George VI and Elizabeth, page 60
For the fourth time, my friend Max Hirshfeld focused his matchless talent on taking my author photograph. Because of the pandemic, he was unable to bring along his wife, Nina, to serve as his eagle-eyed stylist, but his assistant, Michael Jones, helped as usual with the setup, and Lori Pressman made sure I looked my best for an outdoor shoot on a frigid January day.
I wrote this book during a testing period for everyone, and I benefited greatly from the unstinting love of my family. My daughter, Lisa, and her husband, Dominic, gave me respites in the Kentish countryside at the height of the pandemic, for which I will be everlastingly grateful. Their three children, Henry, Lexi, and Zara, were a constant source of joy during my research trips to England. My older son, Kirk, his wife, Sally, their children, Sophie and Beau, and my younger son, David, sustained me with their affection and constant encouragement.
Not long after I finished George VI and Elizabeth, my beloved husband, Stephen, and I celebrated forty years of marriage. From day one he has been my inspiration, and he was endlessly tolerant when I immersed myself for hours, not to mention days, in organizing and writing a story that inspired him as much as it did me. He applied his consummate editing skills to two drafts, helping me to compress and trim and hone my prose. He was also moved to tears several times by Bertie and Elizabeth, which touched me deeply. Stephen has seen me through eight biographies, an expression of love and devotion matched only by mine for him.
Amanda Urban is the best literary agent in the business, and an exceptional advocate. But for me she is so much more. We have been friends since we were students together at Wheaton College in Massachusetts more than five decades ago. She is as confident as she is supportive, and I always count on her to give me an honest reaction to my writing. For this book, it was only a matter of days before she shared her excitement—well before she had finished reading. She followed up with a reliably incisive assessment, and then thrilled me by writing, “I really hated saying goodbye to them!” In honor of all the work she has done on my behalf and for consistently believing in me, I am dedicating this book to her.
Sally Bedell Smith
Washington, D.C.
June 2022
SOURCES
ABBREVIATIONS
Asquith I: Lady Cynthia Asquith, H.R.H. The Duchess of York: An Intimate and Authentic Life-Story, Including Many Details Hitherto Unpublished, Told with the Personal Approval of Her Royal Highness (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1928).
Asquith II: Lady Cynthia Asquith, Her Majesty the Queen: An Entirely New and Complete Biography Written with the Approval of Her Majesty (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1937).
Channon I: Sir Henry Channon, Chips: The Diaries of Sir Henry Channon, ed. Robert Rhodes James (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1967).
Channon II: Sir Henry Channon, The Diaries 1918–38, ed. Simon Heffer (London: Hutchinson, 2021).
Donaldson I: Frances Donaldson, Edward VIII: A Biography of the Duke of Windsor (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1975).
Donaldson II: Frances Donaldson, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1977).
Harvey I: Oliver Harvey, The Diplomatic Diaries of Oliver Harvey, 1937–1945, ed. John Harvey (London: Collins, 1970).
Harvey II: Oliver Harvey, The War Diaries of Oliver Harvey, 1941–1945, ed. John Harvey (London: Collins, 1978).
Lascelles I: Sir Alan Lascelles, End of an Era: Letters and Journals of Sir Alan Lascelles, 1887–1920, ed. Duff Hart-Davis (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1986).
Lascelles II: Sir Alan Lascelles, In Royal Service: The Letters and Journals of Sir Alan Lascelles 1920–1936, ed. Duff Hart-Davis (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1989).
Lascelles III: Sir Alan Lascelles, King’s Counsellor: Abdication and War: The Diaries of Sir Alan Lascelles, ed. Duff Hart-Davis (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2006).
Nicolson I: Harold Nicolson, Diaries and Letters, vol. I, 1930–1939, ed. Nigel Nicolson (New York: Atheneum, 1966).
Nicolson II: Harold Nicolson, Diaries and Letters, vol. II, The War Years 1939–1945, ed. Nigel Nicolson (New York: Atheneum, 1967).
Nicolson III: Harold Nicolson, Diaries and Letters, vol. III, The Later Years 1945–1962, ed. Nigel Nicolson (New York: Atheneum, 1968).
Pope-Hennessy I: James Pope-Hennessy, Queen Mary, 1867–1953 (New York: Knopf, 1960).
Pope-Hennessy II: James Pope-Hennessy, The Quest for Queen Mary, ed. Hugo Vickers (London: Zuleika, 2018).
Rhodes James I: Robert Rhodes James, Victor Cazalet: A Portrait (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1976).
Rhodes James II: Robert Rhodes James, A Spirit Undaunted: The Political Role of George VI (New York: Little, Brown, 1998).
Rose I: Kenneth Rose, Who’s In, Who’s Out: The Journals of Kenneth Rose, Volume One, 1944–1979, ed. D. R. Thorpe (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2018).
Rose II: Kenneth Rose, Who Loses, Who Wins: The Journals of Kenneth Rose, Volume Two, 1979–2014, ed. D. R. Thorpe (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2019).
Shawcross, QEQM: William Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother: The Official Biography (London: Macmillan, 2009).
Shawcross, QEQM Letters: Counting One’s Blessings: The Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, ed. William Shawcross (London: Macmillan, 2012).
Windsor I: Edward, Duke of Windsor, A King’s Story: The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor (New York: Putnam, 1951).
Windsor II: Edward, Duke of Windsor, Letters from a Prince: Edward, Prince of Wales to Mrs. Freda Dudley Ward, March 1918–January 1921, ed. Rupert Godfrey (London: Warner, 1999).
Ziegler I: Philip Ziegler, Diana Cooper (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1981).
Ziegler II: Philip Ziegler, King Edward VIII (New York: Knopf, 1991).
Balliol: Balliol College Archives and Manuscripts, University of Oxford
CAC: Churchill Archives Centre, University of Cambridge
CH: Glamis Archives, Clarence House Collection
John Buchan Fonds: Records from John Buchan, first Baron Tweedsmuir, former governor-general of Canada, Queen’s University Archives, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
LASL: Papers of Sir Alan Lascelles, Churchill Archives Centre, University of Cambridge
RA: Royal Archives
PROLOGUE
he had no idea: William Shawcross email, January 7, 2011.
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“Tommy Tadpole”: Lascelles I, p. xi.
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“sharpest blue-pencil”: Victoria Schofield, Witness to History: The Life of John Wheeler-Bennett (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 209.
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two of the royal biographers: “first Harold, then Julian,” Sir Alan Lascelles to James Pope-Hennessy, n.d. [2 May 1959]; “lots and lots of love; cold, pure love,” Sir Alan Lascelles to James Pope-Hennessy, 5 March 1960; “how splendid to be so excitable at the age of 70!,” Harold Nicolson to James Pope-Hennessy, 10 April 1958, John Pope-Hennessy Papers 1617–1995, bulk 1930–1995, the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, accession no. 990023.
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“Now darling, you must look”: Shawcross, QEQM Letters, p. 17; Queen Elizabeth, conversations with Eric Anderson, 1994–95, RA QEQM/ADD/MISC.
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“Get it out!”: Geordie Greig, The King Maker: The Man Who Saved George VI (New York: Open Road, 2014), p. 28.
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“Such a sweet little couple”: Diana Cooper, The Light of Common Day (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959), p. 73.
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“tinkety-tonk”: Queen Elizabeth to Elizabeth Elphinstone, 7 February 1941, RA QEQM/OUT/ELPHINSTONE; Shawcross, QEQM Letters, pp. 304–5.
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“what ho”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to David Bowes Lyon, 18 July 1913, Glamis Archives.
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“to the accompaniment”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to Jock Bowes Lyon, 6 March 1921, RA QEQM/OUT/SHAKERLEY; Shawcross, QEQM Letters, p. 90.
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“where nobody quarreled”: Rose II, p. 39.
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“Papa & I were so lucky”: Queen Elizabeth to Princess Elizabeth, 21 December 1949, RA QE II/PRIV/RF; Shawcross, QEQM Letters, p. 422.
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“marshmallow made on a welding”: Piers Brendon, The Royal House of Windsor, Channel 4, 2017.
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“bolshie”: Edward, Prince of Wales, to Mrs. Freda Dudley Ward, 26 March 1920, Windsor II, p. 323.
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“kind of man who needs”: Ibid., 14 January 1920, p. 304.
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Once when he was on all fours: Ziegler I, p. 178.
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“You’ve got to get rid”: Bill Husselby email, 23 April 2019, quoting Penelope Maffey Aitken; Queen Mary, diary, 28 December 1935, RA QM/PRIV/QMD/1935.
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“I don’t know”: Hector Bolitho, Their Majesties (London: Max Parrish, 1952), p. 51. This was Princess Helena Victoria, nicknamed “Thora” in the family. She was the daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s third daughter, Princess Helena.
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“the right to be consulted”: Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (New York: Cosimo Classics, 2007), p. 75.
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“personal feelings are nothing”: King George VI, diary, 24 June 1941, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY/WAR/1939–1947 (vols. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, index).
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“partly to blame”: King George VI, diary, 24 May 1940, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY.
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“to keep the spirit”: King George VI, diary, 5 September 1940, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY.
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“looks a small quiet man”: King George VI, diary, 22 May 1942, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY.
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“unprecedented”: Shawcross, QEQM, pp. 514–15.
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“immense catacomb”: Lascelles III, p. 63.
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“very much a part”: Shawcross, QEQM, p. 515.
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“one of my main jobs”: King George VI, diary, 17 November 1940, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY.
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“war expediency”: King George VI, diary, 3 July 1940, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY.
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remove him from Europe: King George VI, diary, 6 October 1945, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY.
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“practical little man”: Queen Elizabeth, conversations with Eric Anderson, 1994–95, Shawcross, QEQM, p. 602.
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“shriveled & small”: King George VI, diary, 15 May 1940, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY.
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“I find I have to tell him”: King George VI, diary, 3 August 1945, RA GVI/PRIV/DIARY.
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“cheerful and undaunted”: The New York Times, 8 February 1952.
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PART ONE: LOSS AND LOVE
ONE: Twelve Days
“heavy cold”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, diary, 3 January 1923, RA QEQM/PRIV/DIARY/3.
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a popular revue: Stephen Banfield, “English West-End Revue,” in The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical, ed. Robert Gordon and Olaf Jubin (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), pp. 158–60.
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“great fun”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, diary, 3 January 1923, RA QEQM/PRIV/DIARY/3.
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There he asked for her hand: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, diary, 3 January 1923, RA QEQM/PRIV/DIARY/3.
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“had a long talk”: Duke of York to Queen Mary, 12 January 1922 [archivist note: wrongly dated; must be 1923], RA QM/PRIV/CC11/21.
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“serious proposal”: Queen Elizabeth, conversations with Eric Anderson, 1994–95, Shawcross, QEQM, p. 149.
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“She was so uncertain”: Author interview with Lady Elizabeth Anson, 19 March 2019.
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“must not go”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to Duke of York, Xmas Day 1922, RA GVI/PRIV/RF/26/47.
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“My dearest Cecilia”: Lady Airlie to Lady Strathmore, 23 December 1922, British Library, Add. MS 82763, ff. 37–38.
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“Perhaps you know”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to Duke of York, Xmas Day 1922, RA GVI/PRIV/RF/26/4.
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invited to stay: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to Beryl Poignand, 2 January 1923, Glamis Archives (CH).
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“It is the limit”: Duke of York to Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, 29 December 1922, RA QEQM/PRIV/RF.
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“much wiser if you did”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to Duke of York, 30 December 1922, RA GVI/PRIV/RF/26/48.
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“inspiration”: Duke of York to Lady Airlie, 30 January 1923, British Library, Airlie Papers, Add. MS 82571, ff. 3–4.
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“final effort”: The Countess of Airlie, Thatched with Gold: The Memoirs of Mabell, Countess of Airlie (London: Hutchinson, 1962), p. 131.
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“the cornerstone”: Ibid., p. 93.
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“grown to love”: Ibid., p. 168.
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“talked it all over”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to Duke of York, 4 January 1923, RA GVI/PRIV/RF/26/49.
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“for yr kind help”: Queen Mary to Lady Airlie, 9 January 1923, British Library, Airlie Papers, Add. MS 82748.
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“so angelic”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon to Duke of York, 4 January 1923, RA GVI/PRIV/RF/26/49.
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peregrinations: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, diary, 4 January 1923, RA QEQM/PRIV/DIARY/3.
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“desperately fond”: Channon II, p. 54.
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“very amusing”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, diary, 4 January 1923, RA QEQM/PRIV/DIARY/3.
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“conceal her thoughts”: Shawcross, QEQM Letters, p. 104.
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“I am most perplexed”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, diary, 4 January 1923, RA QEQM/PRIV/DIARY/3.
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“thinking too much”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, diary, 5 January 1923, RA QEQM/PRIV/DIARY/3.
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“well-known Scottish peer”: Sarah Bradford, The Reluctant King: The Life and Reign of George VI, 1895–1952 (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989), p. 104.
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“Not mentioning my name”: Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, diary, 5 January 1923, RA QEQM/PRIV/DIARY/3.
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