DUKE IN PRIVATE LIFE

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 December 1934, Page 11

DUKE IN PRIVATE LIFE

FOND OF INCOGNITO. The Duke of Gloucester has many of the traditional attributes of the country gentleman. His tastes are simple, and he jealously guards such privacy as he can snatch from his public duties. He dislikes being photographed except on public occasions, and he seldom yields to autograph-hunters. He has a deep understanding of children and dogs. He enjoys the cinema and good musical comedy, but he is indifferent to cards. He is a good dancer, likes a detective story, and has a taste for antiques. If he has a personal foible, it is for carrying an umbrella. He is distinguished for strength of character, determination, and a certain reserve lightened by a dry sense of humour.

When the Duke of Gloucester is in London he lives at Buckingham Palace, having his own quarters there. They are furnished comfortably but without “frills.’’ deep armchairs and oak bookcases predominating. The walls are painted cream; the curtains are of dark red brocade. The establishment is simple, the Duke having a Comptroller, Major R. T. Stanyforth, M.V.0., M.C., and two Equerries, Captain Howard Kerr, M.V.0., 0.8. E. (who is now in Australia), and Captain E. W. Brook.

When alone the Duke amuses himself with his wireless set, or reading and smoking, settling down comfortably in an old jacket, with, his Scotch terriers. Jock and Dougal, at his side. Though the Duke’s library is largely composed of works on military matters. he frequently reads much lighter books, being fond of a good detective story and of humour. P. G. Wodehouse is one of his favourites, the Duke never tiring of the adventures of the inimitable “Jeeves.”

He is a regular church attender, the King and Queen having brought up their children in a sincere and quiet piety. When presiding at an annual meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the Duke said: “It would be a happier and a more peaceful world if in our personal and public affairs we all made the Bible our final court of appeal and accepted its ruling as the law of life.”

Though never shirking public duties, ■the Duke of Gloucester is fond of privacy, and in his private capacity often travels alone, without even the single equerry usually considered indispensable. If he can do so unrecognised, he is well content, though sometimes his moustache betrays him. The moustache and his slightly serious expression make him look somewhat older ■than his years. His personal requirements are modest; no one could be less extravagantly inclined. On an occasion when he wanted to put up some additional stabling at his place in the Shires he sold part of his library to pay for the work, and it is said that one or two collectors of first editions secured longdesired volumes as a result.

He preserves his incognito whenever possible. Once when he was leaving the racecourse he saw a lad knocked down and injured. The Duke inquired what hospital the boy was being taken to, and the next morning rang up and inquired after the boy.

“He is much better,” came the answer. “Who is speaking?” “Oh, lie doesn’t know me,” said the Duke. “I only wanted to make sure he wasn’t seriously injured.” His Royal Highness dislikes being photographed, and shuns the camera on all save public occasions, when he cheerfully submits. He is an excellent “sitter,” provided he is not snapped unawares, an event which annoys him very much, as it used to annoy the Prince of Wales until he grew hardened.

NO AUTOGRAPHS Pie has a confirmed dislike of auto-graph-hunters. With that quiet determination which characterises him, he has made it a rule neycr .to accede to such requests. “I am sorry,” he said once to the holder of the inevitable album, “but in,my young days I resolved to avoid such things.” On the few occasions on which he has yielded, it has been to children he has given his signature. The Duke is inclined to share the Prince of Wales’s preference for plays of a lighter kind. He enjoys a good musical comedy, and when he accompanied their Majesties to a command variety performance, no member of the audience showed more enthusiastic appreciation of the humorous turns than did his Royal Highness. He is something of a film “fan,” and occasionally drops into a cinema where a good picture is being shown. He enjoys the athletic exhibitions of Douglas Fairbanks, and the riding in some of the Wild West pictures, but takes little interest in “vamp” films. The Duke has a pleasant singing voice which he rarely uses. He shares his brothers’ indifference to most card games. He says he is keeping them for his old age. Since his return from Japan his Royal Highness has developed a taste for antiques, a fact which has greatly pleased Queen Mary, who is an enthusiastic collector. Pie acquired some very fine specimens of pottery in Japan, and has added to his collection by judicious purchases He is an excellent judge, and it is not easy to deceive him with imitations There is a story that on one occasion he was badly deceived, and a piece for which he had paid a good price was proved to be imitation. “Did you tell the dealer who you were?” asked a friend “No,” replied the Duke.

“He wouldn’t have given you a fake if you had,” said the friend. “More probably I should have had to pay twice as much for it,” responded the Duke.

He entertains regularly, his friends being drawn from amongst his brotherofficers and “out-of-door” men, Lord Burghley, the athlete, being one of his most intimate friends. While perhaps not so fond of society as his brothers, the Duke is an excellent dancer,* and when he attends hunt balls, one of his favourite forms of entertainment, he rarely misses a dance. He has an innate courtesy. It is related that when he was descending the gangway of a steamei’ on his return from his African tour he saw an elderly woman struggling with a suitcase. He asked whether he might carry it for her to the Customs House. He did not disclose his identity. Like Foch and Joffre, the Duke loves flowers. Also, like Joffre and Foch, he will not have them in a sickroom.

While his Royal Highness has a full sense of the responsibilities of his position, and possesses the natural dignity with which to support them, it is certain that he would have been happy as a country gentleman, looking after the walfare of his tenants, farming his acres, shooting his coverts, and developing his estates. He has the selfreliance, strength of character, determination, and reserve of his mother. It is a reserve, however, which, like that of the Queen, is closely coupled with a sense of humour which enables him to meet difficult situations with an unruffled calm, and to deal with all sorts and conditions of people on the best of terms.