- Gramophone Company, Ltd. — whose records aro known, thu'world over as "H.M.V."—a talk on "Sportsmanship." ■'.. .'. The recording was brought about by an interview tho, directors of the Gramophone- Company had with the lato Earl Haig of ..Bcniersyde. The records which this company had a short time before- made of their Majesties tho King and Queen, sending a message to the children of the Empire on Empire Day, had met with such . popular enthusiasm that they felt .a record of the Prince of Wales would contribute substantially to Earl Haig's fund for exservice men. Earl Haig's immediate interest in tho idea resulted in the record being made shortly afterwards, and the response of the public was such that a very large sum was handed over to the fund. As recently as Armistice Day, 1927, a second record of tho Princo of Wales was made- with the now electrical recording process which enabled a record to be taken til (lie Albert Hall of the actual speech to thu members of the British Legion. This was arranged through thu courtesy of tho "Daily Express," and in this case as in the case of the record miulc in 1924, all the profits were given to Earl Haig's fund. The Prince's voice, being clear and decisive, was admirably suited to recording—as it is to broadcasting—and the resultant records in each case are remarkably distinct. The later record is particularly' inU'restiiig ii: that l.ho atmosphere of thu crowded Albeit Hall, with tho applan.se of thu public, lias all been entrapped on Ihe record. The actual recording of Ihu first disc was made in the home of I Ik- Prince— | York House. Arrangcmuiits were made for the recording apparatus to be fixed up in his, own study. Tin; Prince, naturally, vras n Vii-Uc anxious about his new experience, and asked haw h& should make his delivery, lie

wns told "to speak as you do at banquets." Despite 'this reassuring rejoinder, the .Prince .would not deliver his speech until ho had read over the !MS. several times and- was quite cer-(.-■in that- lie wns absolutely word-per-fect. It, is this anxiety to do every job he undertakes thoroughly, that lias in no little measure attributed to the whole success of his career. In this case Ins pains were admirably rewarded. The record satisfied the recording experts, an achievement which is a very rare occurrence, even among professional artists^ SPORTSMANSHIP. ■''Sportsmanship" was Hie molit' of his ■ speech. 'To hear the Prince of Wales speak on this subject is a privilege and an education, for ho is'our "Sportsman.Prince." In simple, yet persuasive.language,, he urges that the generous ideals, of British sportsmanship arc among the proudest traditions of our.race, and that these ideals should govern our conduct-in all departments of life. ■ '■■'.. '. . The Prince of Wales is intensely ■ nioved ■by the' problem of unemployment; and- has interested himself in many private institutions which have been formed to help men procure work. Especially in the mining districts the unemployed have tho. Prince's sympathy. .. . • At one of..the meetings of the Educational section of the British Association a letter was read from tho Princer of Wales referring :to his efforts tcr make employment', if possiblo on his own Canadian ranch. The letter is~ worth producing, for it shows with what cure and. thoroughness the Prince goes into all questions which'are put before him. "The Prince discussed last year with Mi1. CarlvJe, the manager of his ranch, and Sir' Walter Peacock, the secretary of the Duchy of Cornwall, .the question which you , raise. At the present time there is no accommodation

for boys oiiH:ne.:.ranch, nor is there.:"sufficient work for more than three or four, but His Eoyal Highness approved of two or three extra rooms being provided in the new bunk-house when it is built. Mr. Carlylo considers that twenty is the best ago for yoong men to go to Canada, except for boys who go at a. much earlier age to a Colony ' JPavih.''■..■ He'thinks .'that after leaving a public school,' boys should go and learn, oii'-'an, English Pedigree 'Stock Farm for a year before proceeding to Canada. They will then discover for themselves whether they are suited to a farmer's life, and they will also know something about stock. So many young man who go out to Canada drift into tho^ towns, and. eventually return to England. lam sure Mr. Carlyle's views on the matter are very sound." The Prince -has- associated himself with the various schemes of emigration, especially the Big Brother Movement of, Which ho,.is a patron. , (To be continued on Monday.)