Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-08-25
WALES LOATHES CONVENTIONS
THAT CURB HIM RELENTLESSLY
Prince Hates to See PEG.
pie Rise As He Enters
Room, But They Do 1t.
Spends and Gives Freely
F ron, Income, Yet Has
Large Surplus to Invest.
by HADEN CHURCH.

correspondent OF The Star and the North
American Newspaper Alliance.
Reports recently made to the prince
by the manager of his Canadian
ranch indicate that his royal high
ness is beginning to reap the benetit
OF some of the capital he has in
vested in the property. 1t is prob
ably a matter of comparative indif-
ference to the prince, however,
whether his ranch pays" or not, for
although the fact is known to but a
few, he must be richer already than
any previous holder of his title.
ReckleSsnesS and reStIeSsness are
qualities that have been notlceabIY
developed in the prince during, the
past few years. 1t has not escaped
mention, even in the British press.
that he has the air of being constant
~ under high nervous tension.
Inc position he occupies has de-
Veloped these qualities in him. He
mas round himself, ever since the end
OF the war, constantly chaflng under
the restraints imposed upon him by
his position. and more and more has
broken out in rebellion against these
restraints and sought to lead the
life of a normal young man whose
conduct Is not regulated and con-
trolled by what to the prince seems
code of convention.
No Etiquette in Race.
He took to riding in steeplechases
because in this sport he found himself
on level with his fellow sportsmen,
In point-to-point races there Is no
room for the observance OF royal
etiquette, and that fact made
strong appeal to the prince.
Ho tr Il ,~;r -
and every time he rides in a race he
risks his neck, but that fact appears
to worry him not at all. The outcry
that was raised against his riding
in Steeplecha SEES after his last bad
fall apparently had little CT no effect
upon him. Directly the steeplechas-
ing season reopens, l hear on good
authority, the Prince will be in the
saddle again, risking his neck across
country.
On every possible occasion the
Prince drops his royal rank. Free
quently he dimes out as Lord Ches-
ter" and is received as an ordinary
guest by his host and hostess And
when he joins in one of the nocturnal
treasure hunts" that have been so
popular of late with some of the
youthful members of the :smart set"
he becomes just "Chester' for the
evening, and is joked and chaffed by
his fellow treasure hunters without
any regard to his rank.
Goes Out Alone Often
Probably no other heir apparent in
modern times has disregarded the
conventions so deliberately. Even his
grandfather, King Edward, free and
easy as he was in many ways, was
invariably accompanied by at least
one of his euuerries when he went
out in search of amusement But the
Prince frequently goes entirely alone
to dance clubs and to the theater
where he sits in the stalls" seldom
seeking the privacy of a box unless
he is with a party.
A society woman tells me that she
saw him a few nights ago dining
all alone at a corner table at the
Ritz and that afterwards he emerged
and summoned a taxi by waving his
hat! To conceive of his father, when
he was Prince of Wales, doing such
thing, is to impose a severe strain
upon ones imagination. Partly, Of
course, this lack of conventionality
on the Princes part is the result of
an upbringing and education far
more democratic than that of his
predecessors in the title.
The education OF KING EDWARD.
for example, was not democratic at
all. Divinity always hedged him as
a future King. His associates, as
well as his instructors, were most
carefully selected. At oxford his po-
sition was that of a distinguished
stranger. His grandson's life at OK
ford, on the contrary, was not so
very much unlike that of an ordinary
May Relinquish His Rank.
The Prince lives in an atmosphere
of restless defiance to convention.
yet DESPITE it convention triumphs.
1t is as impossible for him to escape
from the trammels of his position
as it is from his own shadow. 1t
pursues him relentlessIy, insistently.
He particularly abominates, 1 am
told, the convention that compels
every one to rise when he enters
a room when he is out to- enjoy him
self, and the fact that women must
curtsey before they can shake hands
with him.
He has come to 1oathe, too, being
photographed, particularly as he has
an idea that he does not take par
ticularly well. There are those who
know the prince intimately who pre-
dict that he will one day relinquish
his royal rank and disappear into
private life as Lord Chester, leaving
his younger brother, the Duke of