Evening star., 1923-12-08
BY THE MARQUIsE DE FONTENOY.


OF all the offices at the courts OF
Europe there is none that requires SO
much sound Judgment, level-headed-
ness, patience and infinite tact as
that of mentor to youthful royalty.
The sovereign. the members of the
reigning family, the government, nay,
the entire nation, rely upon the men,
tor to mold the character of the prince
intrusted to his charge, to preserve
him from every kind of harm, physi-
| cal as we'll as moral, to keep him out
of every scrape and to insensibly ac-
quire such a degree of influence over
the royal youth as to virtually direct
his life. Above all, he must prevent
the prince from having his head turn
ed by the adulation of those with
whom the youngster is brought into
contact, and to preserve him. in a
most discreet manner, from designing
persons of both sexes. 1t is not al
ways wise to select for an office of
this kind courtier, that is, a man al
ready accustomed to court life, since
| he is apt to lack the necessary inde-
pendence of character or breadth of
view.
Commander Louis Greig, who has
| Just resigned the controllership of the
household of the royal Duke and
Duchess of York, though remaining a
trustee Of their estate, has been an
ideal mentor to the duke, with whom
he has been in the closest and most
intimate kind of contact since the
prince was a naval cadet at Osborne,
away back in 1908, nearly fifteen
years ago. a graduate of the famous
Merchiston Castle School at Edin-
burgh, and of Glasgow University,
Greig joined the Royal Naval College
at Osborne as a young naval surgeon,
and imm ediately became a hero to the
boys by reason of the national celeb
rity which he had already achieved as
crack foot ball player. Both the
Prince of Wales and his brother AL
bert, the present Duke of York. fell
under his influence and took to heart
his constant exhortation to play the
game"
At the beginning of the great war
Greig sought active service. and, at
tached to the naval expedition for the
relief of Antwerp, in August, 1914
was taken prisoner in Belgium, man.
aging to effect his escape in Septem-
Der of the following year, when he
was at once appointed to the Malaga
warship, which was precisely the
craft on which Prince Albert was
serving as a midshipman. The prince
fell dangerously i'll on board, which
resulted in his being twice invalided
ashore under the medical and per-
sonal care of Greig, the illness final
| ly necessitating a dangerous abdomi-
| nal operation.
| At the time of the operation, the
great surgeon Sir Frederick Treves
| who had charge thereof, insisted upon
| Louis Greig joining him in signing
| the official bulletins, as one of the
royal surgeons. On the restoration
| of peace, the prince took up his
| studies at Cambridge with Greig in
permanent attendance as equerry, and
| when Prince Albert was transferred
! from the navy to the royal air serv-
tee, Greig followed him to the latter
| with the rank of major. 1t was In
made his first flight, and that, too, In
| particularly stormy weather.
In 1920 Greig was appointed by the
king to be controller of the house
| hold of the prince, who had. mean
while, become the Duke of York
and to take CndrS6 OF MS eHtire CO
| tablishment. He has been the ad-
| wiser of the duke in all the latter
/ schemes for industrial welfare, and
was the confidant of the dukes court
ship. If he is now resigning his po-
| sition at court it is, first of all. to
| take advantage of a very importan1
business offer in the city, with the
object of building up fortune for
| his family, and also because he feels
| that now that the duke Is completely
grown up and a married man, II
| would be better for the continued de-
| velopment of his character that he
should be able to rule his own life
| without any interference save thai
| of his consort, and that, at any rate
| the controller of his household shoulc
be a man of his own selection and no'
one who has exercised tutsiar3