Sheila

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by Robert Wainwright


  In early April 1920 King George decided to confront his errant sons. The issue was far more serious with the Prince of Wales, given that he was heir to the throne, but he was on the way to Australia and New Zealand for an official tour so that battle would have to wait until “David”, as he was known in family circles, returned in September.

  But Albert’s dalliance was another matter. The King summoned his second son on April 7 and offered a tantalising inducement, as Bertie then told his brother in a letter, written the next morning: “He is going to make me Duke of York on his birthday provided that he hears nothing more about Sheila & me!!!!”

  But it would be six weeks—the middle of May—before the letter reached the older prince and he was made aware of the battle now raging. Edward had five letters—two from Freda and three from Bertie—waiting for him when he boarded HMS Renown in the port town of Lyttelton on New Zealand’s South Island, and he read them as the battleship headed out across the Tasman Sea in gale-force winds, bound for Melbourne. His initial response to Freda was written in two parts; at first there was his joy at receiving her letters, and then this outburst when he had read his brother’s laments:

  May 22. 11pm. At sea

  Christ! How I loathe & despise my bloody family as Bertie has written me 3 long sad letters in which he tells me he’s getting it in the neck about his friendship with poor little Sheilie & that TOI ET MOI came in for it too!! But if HM thinks he’s going to alter me by insulting you he’s making just about the biggest mistake of his silly useless life; all he has done is infuriate me & make me despise him & put me completely against him & I’ll never forgive him for insulting you as he has!!

  God damn him! Though in a way he’s done me good, sweetheart, by his extra display of foulness to Bertie & me as it’s cured me of any weakness that was left in me!! Christ! I’ll be firm with him when I get back & tell him to go to hell & leave me alone as regards my friends; I’ll have whatever friends I wish & what is more I won’t have them insulted or I’ll bloody well insult him! Poor old Bertie seems to be having a rather warm time just now though I’ll discuss him later; I only hope to God he’ll keep his head for our sakes, yours & mine sweetie!!

  Edward, who would stand by his word and reject his father’s demands for an end to the relationship with Freda, had calmed down two days later when he penned a second, longer letter. He and Freda had known about the relationship that had developed between “Sheilie and Ob” for several months—even that Sheila had used her house to see Serge, as she had with Bertie—so his initial indignation on Bertie’s behalf had tempered considerably by his second letter.

  May 24

  Now as regards Old Bertie & Sheilie; B talks a lot of hot air about HM making him a duke on condition that his name ceases to be more or less coupled with Sheilie’s though it certainly need not have been ever since January anyway—if not earlier!!

  You & I both happen to know that they neither of them really mean anything to each other at all, do they sweetheart? . . . so that personally I’m all ready for their really breaking apart properly & cutting out the camouflage love stunt!!

  From what he tells me S&L are living on top of a hotter volcano than ever & anyone in love with her is sitting on top with them! We both of us know she really loves Ob so surely it would be better for Bertie to drift away from it all & just be one of Sheilie’s friends . . . we’ve discussed the other 2 Do’s so often recently & I think we came to this conclusion though naturally I’ve kept Sheilie’s secret re Ob so so faithfully & Bertie knows absolutely nothing & never will from me!!

  It is so hopeless trying to discuss letters six weeks old & Bertie may be a Duke now for all I know. Of course if he really loved Sheilie he wouldn’t care a dick about dukes or anything else.

  You haven’t felt comfy having either Ob or Bertie in your house for Sheilie to play with lately . . . If only you could talk to Bertie sweetheart & warn him against being too thick with Sheilie, though it seems a hard thing to ask you to do when we know they can be happy together in their own way!!

  Do talk to B. Fredie darling, as I know he would listen to you. And I feel that it would help TOI et MOI so much beloved as we’ve long felt the weight of them on our hands & it’s been growing heavier anyway for you whose house they invariably use for their—, shall we call them causeries!!

  Edward seemed to be saying that Sheila and Bertie would be able to become platonic friends without too much personal hardship. But there could be little doubt about the intimacy of their earlier relationship. The diplomat, poet and later High Commissioner to Australia Sir Charles Hepburn Johnston was a frequent visitor to Buckingham Palace; in his private diaries he wrote of an evening at Buckingham Palace soon after World War II when Sheila and Bertie, who had become King George VI, were discussing their former friendship:

  Then there was Sheila Loughborough’s story. The K. was talking to her about the old times before he got married and what fun they all had. Sheila saw the Q. listening and thought it prudent to damp this down a bit.

  Sheila: “And when you think, Sir, how innocent it all was . . .”

  K (red with fury): “Innocent? I don’t know what the devil you mean.”

  But in May 1920 their relationship was about to end. Albert knew that he had to obey his father, who had already made concessions about the women he and his brothers could marry. Sheila was a married woman and, even if she left Loughie, it was doubtful that his parents would approve of marriage to a divorced woman.

  It would come to a head on the night of June 2, when King George hosted his traditional pre-Derby, male-only dinner at Buckingham Palace for members of the Jockey Club. The next day was his fifty-fifth birthday, when he intended to appoint his second son as Duke of York. That evening Bertie, who had travelled down from Cambridge, wrote his father a note in which he said he was proud to accept the title and hoped he would live up to it, adding, “I can tell you I fulfilled your conditions to the letter and that nothing more will come of it.”

  His father read the letter the next day and replied immediately:

  Dearest Bertie,

  I was delighted to get your letter this morning, & to know that you appreciate that I have given you that fine old title of Duke of York, which I bore for more than 9 years & is the oldest Dukedom in this country. I know that you have behaved very well, in a difficult situation for a young man & that you have done what I asked you to do. I feel that this splendid old title will be safe in your hands & that you will never do anything, which could in any way tarnish it. I hope that you will always look upon me as yr. best friend & always tell me everything & you will find me ever ready to help you & give you good advice.

  Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow,

  Ever my dear boy,

  Yr. very devoted Papa

  The letter’s subtext was that Albert had to stay away from Sheila or any other woman like her. Even though the prince would complain to his older brother about being spied on every time he went out during that summer, there would be one last dance with his former lover. After signing his acceptance letter, Bertie went off to dinner at the palatial home of Lord and Lady Farquhar with his mother, Queen Mary, his sister Princess Mary and his younger brothers George and Henry. Here seventy-six guests sat at three tables decorated with sweet peas to celebrate the Farquhars’ silver wedding anniversary. They were joined after dinner by a further 150 guests, among them Sheila Loughborough, as the evening turned to dancing.

  Despite the presence of his mother and his commitment to his father to end the relationship, Bertie could not resist dancing with the woman he had agreed to avoid. As they took their turn around the dance floor, they both noticed a young woman standing in the doorway. She seemed young, and vulnerable—a debutante alone in a room filled with society veterans. Sheila later asked the name of the young woman. She was nineteen-year-old Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

  8

  MOLLEE AND THE PRINCE

  When Edward Prince of Wales had been preparing
for his goodwill tour of Australia and New Zealand he had asked Sheila Loughborough if there was anyone interesting he should meet when he arrived in Sydney besides her parents, Harry and Margaret Chisholm.

  Yes, Sheila had replied, he should meet a young woman by the name of Mollee Little, who danced divinely and could hold a lively, interesting conversation in any company. Mollee was a year older than Sheila but the pair might have been sisters, not just in their dark smouldering beauty but in their fun-loving demeanour, which many found infectious.

  In the years since Sheila’s departure, they had exchanged letters frequently and there were few, if any, secrets they did not share about their lives. And now she was not just a great friend but potentially her sister-in-law, the sweetheart of her brother Roy, who had married on a whim during the Great War but divorced soon afterwards. She seemed to be the perfect dancing partner for the prince who, Sheila suspected, would need some fun after the boredom and irritation of constant public appearances, speeches and dinners.

  Sheila had anticipated the prince’s needs accurately, as his regular letters to Freda would show. There would be twenty-three letters during his visit, written almost daily during the east coast leg of his trip and sent in batches of up to ten at a time. They frequently laid bare his fears as a shy and self-conscious man despite his public assuredness. They also displayed a lack of self-awareness, both in the impact of his behaviour on others and his often-disparaging views of those around him.

  The practical aspects of being Prince of Wales bored him senseless and he arrived in Sydney Harbour on June 16, unhappy at the prospect of “yet another terrible & pompous carriage ride through the streets”; however he was surprised and delighted at being greeted instead by a flotilla on “a marvellous harbour”. His mood lightened further that night when he met Mollee Little, as he wrote to Freda when he got back to the ship at 1 a.m., misspelling her name:

  Finally we went to a vast ball . . . & there I met Sheilie’s great friend Molly Little & had 2 dances with her & of course we talked about S the whole time!! S writes to her a lot & so she’s heard about you & Bertie . . . though I hope to meet her again at other parties & make her tell me more! She seems a nice girl & she dances well & she certainly has a look of Sheilie, particularly about her mouth!!

  The attraction between the couple built over the next week in Sydney, firstly as a means of escaping the “ghastly” dinners and “pompous boobs” who, realising the prince’s instant infatuation with Mollee, deliberately left her off their invitation lists until he insisted that she be reinstated.

  Edward seemed to forget sometimes that he was writing to the woman he loved about another woman, as if Freda would understand a platonic attraction: “Molly Little & I laughed till it hurt, my beloved!! God! She’s so like Sheilie, I can’t help saying it again & she gets the hysterics just like Sheilie does!!” He confided how he had managed to reconfigure seating lists: “I’ve managed to get Molly Little asked to dinner here tonight sweetie & fixed it up that she should sit next to me so that’s something & she’ll be able to help me through another desperate evening here.”

  He took an overnight trip to see the site for the new capital at Canberra but couldn’t wait to get back to see Mollee:

  I got back from the up-country trip at 10.30pm beloved but was enticed to a party by Mollee Little (she spells her name Mollee) though I wasn’t there 2 hours & didn’t get in more than 7 dances . . . however I got 3 with her . . . I wanted some exercise after a ghastly political sort of day in the new federal district or area called Canberra which is the site of the new Commonwealth capital!!!

  There seemed to be a ball almost every night, glittering occasions with the diminutive prince the centre of attention, along with his favourite dance partner, as The Sydney Morning Herald reported from a dance to celebrate his twenty-sixth birthday on June 23:

  Soon the Prince was lost sight of in the maze of whirling figures, but occasionally an exclamation, “There he is,” caused all heads to be turned, in the direction indicated. For his next dance the Prince chose his already favoured partner, Miss Mollee Little, who looked charming in a frock of pale pink, with trimmings of crystal beads. The frocks of the women were of unsurpassed beauty. In the midst of the orgy of colour, black easily held its own, and most of the matrons’ frocks were of black and gold, or finely jetted black cloth. Feather fans in exquisite colourings . . . were in great vogue. If one of the stately dancers of the old time minuet could visit the modern ballroom she would probably be speechless with horror and agonised amazement. Last night’s crowd is probably under the impression that it danced, but to the onlooker it seemed as if there were hundreds of couples jog-trotting, stepping in stilted fashion, strutting, eliding, waddling, whirling, rolling, dipping, stamping and shuffling.

  The next night, as he prepared to leave Sydney to travel across the continent, he realised his behaviour was getting out of hand:

  I’m in absolute disgrace & so, so terribly ashamed to appear so gay sweetie but the fact is the old Davidsons insisted on organising a mild form of birthday party for me tonight. They asked a few bits to dinner (ML being one of them) . . . it’s really lucky it’s our last night in Sydney Fredie darling as life here is too strenuous for everybody & we are all BF’s for having sat up so late so often & for nothing too!!

  As he left Mollee behind in Sydney and travelled across the continent, Edward turned his attention to Sheila’s plight. He had been told that Lord Loughborough “was willing” to be divorced, as he wrote to Freda in a letter on July 1:

  It is the only way out for poor little Sheilie although I wonder what her plans are now. I suppose Ob and Alb [Albert] are clear of trouble. I hope so, and that it will all happen quietly. Poor old Loughie. One can’t help feeling a teeny bit sorry for him as he will sink now that the only thing keeping him just on the surface—Sheilie—will be gone, though he is such a miserable rotter and I am so glad for her sake!! Bertie didn’t quit what I called the volcano any too soon, did he angel?

  Edward returned to Sydney after six weeks in Western Australia and South Australia for one last round of visits and ceremonies before his return to England, but his mind was focussed only on seeing Mollee again. At 1.30 a.m. on August 15 he began writing a letter to Freda from his cabin on the Renown, while a private dinner was still underway:

  We went out to the races at Randwick this afternoon (a special meeting they had organised for me sweetheart). I saw Mrs Chisholm and Mollee Little in the grandstand & had a yarn with them, I need hardly add mostly about Sheilie!! Mrs C is a sweet woman & I’ve planned to have another yarn with her & I was glad to see Mollee again & she’s been onboard for a slight private dinner & jazz party I’ve given tonight angel!!

  Journalists had begun to notice that the prince’s car was often parked outside Brooksby House and that he had even gone there to dinner, and had taken Mollee out for drives through the city. In his letters, in between declaring his love for Freda and lamenting the strain of the royal tour, he waxed lyrical about Mollee—about her laughter and about monopolising her at parties. He joked about her being his “bit”:

  I think Dickie [Mountbatten] is rather smitten with Moll, though he doesn’t often get her to himself as she is really my little “bit” or rather friend, as I’ve only got one “bit” my Fredie & so I couldn’t have another. Moll is just crazy to meet you & I’m sure you would love her Fredie darling as she has so much in her that is of our atmosphere & ideas or rather I should say of those in our little “set” meaning Sheilie, Poots etc etc. Dickie & I monopolise her at parties here.

  Even as he left on August 19, the prince couldn’t resist one last “stunt”, inviting a dozen or so women, including Mollee, on board as the Renown headed out to Sydney Heads, where they anchored to wait for the mail ship to ferry out any late correspondence:

  There was Grace & Archie & and then of course Mollee Little & 8 or 9 other girls, all bits belonging to & asked for by various members of the staff & ships’ officers &
they lunched onboard & didn’t leave the ship till about 5pm. We danced for 1hr after lunch & then everyone took his bit into his cabin, except for me angel, who only took Mollee for a final talk as she isn’t my bit at all!!

  I’ve got a terrible haunting feeling that all I’ve said about Moll & seeing so much of her these last 5 days might make you thulky, sweetie but if only you understand that I merely look on her as a second edition of Sheilie & that I’ve made great friends with her & taken special trouble with her merely because she is your greatest friend’s greatest friend!!!

  I’m also quite fond of her for herself Fredie darling just as I’m fond of Sheilie & Poots ‘mais c’est tout’!! But for you I shouldn’t probably have got to know Sheilie & the same is the case with Moll; & although we may have got ourselves talked about a little in Sydney beloved everyone knows it’s because of ‘Sheila Chisholm’ & consequently because of Fredie!!

  This is no kind of apology mon amour because I have such an absolutely clear conscience about it all; the only thing I fear is giving you a false impression of it all though I don’t think I have really!! Moll & I had a final yarn about Sheilie who I’m afraid I’m going to miss by a whole month as she sails in the middle of September.

  Moll is the only woman I’ve got to know at all well on this trip. As a matter of fact I think Mollee is rather fond of Roy Chisholm, Sheilie’s youngest brother, a nice fellow & good looking & he’s certainly fond of her. But enough about Mollee angel; she shoved off with the rest of the women & we sailed at 9pm.

 

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