By the following morning he was dead.
—
Churchill’s private secretary found him “in bed, with papers scattered all over the blankets, a chewed cigar in his mouth. He said, ‘I’ve got bad news, Prime Minister. The King died last night. I know nothing else.’ ‘Bad news? The worst,’ said Churchill. . . . He threw aside all the papers on his bed, exclaiming, ‘How unimportant these matters are.’” He was later seen “sitting up with tears in his eyes, staring straight ahead.” “Seeking to reassure him, [Colville] said that he would find the new Queen charming, attractive, intelligent and immensely conscientious.”
“I hardly know her, and she is only a child.”
Churchill was called to broadcast the news. Often before making broadcasts he would joke about having another brandy or somesuch. Not now. “What is the time?” he demanded. “We must hurry.” He had worked all day on his remarks but broke down while reading them. After delivering the broadcast, he shut himself inside the Cabinet Room. At the funeral, he attached a small card in his own handwriting to the wreath: “For Valour.”
—
Churchill remained in office until April 1955. He went to see the Cabinet Room a final time. “The room was in darkness,” Moran observed. “When the light was switched on it appeared in disarray, ready for the cleaners, the chairs, shrouded in their covers, pushed to one side, the ink-pots gone. Winston looked for a moment in bewilderment on the scene, then he turned on his heel and stumbled out into the hall.”
Nearly a decade later, on January 24, 1965, he died. From the train on his final journey to be buried by his parents in Bladon churchyard, there were seen
two single figures . . . first on the flat roof of a small house a man standing at attention in his old R.A.F. uniform, saluting; and then in a field, some hundreds of yards away from the track, a simple farmer stopping work and standing, head bowed, and cap in hand.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Alexander Hoyt put the idea for this book in my head and helped me overcome the qualms of a mildly republican heart. Wendy Wolf and Hugh Van Dusen have been stalwart. Margaret Riggs, Jeanette Gingold, and Sharon Gonzalez were models of diligence. The archivists at the Churchill Archives Centre, Windsor Castle, the University of York, and King’s College London, and the librarians at the Boston Athenaeum, Harvard’s Lamont and Widener libraries, and the Bilkent University library assisted me in numerous ways. Peter Hopkirk, Ezel Kural Shaw, and the late Stanford Shaw donated collections to Bilkent without which this book would have been much harder to write. Timothy Dickinson educated me in the nuances of monarchy. J. K. Rowling delivered a commencement address on the subject of failure that I shall not forget. Ian Klaus debated the distinctions between partnerships and alliances with me. Andrew Roberts took the time to review the manuscript.
I am grateful to every one of them.
Portions of the king’s diaries not quoted from published sources are reproduced by permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; excerpts from the Alanbrooke, Dill, and Ismay papers by permission of the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King’s College London; the diaries of Lord Halifax by permission of the Borthwick Institute, University of York; and excerpts from Churchill’s published writings by permission of Curtis Brown, London, on behalf of the Estate of Sir Winston Churchill.
NOTES
All quotations come from the works that appear in the bibliography. Sources of quotations not attributed to a speaker directly in the text are identified below. Spellings appear as they are in the original.
CHAPTER ONE
fascinated, browbeaten, cajoled Spears, Assignment to Catastrophe, vol. 1, 104.
boundless confidence Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 328.
Resign—Resign Rhodes James, ed., “Chips,” 247.
curled like a question mark Roberts, The Holy Fox, 230.
could see at least three more facets Watt, How War Came, 79.
high priest of the Respectable Tendency Roberts, Eminent Churchillians, 16.
a slight lisp Roberts, The Holy Fox, 6.
insinuating, but unlovable Rhodes James, ed., “Chips,” 256.
uncomfortable bed fellow Jenkins, Churchill, 416.
far closer to him Roberts, The Holy Fox, 201.
demeanour was cool Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 1, 523.
It would be difficult to say yes Colville, The Fringes of Power, 123.
Winston was obdurate Moran, Winston Churchill, 323.
this strangely assorted pair Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough, 140.
as a set-piece contest Roberts, The Holy Fox, 1.
In times of danger Kiernan, Churchill, 10.
CHAPTER TWO
[i]t was not a tactful day Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 4.
on a note of apology Ibid.
Faithful but unfortunate Cannadine, In Churchill’s Shadow, 51.
all Churchills were undoubtedly eccentric Lees-Milne, Ancestral Voices, 50.
Yankee mongrel Colville, The Churchillians, 85.
He is not loved, he is not feared Brooks, Devil’s Decade, 26–27.
pale little ghost Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough, 27–28.
rather inky small boy Rowse, The Later Churchills, 341.
as wise as he was shrewd Ibid., 297.
The House of Hanover Nicolson, Diaries, 407.
gnashes Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth, 466.
bad starter Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 33; Duff, George and Elizabeth, 39.
grit and ‘never say I’m beaten’ spirit Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 41.
CHAPTER THREE
Medal-hunter Churchill, My Early Life, 174; Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough, 87.
You’ve heard of Winston Churchill Rowse, The Later Churchills, 365.
What the hell are you doing Moffatt, King George Was My Shipmate, 18.
distinctly startled Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 95.
Young Bertie had: Moffatt, King George Was My Shipmate, 27.
many a pearl Kiernan, Churchill, 53.
reluctance which inhibits Liberals Bonham Carter, Winston Churchill as I Knew Him, 205.
Blenheim rat Brooks, Devil’s Decade, 198.
you could rat but you couldn’t re-rat Colville, The Fringes of Power, 345.
what precisely was it ready for Best, Churchill and War, 45.
a floating kidney Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough, 201, 209.
mutual telegram Duff, George and Elizabeth, 82.
CHAPTER FOUR
a nice, quiet, well-bred mouse Rhodes James, ed., “Chips,” 23.
absolute slave Ibid., 60.
The Battle for the Throne Ibid., 86.
a party of lunatics Lees-Milne, Prophesying Peace, 24.
chatty, handy type of monarch Hart-Davis, ed., King’s Counsellor, 82.
Nothing is here for tears Bonham Carter, Winston Churchill as I Knew Him, 279.
the cabin-boy made captain Rowse, The Later Churchills, 447.
half Machiavelli, half Milton Rhodes James, ed., “Chips,” 143.
Let this thing be settled. . . . We are all in false positions Nicolson, Diaries, 170.
unrelieved gloom Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 276.
shop-soiled American Hart-Davis, ed., King’s Counsellor, 414.
Out of Office Brooks, Devil’s Decade, 197–98.
an Ishmael in public life Rhodes James, Churchill, 184.
discovered that he was Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth, 450.
CHAPTER FIVE
It came in like a ravening wolf Brooks, Devil’s Decade, 13.
Tories who were ashamed: Kiernan, Churchill, 74.
like the chamomile Rhodes James, Churchill, 186.
drowning man to a spar Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough
, 264.
dual policy Nicolson, Marginal Comment, 152.
avenging march Rowse, The Later Churchills, 445.
Injudicious they may have been Watt, How War Came, 77.
You know, I am a trifle uneasy Nicolson, Marginal Comment, 120.
royally displeased Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 335.
as familiar as the voice Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 56.
Mush, Slush and Gush Rhodes James, Churchill, 228.
one ex-Serviceman Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 348.
was not bluffing Ibid., 349.
You might think Colville, The Fringes of Power, 590.
waving his whisky-and-soda Nicolson, Diaries, 212–13.
An elderly gentleman Roberts, The Holy Fox, 179.
CHAPTER SIX
faithful chela Roberts, Eminent Churchillians, 41.
hard to be Kaiser, Steinberg, Bismarck, 3.
he venerated tradition Ismay, Memoirs, 270.
Dukes tended to believe Ziegler, “Churchill and the Monarchy,” in Blake and Louis, eds., Churchill, 187.
semi-Royal Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 75.
elephantine shuffle Young, ed., The Diaries of Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, vol. 2, 327.
hurly-burly Churchill, Great Contemporaries, 149.
moderate and politically uninterested Roberts, Eminent Churchillians, 8.
temperance, magnificence Nicolson, Marginal Comment, 8.
despairer Moran, Winston Churchill, 745.
a very good combination Roberts, The Holy Fox, 270.
adored funny operations Roberts, Eminent Churchillians, 63.
If he were a woman Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough, 37.
Dilly Dally Alanbrooke, War Diaries, xl.
killed men Johnson, Churchill, 114.
would often relapse Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 145.
a great aristocrat Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 519.
What shall I say Hart-Davis, ed., King’s Counsellor, 37.
the luckiest general Young, ed., The Diaries of Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, vol. 2, 243.
still waters running deep Astley, The Inner Circle, 34.
Characteristic of straightforward Ibid., 70.
thought fast Fraser, Alanbrooke, 122.
Whatever the P.M.’s shortcomings Colville, The Fringes of Power, 489.
apostle of the offensive Kiernan, Churchill, 142–43.
Brooke was the only man Colville, The Churchillians, 143.
a cavalryman out of his depth: Richard Ollard, “Churchill and the Navy,” in Blake and Louis, eds., Churchill, 394.
Churchill was said to be afraid: Young, ed., The Diaries of Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, vol. 2, 352.
good at trying Lees-Milne, Ancestral Voices, 130–31.
This greatly amused Churchill Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 108.
in the way Lloyd George was Lees-Milne, Prophesying Peace, 88.
he has genius Brooks, Devil’s Decade, 196.
sidles away from one Rhodes James, ed., “Chips,” 232–33.
he seems to contract Ibid., 269.
tilt at windmills Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough, 37.
till it shone Jenkins, Churchill, 510.
picnics Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth, 514, 568.
small drop of arsenic Roberts, Eminent Churchillians, 9.
selective listener Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 204.
He wanted no other reward Moran, Winston Churchill, 259.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I went to the ironmonger’s Astley, The Inner Circle, 205.
so adjacent Brooks, Devil’s Decade, 195.
Lift Hastings, Finest Years, 439.
heart attack Moran, Winston Churchill, 614.
He felt ill Young, ed., The Diaries of Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, vol. 2, 483.
a cross between comic opera Colville in Wheeler-Bennett, ed., Action This Day, 71.
It was Churchill’s greatest deficiency Rhodes James, Churchill, 349.
sipper not a guzzler Jenkins, Churchill, 356.
Cat, darling Colville, The Fringes of Power, 172.
with his schoolboy’s grin Hart-Davis, ed., King’s Counsellor, 344n1.
tendency to morbidness Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 155.
demon driver Ibid., 109.
fling himself Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 150.
hippopotamus Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. 7, 37.
CHAPTER EIGHT
underwent the most dramatic reversal Roberts, Eminent Churchillians, 1.
He rushed up the steps Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. 6, 4.
could be read both ways Best, Churchill and War, 107.
Winston problem Colville, The Fringes of Power, 111.
Deputy Prime Minister Ibid.
staring into space Bradford, The Reluctant King, 375.
mad plans Alanbrooke, War Diaries, 187.
six divisions: Lees-Milne, Ancestral Voices, 97.
frog speech Colville, The Fringes of Power, 272; See also Douglas Johnson, “Churchill and France,” in Blake and Louis, eds., Churchill, 44–45.
two tongues Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. 7, 357.
was standing Hastings, Finest Years, 18.
measured in rubies Colville, The Fringes of Power, 223.
George, why Lees-Milne, Prophesying Peace, 70.
Whither thou goest Moran, Winston Churchill, 6.
the greatest worshippers Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 254.
weeping, and crying Ibid., 380.
just like a small boy Alanbrooke, War Diaries, 139.
triphibious Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol. 7, 467.
great amphibian Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough, 327.
What was that noise Rhodes James, ed., “Chips,” 279.
Go to Hell, man Colville, The Fringes of Power, 278.
My time will come Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 82.
Pugnacious old bugger Ibid., 70.
There goes the bloody British Empire Colville, The Fringes of Power, 341.
Good old Winnie, Ismay, Memoirs, 183–84.
Oh, ain’t she lovely Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 467.
the unmistakable whirr-whirr Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth, 522–23.
immense catacomb Hart-Davis, ed., King’s Counsellor, 63.
valuable small Dutch landscapes Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth, 517.
CHAPTER NINE
slow-time Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 177.
Ah yes, Mr. Prime Minister Young, ed., The Diaries of Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, vol. 2, 107.
They dined on smoked salmon: Details from menus in the President’s Office Files.
very blun[t] Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 529.
Suddenly there was a pause Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 6–7.
Good God Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill vol. 6, 1268.
from Casablanca Thompson, The Yankee Marlborough, 329, 339.
poor little English donkey Colville in Wheeler-Bennett, ed., Action This Day, 96 n1.
resulted in good argument Alanbrooke, War Diaries, 249.
One young officer Hart-Davis, ed., King’s Counsellor, 80.
the world of Walt Disney Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 189.
We must mind our Ps and Qs Broad, The War That Churchill Waged, 238.
rugs and carpets and curtains Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 569, 570n, 576, 578.
The guests sat transfixed Ismay, Memoirs, 341; Astley, The Inner Circle, 124.
appalled by his own impotence Moran, Winston Churchill, 141.
CHAPTER TEN
kept dodging out Gilbert, Winston
S. Churchill, vol. 7, 709.
supreme climax . . . the keystone of the arch Broad, The War That Churchill Waged, 281.
Slim Jan Colville, The Churchillians, 134.
surrogate uncle Roberts, Masters and Commanders, photo insert, n.p.
mind moved majestically Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 4, 386.
Smuts is not happy Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 594.
old Smuts Hart Davis, ed., King’s Counsellor, 172.
be secured at all costs Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 596.
sixth hour of the sixth day Young, ed., The Diaries of Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart, vol. 2, 319.
had a jolly day Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 6, 13.
he would have been happier still Ismay, Memoirs, 358.
on the top of the Victoria Tower Lees-Milne, Prophesying Peace, 90.
Come in Gilbert, Winston Churchill, vol. 7, 1057.
gold fish in a stone pool Astley, The Inner Circle, 183.
fiercely controversial Broad, The War That Churchill Waged, 345.
black with Fortresses Colville, The Fringes of Power, 588.
felt the strain Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth, 591.
orderly and good humoured Lees-Milne, Prophesying Peace, 187–88.
f iles, papers, pieces of broken furniture Astley, The Inner Circle, 218–19.
He did not seem greatly interested Moran, Winston Churchill, 270.
DENOUEMENT
Five million against us Pawle, The War and Colonel Warden, 401.
Keep alert Ibid., 402.
relaxed and contented Wheeler-Bennett, King George VI, 803.
The worst Shawcross, Queen Elizabeth, 653.
two single figures Leslie Rowan in Wheeler-Bennett, ed., Action This Day, 265.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alanbrooke Papers, Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King’s College London.
Winston Churchill Papers, Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge University.
Dill Papers, Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King’s College London.
Halifax Papers, Borthwick Institute for Archives, University of York.
Ismay Papers, Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King’s College London.
Churchill and the King Page 17