The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-01-23
Rx JAMES FRANCIS

- "" AVA N'NNNS ''S
BY JAMES FRANCIS
When, in June, 1894, the ma
jestic oaks Of the white lodge at
Richmond resounded to the gusty
below of the newborn and those
about him knew that here lay the
heir-in-waiting to the British
throne, it was perhaps Signifi-
cant that the news was pro-
claimed to the nation through
the home secretary. The latter
was a young man named Herbert
H. Asouith, who later was to
march with destiny to a deathless
prestige as diplomat and states
man.
The victorian influence re-
NAMED dominant but the COM
moner was coming into his own
in the political life Of the empire
and the great Queen, always aware
of any change in the pulse beat
of her people, was among the
first to realize that the old order
was over.
So, perhaps as a concession to
public taste, it was ASquith who
telegraphed the tidingS to the
Lord Mayor Of London for proc
lamation:
Her royal highness, the
Duchess of York, was safely de-
Hvered of a son at 10 o'clock"
FLEW TO LONDON
Yet it was characteristic Of the
nations beloved David" that
when Al years later the old king
died at Sandringham just before
midnight on Monday, he moved
with typical decision. One OF his
first official acts was to telegraph
the news in person to the LORD
Mayor, the message reading:
81 am deeply grieved to in.
form you that my beloved
father, the King, passed away
peacefully at 11:55 tonight"
He signed the proclamation,
Edward, r. L." and thus. with a
few swift strokes Of the pen, be-
came monarch over 100000 900
people, in fact as well as in name.
The next morning, when he was
on his way to London for his for
NAL ascension to the throne, his
was not the formal and stately
progress so dear to the old mon
archial tradition. :.
Modern, forward-looking and
conscious that time is now the
master Of all, Edward VIII flew
by plane to the ceremony. TO be
royal was once enough.
Typical EngliShman
Nowadays, a monarch must keep
pace with his people and, in the
case of the new King, it should
be remembered that, for Il years
he has been trained to be the
typical Englishman." -.
He was, in fact, brought up in
the greatest simplicity, with en-
phasis upon all that was best in
the traditions of English family
life.
Tutors were not sycophants; in
deed, under explicit instructions,
thew were almost harsh with the
royal heir in their efforts to make
him a man fit to rule his people.
He expected no especial conSidera
tion-and received none-at OS'
borne in the fleet, at Oxford and
in the World War.
There is even a legend that
boy at Osborne, perhaps feeling
class-conscious, resented the young
princes unguarded reference to
my father, the King" and a fist
fight ensued.
Thus, the simplicity, the "hu.
manneSs" that was to set this man
apart from all the royalty since
the beginning of time, began to
manifest itself early.
"a regular guy" was the sue
cinct but altogether respectful eS-
innate of the engineer Of the royal
train when the then Prince Of
Wales made his notable visit to
America in 1919.
His grandfather, Edward VII,
was a genial, easy-going man who
loved life, not from a palace
window, but down on the hard
level of his nations sidewalks.
The father, George v, was diff
fident, sensitive, but SO kindly
that often his was the appealing
effort of a child that is anxious
to please.
Yes, inherently nice were these
people of the royal House Of Han.
over Qater. with the war, changed