Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-08-27
BY JAMES WALDO FAwCETT.

BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.
The Prince of Wales. popular as
ever. none the less Is good deal
OF a mystery to the people of the
empire over which, theoretically, he
Is destined to preside.
Forty-one years of age last June %,
he Is on the verge Of the middle
division of life. appears to enjoy
normal state of health and is active
in all the countless routine ways and
fashions to which he is accustomed
and In which he has won conspicuous
success.
But even those who know him best
are conscious Of the fact that there
are interests to which he Is devoted,
but of which they are completely
uninformed, thoughts which he keeps
to himself, occupations which he does
not share, periods of time when he
is absent" Hence the riddle which
he constitutes.
The public sees him ION parade"
o spectacle, symbol, a part of q
machine system Of government. He
may be attired in any one of a
whole wardrobe of uniforms, sur
rounded by q large encourage Of at
tendants, performing duty incident
to his position, and on such occa-
sions he will be, in effect, only
character in kind Of play, figure
in pageant. Instinctively, the crowds
understand that all too often the
performance is a bore. The Princes
patience prompts the sympathy of
the multitude. II his countenance
betrays the strain and tedium of the
ordeal, as 1t frequently does, no one
preSumes to think Of it as impolite or
discourteous.
His Abstraction Growing.
But recently his abstraction has been
growing upon him. Also. the periods
when he is missing" are more nu-
merous and more lengthy. He Is
carrying on" well enough, but his
basic concern in life appears to be
engaged with something other than
the relatively dull business of being
in training for the crown. Yet no
inquiry is initiated as to what that
something is. 1t would be considered
bad manners to intrude behind the
increasing reticence of the princes
demeanor. Instead of prying, the
British public comedies that what he
does with his personal career Is his
own affair and that he is entitled to
all the privacy he desires.
The Court Calendar, meanwhile,
mentions his brother, the gallant and
generous young Duke of York, prac-
tically every day and the prince him
self only internationally. And there
are many observers who confidently
believe that the significance of the
omissions Is that the prince pur-
posefully and deliberately is stepping
aside in favor Of the duke. Indeed,
the opinion is expressed that the
prince does not wish to succeed his
father and that he would far rather
evade the responsibility for which
fate selected him as the first-born
child Of his parents, King George
and Queen Mary.
The duke, however, plainly Is not
anxious to replace the lawful heir
in the regard or the affection of
the people. He defers to the prince
with a zeal which seems to be in
territorial. and his close friends insist
that the prevailing gossip is "un-
founded and malicious"
Wearying Of Being q "Show."
On the other hand, every London
drawing room has heard that the
prince prefers a private objective to
public post of service. Not men
tally nor physically lazy. 1.-The best
salesman Of the empire" simply Is
weary of being show" Formal
functions never have had any par
ticular appeal to him. He has sub
mitted to them, but the bent of his
mind Is such that he finds them
tedious. The democracy of his tenn
permanent IS a real factor in his char
acter, compelling motive in his
life. He likes plain people and plain
things. The ordinary business of the
modern period of history has an at
traction for him which medievalism
lacks. He would rather inspect a
canning factory than a cathedral,
rather sit on a board of directors
than on q council of state. Years
ago he spoke of himself as having
middle class brains" The values
over which he can and does express
enthusiasm are pragmatic values. His
father really may find pleasure in
court ceremonies, but the prince only
tolerates them.
The restriction of freedom which
q King perforce must suffer gals the
heir noticeably. Prospective "impris-
onment" at Windsor Castle or Buck
ingham Palace has no thrills for an
inveterate globe-trotter who frankly
likes to be ION the CO." The prince
Is restless and any attempt to "tie
him down" Is apt to be resisted in
the interests of preservation.
Hence the swing of the spotlight in
the direction Of York; maneuver
engineered by the prince with undis-
guised though well-meant malice
aforethought"
But the legal heir, it is equally evil
dent, will not shirk recognized duty.
Bred to his obligation as well as