George V's Children by John van Der Kiste

Author:John van Der Kiste [Kiste, John van Der]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 20th Century, Autobiography, Biography, British History, Modern, Non-Fiction, Royalty
ISBN: 9780752473222
Google: IwabkR0I6g8C
Publisher: History Press
Published: 2011-10-23T23:00:00+00:00

* This was technically incorrect. Royal dukes can speak in the House of Lords. The sons of King George III, and King Edward VII as Prince of Wales, had previously done so; as would Prince Charles and Richard, Duke of Gloucester many years later. The former King Edward VIII’s title was created by Letters Patent on 8 March 1937.

8

‘I never wanted this to happen’

King George VI succeeded to the throne with reluctance and grave misgivings. One of the first people to see this, apart from his wife, was his cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten. As they were at Fort Belvedere on the first night of his reign, the new King turned to his cousin in great distress, saying, ‘I never wanted this to happen; I’m quite unprepared for it. David has been trained for this all his life. I’ve never even seen a State Paper, I’m only a Naval Officer, it’s the only thing I know about.’ Mountbatten was immediately struck by history repeating itself. He told the King how, just after the Duke of Clarence died, his father Prince Louis of Battenberg had told the then Prince George, in response to a similar confession how wrong he was. ‘There is no more fitting preparation for a King than to have been trained in the Navy.’1

The comparison was not appropriate in all respects. Prince George of Wales had had eighteen years to prepare for the inheritance of the crown. Prince Albert, Duke of York, had had barely a month’s warning that it was inevitable he would succeed his brother.

All the same, by experience and temperament he was uniquely well-fitted for the throne. His father’s hope that nothing would stand between him, ‘Lilibet’ (Princess Elizabeth) and the throne had been fulfilled. Apart from his courage, the fact that he had lived and worked as a member of a ship’s company gave him a deep understanding of humanity and human nature, as had his experiences of physical suffering and feelings of inferiority, and knowledge of the working and living conditions of the working class in industry.

Moreover, as had been pointed out in his brother’s farewell broadcast, he had a happy family life. The future Queen Elizabeth had had her misgivings about marrying into the royal family, but she rose to the challenge magnificently. As the second youngest of a large family, she had never suffered from shyness. Being married to a man who was shy and vulnerable, she had learnt to protect as well as support him; now she needed to more than ever. The last two Queens Consort had been overshadowed by their husbands, in addition to other handicaps. Queen Alexandra’s premature deafness had prevented her from doing much more than play a ceremonial role in visiting hospitals and the like. Queen Mary had a keen grasp of social questions, and as had been remarked, would have made a good factory inspector; but the rigid face she showed to the public, and her fear of upstaging the irascible King, held her in check.

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