Evening star., 1936-10-04
BY H. j. ]. SARGENT.
ONDON, October 3 tBy Cable).
while history displays In

while history displays III
banner lines the life Of a par
- ticular court favorite. history
usually draws a veil of anonymity over
the near relatives of the chosen friend.
aside. as history prefers its portrait
clearly limned and without distracting
background.
A similar procedure has been adopt
ed by the world press. with news
mention of King Edwards friends, Mr.
and Mrs. Ernest Aldrich Simpson. The
spotlight has been thrown on Mrs.
Simpson. while her husband. who is
also a personal friend Of King Cd
wards, rarely gets more than a bare
mention.
The English feel that this circum-
stance automatically distorts rela-
tionship between three people and
gives rise to rumors which are so cas-
lily raised and SO difficult to scotch.
Long before he came to the throne
the King. then Prince of Wales, was
on very friendly terms with Mr.. and
Mrs. Simpson, frequently dined with
them and they were often seen to-
gether at fashionable restaurants in
the West End of London. The intro
duction to his new friends came to
him through Thelma, Lady Furness,
sister of Mrs. Gloria Vanderbilt.
Sparkling Conversationalist.
The Prince found in Mrs Simpson
ay,I rElir,n l.
ist, with whom he had many tastes in
common. Both were expert dancers
of the tango, and both enjoyed hot"
jazz. They are both ardent garden
ers and frequent week ends at Fort
Belvedere, the beautiful country home
Of the King. are spent in the garden.
Mr.. and Mrs. Simpson have been
seen in the royal box at Covent Gar
den Opera House, sometimes with the
King and sometimes without him. Mrs.
Simpson enjoyed the rare honor Of
hearing the proclamation of King Ed
wards accession to the throne from
the balcony of Friar's Court. St.
James.
: These unconventional excursions Of
the friends to theaters, cocktail par
ties and restaurants in the West End
when the King was Prince of Wales
gave rise to a good deal of shoulder
struggling and raising Of eyebrows
among the older members Of King
Georges court circle, and 1t is an open
secret that the late King himself did
not wholly approve of his sons new
found friends. Both King George
and Queen Mary rigidly opposed their
introduction to court functions. and a
minor sensation was created by Mrs.
Simpsons appearance at the jubilee
ball at Buckingham Palace last year.
King Georges Example.
When King George died, Edward
VIII was expected by the "old Or
der" which had ruled at Buck
ingham Palace throughout the late
Kings reign, to drop his unconven-
tional ways, or at least to keep his
friends who were not of the aris-
tocracy discreetly in the background.
1t was felt that the precedent estab-
lished by King George and Queen
Mary should be carried on, not only
in the interests Of the British social
caste but also in that of monarchial
government. With thrones toppling
in Europe or being in subjugation to
a dictatorship, it was the considered
opinion Of advisers to the throne that
King George and Queen Mary were
the perfect exemplars Of British con-
stitutional monarchy.
King George retained his hold on
the nation by q strict observance Of
middle-class conventions. He and
Queen Mary regularly attended divine
service, and their home life epitomized
that of the middle and lower middle
classes Of England. The fear was
that Edward VIII, by taking a line Of
his own, would upset this balance,
and there are still many of his coun-
sellors who are disturbed at his un-
conventional ways.
King Edward, however, has chosen
to 60 his own way. He is not q
strict churchgoer, but attends cere-
monial services when 1t is impera-
tive for royalty to be present. No,
only has he departed from the set
standards laid down by King George
but he has sought as his councillors
younger men-personalities more in
keeping with the spirit of the times
This has given rise to a considerable
amount Of bitterness and has split
high society into two sections. The
sedate division affects no liking for
the American friends in his retinue
but the younger and more cheerful
set exults u having King who has
thrown of the letters of outmoded
etiquette.
Blow TO Old Order.
To the old order, 1t came as q
harsh blow to have Mr.. and Mrs
Simpsons names mentioned in the
court circular, that exclusive journal
which Is the cachet Of the most ex-
elusive society in the world. So
deep an impression did this departure
make that an old and respected Britt
ish newspaper held q lengthy edi-
torial consultation before publishing
that particular circular. It even went
to the point Of checking up on the
veracity Of. its, contents.
This new attitude toward society Is
4.