The Washington times., 1936-01-25
By JAMES FRANCIS
Copyright. 1896, by International
News Service)

ward VII through liberal reign.
It struck down the childhood Of
the royal heir. at q single impact
wiping it out as completely as
though it never had been. Quits
before he knew it, the Shetland
pony age had touched him briefly
and passed on by.
Perhaps it is significant, in the
light Of later developments. that
his imperious destiny said he had
to be a man right away. with the
understanding that he might go
back and be a boy again any time
this fitted in with the program
Of q great empire. Except to the
family and intimates, he was
"David" no longer. He now was
the Edward P" that the world
came to know and esteem. He
must have dignity, Savoire faire
and the intangible something
called presence" in much the
same painful way that the aver
age boy has measles.
The purple and errnine era, in
other words, had definitely set in
for the little prince and at the
coronation Of his father. George
v, he was appropriately earnest
and grave. The royal children
occupied the second carriage be-
hind the King and Queen, with
David" and Princess Mary rig
idly riding in the front seat, heads
high, eyes childishly stern.
Princess Loses COrOnet
This greatly amused BERTHE, "
Henry and George, riding in the
seat behind. David and Mary
looked $50 funny"
They Uttered openly, nudging
each other with infantile glee.
Still only disappearing silence
from the seat in front, so they
tried a new tack Someone reached
forward and tickled the ribs of
those in front. Sudden Squirms,
gasps, wriggles; Princess Mary
coronet fell to the floor and, blush
ing violently, she retrieved it.
AbaShed by the unexpected faux
pas, the back seat was decorum
itself until the return to Bucking-
ham Palace was under way. Then,
tired Of the crowding, the other
two placed little Prince George on
the floor and rode back in COM
fort.
David" was back at Osborne
within the month to find that
much had changed for him. It
was a point of honor" with him
that he was to be granted no
precedence, but his new status
produced an intangible but un-
miStakable effect upon those he
previously had known so well; it
set him apart and, in time, ne
came to accept this with reSigna-
ton. Here was a boy, you see,
who overnight could become their
king.
Wanted Solitude
Graduating with distinction,
Wales entered the Royal Naval
School at Dartmouth in 1909, in
nured now to the role he must
play-alwayS on parade before the
world.
Years later, when asked what
he desired most, he replied,
qulickly-very quickly:
1.-TWO full days absolutely
alone and to myself"
But, at Dartmouth, the new at
titude Of respect, rather than in
timacy, at least served one useful
purpose. It gave him the spiritual
elboW room to become a student
of human nature, to develop an
understanding of his fellow beings
that made for depth and tolerance
and the human touch" that,
among monarchy, seems to be his
alone.
But then, as now, he was highly
sensitive and lived always in hor-
ror of seeming ridiculous.
The human touch and his diff
dence had some interesting effects
when he went "up" to oxford in
1919, the former producing a fel-
lowship with his classmates that
alarmed some at the royal court.
They feared that, to the formal
rigidity of the continental mon
arches, the Prince Of Wales would
appear to be "too democratic" for
the prestige of the crown.
Popularity Has Drawbacks
But popularity had its draw
backs, too, at least from the
Princes standpoint. There was,
for example, the dinner he at
tended with classmates who, in
stead of accepting him for what
he wished to be, persisted in hail
ing him for what he was. They
cheered him in the name of the
crown, called on him for speech.
Badly fused, he looked at them
for a long moment and, just a
shade irritably, said:
II wish you chaps wouldn't
make such a fuss"
Then, taking fresh grasp upon
his knife and fork, he went on
with his meal. It probably struck
him that, compatible with sound
taste, it was the only social ana
neighborly and sensible thing to
do.
Only a short time before, he met
q deputation Of Welsh bishops,
calling to present fluctuations,
with the poiSe of a Gladstone.
Said he, in response to their con.
gratulationS upon his investiture