HIS MAJESTY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22094, 27 April 1935, Page 1 (Supplement)

HIS MAJESTY

"A TRUE, RIGHT KING"

BY MATANGA

As the silver jubilee of His Majesty's accession draws near he fills the world's ga:ze as few monarchs have done. Indeed, when account is taken of the wide range of that attention, it can be soberly said that no monarch in any age has attracted such notice. He is not only "the cynosure of neighbouring eyes" but the object of even fardistant interest—a veritable North Star, as the Miltonic phrase suggests, of polar distinction.

Two facts combine in the world-wide heed—a recognition of His Majesty's personal claim to honour and an appreciation of the large place he fills in the national life of a unique Empire. Alone, either of these facts would explain and justify the thronging enthusiasm; together they make an appeal unequalled. For us British, accustomed to think of them as inseparably related., they make an occasion of rejoicing as thankful as it is proud. King and people—no line divides them. I'liat. for which he stands is so really pa,rt of our own life that his twentyfifth Accession Day is ours as well, to be observed with a national gladness of which all the tumult and the shouting. cannot adequately speak. Many citizens of a republic may wonder at this. Thus politically circumstanced, we too might wonder, until we remembered the similar —merely similar — national days that every self-respect-ing republic keeps in some fashion. Round a president, even a constitution, a people's festivities have gathered; for us, they centre in a King, and the bond between him and us is so strong, so vital, that this jubilee rejoicing is utterly natural and heartfelt. Few among us are so insensible of their social debts that they can echo the cry, once strangely, briefly raised in our New Zealand hearing, "No j King, no flag, no country!" Against the anarchist both republican and monarchist take sides, shoulder to shoulder, in equal reprobation of a lawless creed. There can be no State without a focus for loyalty, and when the focus has truly regal personal embodiment the loyalty is a union that means national strength. " Together " Of the powerful sentiment knitting Queen Elizabeth and Englishmen in stirring times of old, Kipling has written in his " Together," giving a turn to his thought that brings it up to date. Here is part of it: TVhen King and People understand each other past a doubt. It takes a foe and more than a foe to knock that country out; For the one will do what the other one asks as 60on as the need is known. And hand in hand they can make a stand Which neither could make alone 1 This wisdom had Elizabeth and all her subjects too, For she was theirs and they were hers, as well, the Spaniard knew; For when his grim Armada came to conquer the Nation and Throne, Why, back to back they met an attack that neither could face alone 1 It is not wealth, nor talk, nor trade, nor schools, nor even the Vote Will save your land when the enemy's hand ia tightening round your throat. But a King and a People who thoroughly trust each other in all that is done Ctin sleep on their bed without any dread —for the world will leave 'em alone 1 There is no gainsaying the truth that this mutual trust is an inestimable national asset in these critical days for the world. And it is an international asset as well, for the solidarity of the British Commonwealth, instinct in. this close fellowship of King and nation, is a sheet-anchor for others' hopes of universal peace and prosperity. Personal Character The stoutest thread in this uniting national bond to-day is the personal character of His Majesty. He fits Marston's phrase, " a true, right king," penned long before King George's time and of monarchy in general. He's a king. A true, right king, that dares do aught save wrong; Fears nothing mortal but to be unjust; Who is not blown up with the flatt'ring puffs 0:f spongy sycophants; who stands unmoved Despite the jostling of opinion. That is a typically British view of things monarchical. It- does not set the King above the realm. He is regarded as its most eminent servant, called to u:se his position for its welfare, with a poise of wise judgment superior to partisan strivings and capable of tactful counsel. This demand of " a limited monarchy " King George has signally fulfilled. It is true that the British Throne has been shorn of many of its old prerogatives. In the patient achieving of constitutional stability the initiative of legislation and the direct control of administration have been transferred to Parliament; literally, to " the Crown in Parliament." a manner of s]>eeeh expressing both the responsibility of Parliament and the dignity of the Crown. But the Crown has still more than dignity, as events prove. New opportunities of Royal service have been conferred in the evolution, and a large freedom remains. Ceasing to be a fount of law, the King has become in fuller sense a fount of honour. Not only is he the head of our social life and the focus of national pride and affection; he has unexampled privileges of influence, privileges that heads of unlimited monarchies, compelled by circumstance to dictate, can never humanly enjoy. Writing of these real powers, a cleareved observer has said that " a king of great sense and sagacity would want no others." Serving the Realm How well His Majesty has served the realm is now recalled- with deep satisfaction. No national crisis has found him wanting. The years of the Great War were marked by his arduous personal toil and ungrudged sacrifice. He set an ennobling example. When those searching years were over, years in which many monarchies went crashing down, a British Prime Minister could gratefully say that the British Throne had won added respect, stability and lustre. But those years were unusual only in the added burden of anxiety and duty; their exactions were so splendidly met because it was His MajestyVhabit to think in terms of the nation. From his lips "my people " has always had a ring of sincere affection and concern. Never can be forgotten the scene at the end of the war, when be walked amid a cheering throng in London's celebration of the Armistice. Walked, mark you, while, the spontaneous cheers made all London echo to the roar. And those cheers, while prompted by the thought of the winning of the war, were doubly fervent because of the part he had played in it. He would have been cheered even if it had been lost.

Now comes a happier climax. To him, as the head of a serving Royal House and of a nation proud to own him King, a glad tribute of hearts is everywhere to be paid. The story of this century will be incalculably enriched.