HOW ROYAL SPEECHES ARE PREPARED.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 99, 8 April 1911, Page 1 (Supplement)

HOW ROYAL SPEECHES ARE PREPARED.

KING GEORGE’S I> R£™£ A ?I EXT HOW HE GOT OUT OF IT.

“To prepare the speeches of a Royal personage such as King Edward, r in” as thev do over almost every subject under’ the sun, from art to agriculture. and from chemiyry to cattlebreeding, one would require to combine the eloquence of Demosthenes with the varied erudition of an encyc.opaedia. So said Lord Rosebery recently; and indeed, it is only necessary to look over a lisfi of the subjects which have inspired the oratory of King Edward or Kin” George to marvel how one little hr ad” could carry all they know. As a matter of fact, no head could carry sveh encvcl<*na«?ilic knowledge as these Koval speeches exhibit; and their compcsi.ion i s often the product of a good many clever brains. HELPING A HOSPITAL. Although King George, like his lamented Roval father, is By natural aptitude and’ long training a ready and eloquent speaker, he has naturally wither the time nor -he knowledge necessary to prepare manv of the speeches he has to deliver. Take, for example, the opening of. a new wing to a hospital, for which it is necessary to give a history of the hospital and its work, to refer to the distinguished men it has given to the world. and. to the nor; it has played in advancing n odical and surgical science. These are matters which call for expert knowledge, and of which the King is naturally ai i • norant as tlm average lavman. Here the hospital authori.ies come gallantly to his assistance and practically prepare his speech for him. A committee of the principal officials is formeel, the records of the hospv.al r.»e carefully searched. anti the result of the committee’s work is embodied in a speech of perhaps an hour’s duraf’.ion. The spo?ch. or statement, is then carefully revised and cut down to the required compass of alwnit a quarter of an hour at the outside, and ilives ed with as much interest and literary merit as the committee can pt.'.. into

ITRPLE LETTERS ON VELLTM.

Four typewritten copies of the finished spoecli are then made. and,, armed with these, . he committee arrange i it conference with the King’s Secretarv who makes such suggestions and amendments as lie thinks advisable. Ilie revised proof is then submitted to Hw Majesty, who frequently re-writes it to satisfy h»s individual taste, and when it has thus received the Royal approval the manuscript is sent to the printers and reproduced in purple letters on vellum in which gorgeous form it is sent to His Majesty. In his earlier years King Edward used t o learn ' .hose prepared speeches by heart: and. aided by an excellent rremorr was ab’e to deliver them with al’ the'natural effect of Impromptu utterances. On one occasion, i. is said—the speech was to be delivered at the Roval A» r’em v banquet—he had omitted this precaution, and. further, found to his dismay bhat lie had forgotten to take the copy with him.- He proved, however, more than equal to the emergency. trying as it was to an inexperienced speaker, and delivered one of ti.« !>vl. speeches of his life, to the surprise and delight of his auditors, to whom he confessed his predicament. In later years, when experience had begotten confidence. His Majestv was content to renter the facts and figures of his speech, and to trust to the inspiration of the moment for its delivery. How happv *this invariably was— Iciw natural and crarefullv expressed, — those who were to hear him well know. “King Edward’s happiest efforts, however.” Lord Rosebery says, “were tlitwe which were quite innocent of any preparation. Tn grace and simplicity of language, delicacy of humour, and dignity of nW erance, tlie King’s impromn'n speaking might well challenge comparison with that of any after-dinner speaker I have ever 1.-*rd.”

On many subjects, too. King Edward yas an exnert who needed no help in preparing his .speeches; and many of his lies' efforts, on such wide-apart subjects ns art and agri'ultnre. were entirely of his own production : and. like all his speeches, gained considerably from his clear enunciation and his beautiful, well-modulated voice.

THE KINC IS A BORN SPEAKER

King George is. if possible, an even better sneaker than his Royal father. Indeed, some of his speeches are per fee; modes of lucidity, happy expression. and natural eloquence. Although tlig material for many of them is supplied on lines similar to those described above, hr has long passed the stage when he had to relv on his memory. A p-rfeet master of his far. •«. he is .Vd-" to clothe thc-m in words which, by "their happy choice and smooth flow, pioclaim the born speaker. Indeed, in perfection of expression many of them ;> r" well o»t:t’ed to rank with the finest examples of English oratory.

An .:nu:sing story is told of one o f K’ng G-or"o’s early efforts at speechmaking It was nt the opening of a bazaar. »mi. to Idv" amusement of h:s honrers. ho '--.;an thus; "IVben I on- • hero I h.-id quite a to.iutif■’! sn e-h coni net'cd t > n e-.ory s-» that I thought I con’d ri rce, it backwards, if neerssnrv. Rut. ahis! niv charming surroundings have driven every word out of i» -.- hr-id and I am as holn’e s as a ship which ha* Tost her rudder. However. hero goes.'" And forthwith h? plun e"I into a snee-b «o full of hanpy r cmn’i-ren: an! n-llk-k-ng hurrmir tha‘ to ernet-riv convu’sc l and -d h’s ambencc. mnnv of whom d'-e’:-.>od that it war tto cleverest spe?eh they !i?d ever heard