MM Mini View: Kings of England (Part IX)

The Coburgs

King Edward VII: It seems incredible that a woman of such incredible moral fortitude as Queen Victoria could have an eldest son like Edward VII and it can only call to mind the vast difference between the third and fourth Georges. However, the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, while no paradigm of virtue, was certainly of better quality than George IV. He, at least, waited for the throne with better grace and dignity and he waited quite a long while. Still, while he was undoubtedly a bit of a rascal in his private life, he at least was a much more likeable fellow and proved himself a seasoned and capable monarch. Fashionable, jovial and a man who enjoyed good living, he personified a Britain that was ’large and in-charge’. My opinion of him is somewhat prejudiced by his peacemaking with republican France, to the detriment of Austria-Hungary and Germany. His rather warmer attitude toward Imperial Russia, on the other hand, was certainly a welcome change in my view from the hostility of his mother, if not very whole-hearted. His modernization of the army and navy was also a major positive, the move toward curtailing the power of the House of Lords was certainly not. He avoided war with France over colonial rivalries but set the stage for World War I. Given how that turned out, a little colonial conflict might have been preferable. Still, a steady and sober monarch, far removed from his reputation as heir apparent.

King George V: When I think of George V the image that comes to mind is of a hard working, stable, reliable, methodical monarch. He lacked the style and personality of his father but was a more meticulous monarch and a more upstanding man, even a bit on the authoritarian side. Those looking for a romantic figure would be disappointed but George V was a good, steady monarch for those interested in substance rather than style. He was perhaps more closely familiar with the far flung dominions of his empire than any British monarch before him and things would have gone better had his advice been heeded more often, particularly in the wake of the Easter Uprising in Ireland. World War I was a disaster, though he was not to blame for it and was a commendable wartime monarch. In the aftermath he seemed to have every radical, revolutionary movement plaguing him and that is nothing to be taken lightly. He was a good man and a good monarch but, understanding the unrest he faced in his own country, I will still always have some bitterness in regard to George V for his failure to rush to the aid of his cousin the Tsar and his family.

King Edward VIII: When Edward VIII came to the throne, albeit briefly, it must have seemed to some that history was repeating itself. Again a stern, upright and moral father had produced a rather libertine son and heir. I cannot have a very high opinion of Edward VIII (later Duke of Windsor) who led quite an immoral life in his youth and who put his own desires before his duty to the empire and the royal house he belonged to. Still, I certainly do not hate the man as many seem to. He had no use for the League of Nations, which I would agree with and he was opposed to war which, while considered outrageous today, might have saved the British Empire. I don’t think he would have been a terrible king but his beloved was never going to be queen and I doubt he would have settled for anything less. His abdication was a dereliction of duty, no question, but if that was his nature, surely it was best that he abdicate rather than inflict an unwilling monarch on his country and dominions. I have also never understood those who hold anger against the man, totally despise him and yet still condemn him for abdicating. Makes no sense to me.

King George VI: Back on the right track, with George VI Britain again had an ideal constitutional monarch. I have often said that when I picture “a king” in my mind, it is George VI that I usually see. He was a man of great dignity, high moral standards, a devoted family man and he was disciplined, dutiful and dedicated. His calm and majestic presence was just what Britain needed in World War II and, though he is often left out of the historical narrative, he was a very “hands-on” wartime monarch. More than enduring the blitz alongside his people, he kept up with the war economy, visited the front and was involved in all the major planning sessions for strategy. Even the American supreme Allied commander, General Eisenhower, had nothing but respect and the highest praise for King George VI. He also had the good sense (and persistence) to marry a fine Scottish lady who proved to be a tremendous asset for the Royal Family and the country. His reign is bitter-sweet though as he did see Britain through her “darkest hour” but was also the last King-Emperor and presided over the beginning of the disintegration of the British Empire, mostly due to the government poverty caused by the war.

Queen Elizabeth II: One of the greatest but simplest things one can say about HM the Queen is that she is and has always been worthy of her father. It must be said that her reign has covered the most drastic decline in British power and influence in centuries but none of that can be attributed to her. She follows the advice of her ministers without fail and has been a model constitutional monarch. Warm, friendly, even humorous but at the same time dignified and majestic, no matter what has gone on around her, the Queen has always conveyed continuity, stability and integrity. Few other monarchs have been faced with such rapid and drastic changes as Elizabeth II and she has shown both strength and an ability to adapt in navigating through such waters. Even on the rare occasion when she became rather unpopular, the public eventually realized she had been right all along and that they had behaved rather childishly. The Queen has been an anchor in the storm and has, seemingly effortlessly, upheld the monarchy as a popular institution by her spotless moral values and her matchless ability to never make a mistake. It has been said quite often by now that the Queen has “never put a foot wrong”. That is quite a remarkable thing to say when you think about it -and the most remarkable thing is that it is completely true.

Favorite Royal Images: Two Windsor Women

Princess Michael of Kent and Lady Gabriella Windsor

Favorite Royal Images: An English Duchess

HRH the Duchess of Kent

MM Video: The Queen Mum

MM Video: King Edward VIII

Favorite Royal Images: Windsor Women

Monarch Profile: King George VI of Great Britain, Emperor of India

He was the man who was not supposed to be king, the second son, yet he was the monarch who would lead Great Britain and the British Empire through the greatest crisis they had faced in centuries. He would see his people through the crisis but would also then reign over the decline and dissolution of the once dominant British Empire. He was Britain’s last King-Emperor. He was born HRH Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George at Sandringham on December 14, 1895 during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria. As the second son of a second son there was not the slightest thought that he would ever be called upon to take the throne. As a small child, life was not easy for the little prince everyone called “Bertie”. Neglect by a nurse left with gastric trouble, he developed an embarrassing stammer as he grew older, was forced to wear splints to correct knock knees and endured the discomfort of being broken of his natural left-handedness on orders from his father. The pomp and ceremony of royal life held no romance for him, nor did it for his older brother Prince David. But, whereas Prince David was stylish and outgoing, Prince “Bertie” was rather shy and reserved. In 1909 he went with his brother to study at Osborne and then Dartmouth where he struggled as a student but was very good at athletics. He made close friendships even though some of his classmates pricked him with pins to see if his blood was really blue.

In 1913 Prince Albert joined the fleet as a midshipman but was kept out of combat due to repeated attacks of acute gastritis. However, he did finally recover sufficiently to serve in the Mediterranean Sea (an overlooked but extremely dangerous theatre of World War I) and he served in the great battle of the Jutland in 1916, the largest naval battle of the war and the largest clash of battleships in naval history. He was a turret officer during the battle and was mentioned in dispatches for his conduct on that occasion. However, it was finally decided that his health would not permit him to serve at sea and so the following year in 1917 he joined the Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Air Force in 1918 and after the war he qualified as a pilot in 1919. Later, in 1920, Prince Albert went to Cambridge to study at Trinity College and was given the title Duke of York. It was also at that time that he began to undertake official royal duties for his aging father. As President of the Industrial Welfare Society he became known as the “Industrial Duke” for his many visits to the factories to talk to the workers, discuss their work conditions and so on. He was very interested in their circumstances and stood on no ceremony during such tours. In 1921 he also came up with the idea of starting summer camps where boys from all walks of life could come together and build strong friendships regardless of class background.

During this time romantic matters also consumed much time for the Duke as he pursued the hand of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, daughter of the Earl of Strathmore. And quite a pursuit it was with the young Lady Elizabeth refusing the Duke’s proposals no less than twice because of concerns of the strict limitations on her life that would go with marrying in to the Royal Family. However, the couple genuinely loved each other and finally the lady consented and the two were married in 1923. The new Duchess of York was warmly welcomed by King George V and Queen Mary and the public adored her as well for her grace, charm, Scottish ancestry and so on. Over the years she would be a strong and unfailing support to her husband and also brought in a refined musical and artistic taste to the Royal Family. The marriage of the Duke of York to a commoner (as she was regarded despite being the daughter of an Earl) was also seen as being a modernizing step for the House of Windsor. In time she would give the Duke two lovely daughters; Princess Elizabeth in 1926 and Princess Margaret Rose in 1930. Especially in contrast to the ‘fast living’ Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of York were a model of traditional domestic bliss.

With his marriage drawing more attention, the King sent the Duke and Duchess on a number of tours around the British Empire to encourage unity and goodwill such as to British East Africa, the Sudan, New Zealand and Australia. During this time, as he was called upon to make more and more public speeches, the Duke of York began to receive treatment for his speech impediment. With the help of speech therapist Lionel Logue and the patient assistance of his wife the Duke was finally able to speak fluidly with only short hesitations which, delivered at the right moments, became hardly noticeable at all. He opened the Australian Parliament in Canberra in 1927 and partnered with a black tennis player in Jamaica for a game of doubles as a way of setting an example for equality and friendship between the races. During his time off he most enjoyed being with his wife and daughters and tending to his garden at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, a summer residence provided by the King for the little York family. It was a calm, happy and mostly carefree life he had until he was suddenly thrust into the spotlight by the tumultuous events of 1936.

In January, King George V died and the Prince of Wales succeeded him as King Edward VIII. However, from the very start there were problems over the new King’s relationship with Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American. The government was against it, the Church of England was against it and most of the Royal Family never approved of the woman either. However, Edward VIII was determined to marry her and within a year this brought about his abdication and thrust the Duke of York onto the throne in his place. No other British monarch had ever taken on such a task with so little preparation. The Duke had only three weeks notice before he ascended the throne, taking the name King George VI to show continuity with the reign of his father. The date of the coronation was not changed but a different man would be crowned and, for the first time, the event was broadcast by radio, using modern technology to bring the British Empire together for such an occasion like never before. Within a very short time Britain also had a new Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, and the country faced the rising threat of Nazi Germany and the possibility of yet another world war.

King George VI, from the very beginning, despised the Nazi regime and all it stood for but he also had very vibrant memories of the horrors of World War I and was as anxious as anyone to avoid conflict if at all possible and he supported, along with the vast majority of his people, the efforts by Chamberlain to keep peace in Europe. However, by 1939, confrontation had replaced appeasement as the order of the day and the King did his best to prepare for the coming conflict such as by strengthening ties with the other major English-speaking power with his visit to North America and the United States in May and June. Only a short time after his return to London the Germans had invaded Poland and King George VI took to the airwaves announcing that the British Empire was at war. The King developed a close relationship with the new Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and took on the role of keeping the people of the empire and commonwealth united, keeping the British public calm and determined and ensuring that the war effort ran smoothly. It was a great deal to put on the shoulders of one man considering that so much of it was intangible.

The King visited the front frequently, kept himself informed and was closely involved in the planning and prosecution of the war, taking his duties as commander-in-chief very seriously. When London came under intense air attack he refused to evacuate and the Queen likewise would not leave his side and both were nearly killed during a daylight air raid when Buckingham Palace was bombed. It was not until much later that the public learned how very close the King and Queen had come to losing their lives on that occasion. However, the presence of the King in London gave the people courage and a greater sense of solidarity; that they were all “in it” together and when the King visited areas devastated by the bombing he was always well received and was much encouraged by his people as his people were encouraged by him. He visited the factories, visited Egypt to meet with Field Marshal Montgomery where the Axis tide had been turned and he visited the bombed out island of Malta and awarded the island as a whole the George Cross for their heroic endurance (an honor the Maltese still proudly display on their flag).

King George VI saw his people through the darkest days in their recent history. Axis forces came within a breath of taking Alexandria, Italy overran British Somalia, Germany captured the Channel islands, Britain was bombed heavily and in the Far East Japanese forces captured Hong Kong, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore and bombed Australia. He was present at the planning of the D-Day operation (and disagreed with Churchill who favored a landing from the Atlantic) and he was quick to visit the troops after the beachhead was secured. From their darkest days to their finest hour, the King kept his people calm, united and focused on the goal of final victory and when that day came Buckingham Palace was the focal point of national celebration. After the war, the British economy was in ruins and the Empire heavily indebted to the United States. The King was rather surprised when Churchill was voted out in favor of Clement Attlee who embarked on a rapid program of nationalization and de-colonization. His relations with the King were rather cold at first though they ultimately managed to work together. To pay for his new socialist welfare state Attlee made the decision that the British Empire would have to go and in quick succession India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon and Jordan were granted independence with the British Mandate of Palestine becoming the State of Israel.

Some historians have remarked that, because of this, one could view the reign of King George VI as one of the most disastrous in British royal history. Certainly no other monarch had lost so much territory and so many subjects so quickly. Yet, no one would think of attributing this to George VI himself, the last British King-Emperor. He had acted, from start to finish, as a proper constitutional monarch, doing his duty, taking advice and accepting the wishes of his peoples. Today, many people would probably be put off by him. He was a stickler for details, a man who did things ‘by the book’ and beneath his calm exterior he had a fiery temper. However, his public image was always one of solid dignity, inspiring resolve and cool courageousness. He was exactly the right monarch at the right time for the English-speaking world. However, his health, which had never been robust, suffered a great deal from the stress of the war, the abrupt way the Crown was thrust on his head and the rapid changes in the aftermath of the conflict. He had also long been a heavy smoker and that took its toll as well. Still, despite his declining health he still appeared whenever possible, saw Churchill return to power and even corrected the famous statesmen on the constitutionality of his proposal for a deputy PM.

HRH Princess Elizabeth had already taken over many royal duties but most did not know just how seriously ill the King was until the end came. He died in his sleep at Sandringham on the morning of February 6, 1952 after a day out hunting rabbits. The Princess had to be recalled from an African visit where she had first learned of the death of her father and that she was then Queen. Despite seeming rather distant and aloof to some people, King George VI was simply a formal man, a dedicated and dutiful monarch and much more warm-hearted than many realized. He so loved his daughter and successor, for instance, that he could hardly speak about her without tears coming to his eyes and he was even known to pull a prank or two. Especially in the aftermath of the Edward VIII fiasco, King George VI set just the right tone for the monarchy and just the right time. He was the very image of a solid, constitutional monarch. He projected an aura of strength, stability and calm assurance. During the greatest crisis in living memory for the British people and those of the Commonwealth, during the twilight of the empire, King George VI gave everyone the sense that he was with them, that he would endure and they would endure and that they would survive the ultimate test. As Britain’s last King-Emperor he made the monarchy just what was required for the times he lived in and ensured that the dissolution of the empire, though not attributable at all to him, was handled in a dignified, orderly and noble way. He was, “every inch a king”.

Monarch Profile: King Edward VIII of Great Britain

Of all the British monarchs of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha/Windsor none are probably so controversial, even among ardent monarchists, as King Edward VIII. Some paint him as the most terrible sort of villain possible in the Twentieth Century; a Nazi sympathizer. Others take the more realistic but still hostile view that he was a misunderstood monarch, a good man perhaps but someone not suited to royal status whose abdication was really a blessing for no matter how scandalous it was, his continued reign over the British Empire would have been far worse. Then there are still others, a minority no doubt, who view him as someone representing a great opportunity lost; a “people’s monarch” who would have been a great success if only he had been given a chance who was the victim of an unfair system and a romantic figure who gave up the throne of a King-Emperor for the sake of his true love. As is usually the case, the truth is that he was nowhere near as bad as some claim but neither was he as pure as the wind-driven snow. He was not really a bad man but was, on the whole, too self-centered for the life of duty and service expected of a monarch. Had his reign come just a bit later in history he might be viewed in an entirely different light, but that was not to be.

He was born HRH Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David on June 23, 1894 at White Lodge to TRH the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary), the son and daughter-in-law of the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Throughout his life he was known by his friends and family as David. His early life was normal for someone of his time and place in the world but not without difficulties. He had an abusive nanny who wanted to appear indispensable and so would pinch the baby boy cruelly before handing him over to anyone else so he would be seen to cry and wail whenever anyone else handled him. The vicious woman was discovered though and given her walking papers. His parents were both affectionate and attentive though the future King George V insisted on trying to instill discipline in his children and supposedly once remarked that he had been afraid of his own father and that he intended his children to be afraid of him. However, King Edward VII was likewise very affectionate to his grandchildren who often stayed with him and Queen Alexandra while their parents were engaged in royal duties around the British Empire.

As a youth Prince David was noticeably headstrong and something of a day dreamer. He was intelligent but often refused to apply himself and was never a great student. In public he became known for appearing constantly sullen or annoyed with royal pageantry and the duties that went with his status. In 1911 he was formally invested as Prince of Wales in an elaborate ceremony planned out by the Welsh Prime Minister Lloyd George who made sure the Prince was able to speak a few words to the crowd in the Welsh language. Only a few years later World War I broke out and the Prince of Wales was anxious to do his part, both out of his undoubted patriotism and for a chance to get away from the palace and be just like every other young man of his generation. In June of 1914 he joined the Grenadier Guards and was anxious for frontline service with the British Expeditionary Force but this was blocked by Lord Kitchener (the Secretary of War) for fear of what disasters might occur were he killed or, worse still, captured by the Germans. Deprived of a place at the front, he nonetheless visited the trenches very frequently and no one doubted his courage. He earned the Military Cross in 1916 and qualified as a pilot in 1918. Because of his service he would remain forever popular with his fellow veterans of the Great War.

After the war he traveled frequently around the British Empire representing the King and became a huge celebrity. The handsome young (and single) prince cut a dashing figure and was reputedly the most widely photographed public figure of his day. The media attention that he inspired was not dissimilar to that which Prince William has been subjected to in recent times. However, when not undertaking royal duties, the Prince fell in with a rather bad crowd, the forerunners of the jet-set elite with more money than morals who went from one party to another, one nightclub to another, getting involved in all sorts of dalliances quite out of place with the respectable values King George V and Queen Mary tried always to embody. He became known as a womanizer and for viewing his royal status as a terrible burden rather than a sacred duty he had to make himself worthy of. His parents were often frustrated by his behavior which stood in marked contrast to that of his younger brother Albert who had settled down, married and had two daughters.

Of course, the Prince of Wales was not the first to put off marriage and lead a rather colorful lifestyle but it was the type of people he surrounded himself with and the fact that several of his affairs were with married women that was considered beyond the pale. At times, the Prince would speak of certain new ideas and new approaches he would pursue when he was king but, for the most part, he expressed dislike for having been born into royalty at all and bristled at having to sacrifice his own wants and desires for the sake of duty to the monarchy. His relationship with his family, particularly the King, deteriorated because of all of this, especially after he began a relationship with a married American woman who already had one divorce under her belt named Wallis Simpson (who, it was learned later, was also having an affair with another man at the same time). The attachment of the two only grew over time and began to worry many people in the halls of power even after Mrs. Simpson divorced her husband and began seeing the Prince of Wales exclusively. The Church of England still took a hard line on the subject of marriage and this was still during the era when royals did not marry common people, so a common-born, twice divorced American woman was a combination of everything a British monarch was NOT supposed to look for in a wife.

Yet, the Prince began to think about exactly that. Some have commented that the only way Wallis could have been a worse choice was if she had been Catholic. However, that may have actually been a good thing as it would have left no ambiguity that marriage was out of the question. As it was, the Prince of Wales began to hope that he could, perhaps, keep things as they were and when he was King would be free to marry Simpson regardless of what anyone else thought. His commitment to Wallis Simpson was the most powerful constant in his life without question. In 1936, when his father passed away, Simpson was standing alongside the former Prince of Wales as he was proclaimed King of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India and so on. From the day he inherited the throne, the new King Edward VIII exhibited behavior which served to reinforce both his admirers and his critics. He took an interest in helping the working class but and expressed his desire to be an innovative and more “hands-on” monarch which earned him high praise in some sectors. However, he was also determined to marry Wallis Simpson and his holiday with the woman, widely covered in the continental press but more subdued at home, caused a scandal.

Although not often remembered, there was also a great deal of concern over the political views of King Edward VIII and fear that he may have intended to be a monarch with an opinion and his opinions were ones that many elites in British government, particularly on the left, did not like. His insistence that “something be done” for the coal miners in Wales, his opposition to the sanctions imposed on Italy after the invasion of Ethiopia and his refusal to meet with the former emperor, Haile Selassie, who had fled into exile in England, and the fact that he saw no use for the League of Nations all aroused anger against Edward VIII. At the same time, many on the traditional right were put off by his private life and determination to marry a twice-divorced commoner. About the only place where his proposed marriage was popular was in the United States where the media went wild over the possibility of the British King-Emperor marrying an American.

The political situation was discussed intensely but finally the British government as well as the representatives of the Commonwealth Realms agreed that the King would have to give up Simpson or abdicate. Edward VIII chose to abdicate and, probably feeling more relief than anything else, announced his abdication to the public by radio on December 11, 1936, passing the throne to his younger brother who became King George VI and calling on all Britons to rally to his support, ending his message with “God save the King”. The new monarch bestowed on his brother the title of HRH the Duke of Windsor and he left Britain for the continent. On June 3, 1937 he finally married Wallis Simpson who was thereafter known as the Duchess of Windsor. None of the British Royal Family attended the wedding. The Duke remained just as smitten with her for the rest of his life as he had at the very beginning. However, it was not to be the end of controversy for the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, especially after making an ill-advised visit to Germany where they met with Adolf Hitler. Later on this was exaggerated in the press to spread stories that Edward VIII had actually been a Nazi sympathizer and that this had even been a consideration in forcing him to abdicate the throne.

Such stories are, of course, nonsense but do require some explanation. That the Duke met Hitler should not be of any concern. Many world leaders met with him and many people in the world, early on at least, had a high opinion of the man who later become the most reviled villain in history. Edward was, it is true, totally opposed to Britain being involved in another war on the continent of Europe. Like many, he was haunted by the horrors of the last one and saw no benefit for the British Empire in becoming involved in another. He also probably viewed Stalin and the Soviets as a greater menace than Hitler and the Nazis. In an interview long after the war he said that he had preferred that Britain hold back and let the Nazis and the Communists kill each other -which was far from an uncommon view at the time. When World War II did break out there is no doubting the patriotic loyalty of the Duke of Windsor at all. The Nazis actually tried to enlist their support and were firmly refused. Some gloomy remarks by the Duke, when things were indeed going very badly for the British, prompted the government to make him Governor of the Bahamas for the remainder of the conflict, a posting he endured rather than enjoyed but which he carried out with considerable ability.

After the war the Duke and Duchess of Windsor retired to a glamorous private life in France. They had little to do with the rest of the Royal Family who were unwilling to accept the Duchess and because of the lingering view that the Duke had shrugged off his royal duties and obligations onto his unprepared younger brother in order to have his own way. Some believed that King George VI died fairly early because of the stress the Crown and the war placed on him and, in a way, blamed Edward VIII for that. The Duke of Windsor, the former King, died in Paris on May 28, 1972, his funeral and burial being held in Britain with the Royal Family and the Duchess of Windsor who, to the surprise of some, was invited to stay at Buckingham Palace during the difficult time. Opinion about King Edward VIII remains divided even today but he was neither extremely bad or a romantic hero. He was not a villain or a Nazi or an Axis sympathizer in any way. He did not favor Britain getting involved in another world war, plain and simple and, if one looks purely at the British Empire and British interests alone, involvement in World War II was certainly not beneficial, it cost Britain her empire and left the world solely to the United States and Soviet Union. Some will always see Edward VIII as a romantic figure, the man who gave up his throne for the woman he loved (a more popular view today than it was then) but the truth is that he never had truly accepted the fact that the life of royalty is a life of duty, sacrifice and obligation and ultimately he was unwilling to put his duty to the monarchy before his own personal desires.