If your Majesty desires that the Bishop of Bradford be bayoneted I shall if you will so command be happy to do the needful, even though I am at heart a pacifist. If I should fail, any one of 4 millions of your Scottish subjects will be prepared to do the needful.6
The first sentence of a letter from a man in Aberdeen to the Bishop of Bradford (which he copied to the King) was, 'I think you may be fairly described as a toad."
After such a long period of strained silence by the press on the royal love affair, 'Blunt's mildly reproachful words, given prominence in the Yorkshire Post,'' commented the journalist Bill Deedes, 'acted as a sort of starting-pistol.'8 The press started cautiously to publish articles linking Blunt's judgement to the King's love affair. At first, only the provincial newspapers, including the Manchester Guardian and the Birmingham Post, covered the story. But these articles were 'the advance guard', commented the English journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, 'and soon heavy artillery, cavalry, tanks, pursuit planes, and even poison gas, were brought into action. All other news was discarded, all restraint laid aside." The press agreement collapsed completely - 'The fat is in the fire today,' observed Cecil Headlam in his diary on z December.10
By 3 December, the story was well and truly out, throughout Britain and the Empire. 'Now, we are - without a King? With a Queen? What? The Simpson affair is on the surface', wrote Virginia Woolf. 'All London was gay & garrulous - not exactly gay, but excited.'" Lady Milner, who went to a 'news reel' to glean expressions of opinion, wrote in her diary that the 'streets have been packed all day & newspapers sold as fast as they were printed.'12 Marie Stopes, the birth control pioneer whose book Married Love had caused a storm when it was published in 1918, hastened to offer the King the benefit of her advice. Thousands of his subjects, she wrote in a letter to him, had turned to her on every imaginable problem of marriage. She suggested that a talk with her might be helpful - 'when I could place at your disposal my unique experience and an ingenuity of mind which is entirely devoted to Yourself. I hold myself entirely at Your Majesty's immediate disposal at any time and place in the hope I may be of a little help.'13
All the morning papers sold out, and the headlines showed that the lines of battle were clearly drawn. The Times, the Morning Post and the Daily Telegraph were against the King, and the headline of The Times warned grimly of a 'Constitutional Crisis'. However, the Express and the Mail backed the King with enthusiasm, reflecting the opinions of their owners, Beaverbrook and Rothermere. The headline of the Daily Mail insisted that, 'The People want their King'. The Daily Mirror and the Daily Sketch were also strongly for the King, and the leader in the News Chronicle advocated a morganatic marriage. The circulation of the first group of newspapers was roughly 80,000, while that of the second group was close to nine million,14 and it appeared, observed Beaverbrook with satisfaction, that the King had a 'wider and more influential support in the Press than we ever anticipated.'15
The public queued up for the evening editions, which were illustrated with photographs showing the King and Mrs Simpson together at Ascot, at restaurants, on the yacht Nahlin and just about everywhere else. For months now, wrote the journalists Frank Owen and R. J. Thompson, these pictures had been stored in every newspaper office, and now 'the public gasped at them'.16 'Spain, Germany, Russia - all are elbowed out', observed Virginia Woolf in her diary. 'The marriage stretches from one end of the paper to another. Pictures of D of York & the Princesses fill every cranny. Mrs Simpson is snapped by lime light at midnight as she gets out of her car. Her luggage is also photographed." A travelling salesman remarked to a woman who was a book buyer for a department store in Kensington, London, that he would never forget 'when going to business the day the news broke, waiting on Earls Court Station - crowds of people all reading their newspapers & dead silence. It was eerie."s According to the London daily, the Evening Standard, the Duke and Duchess of York returned to London from Edinburgh in the early morning, then went to Marlborough House to see Queen Mary. They had many engagements in London but 'All were cancelled."9
The newsreels had a story ready, too. The Constitutional Crisis, distributed by Universal, observed that, 'The strain is intense for the King, his ministers, his people and for the lady of his choice.' Photographs of 'the lady', looking sweet-natured and attractive, were shown repeatedly in the newsreel. The King himself was pictured looking handsome and thoughtful. The newsreel commented that the 'modern tendency for greater personal freedom is in sharp contrast with the confines of constitutional latitude.' It ended with God Save the King, and offered the opinion that 'One thing is in no doubt: the sympathy of the British people goes out to him that as a man his happiness be achieved and that as a king, long may he reign over us.'20 From Stanley Baldwin's point of view, thought Tom Dugdale, his Parliamentary Private Secretary, this was the ideal way for the story to break. 'Now we are in for an upheaval of public opinion,' he said to his wife, Nancy, 'one which could not have been brought about in a more desirable, and a less scandalous way; purely religious, non-political, non-sectarian - just SB's luck!'21 The Times was at pains to present Baldwin's position in favourable terms and to encourage criticism of the King, I thank you for your admirable leader in the "Times" this morning', wrote the Archbishop of Canterbury to Dawson on 3 December. 'I note that the "Daily Mail" has broken lose [sic]', he added, 'and ventilates the impossible compromise [that is, a morganatic marriage]: also News Chronicle. I do most earnestly hope that the Government will stand firm. The two essentials of the present situation are swiftness and decisiveness.'22 At first, Francis Williams, the editor of the pro-Labour Daily Herald, took the attitude of, ' "Good luck to the King" and let him marry whoever he pleases.'23 Soon afterwards, though, the paper argued that the King was bound to abide by the advice of his Ministers.
Much of the press coverage blamed Baldwin for the fact that for so long the people of Britain had been deliberately kept in the dark about the story. 'May I suggest that if we are to believe the teachings of our Church,' asserted a letter published in the Daily Mirror, 'the All Highest did not think it beneath His dignity to take unto himself "a commoner" to wife, thereby giving us The Master - The King of Kings.'24 'We do not believe', argued the Evening News, 'that the British people or the people of the Empire any longer consider it a part of the kingly duty to forgo marriage with the lady of his choice - a privilege enjoyed by the lowliest of his subjects - in the interests of constitutional tradition.' More important than the maintenance of any tradition, it added, was the need to keep on the throne a man 'whose kingly capacity has already stood the test of long and faithful service.'25 The Star agreed:
Why should he |the King] be denied the common happiness of mankind? We see no insuperable reason. The Cabinet may tender him advice in one direction, but there is more than one way in which the interests of the State and of the King can be reconciled. Talk of abdication does not alarm us, but it is folly, a form of disloyalty to the King and the people.
It was up to the statesmen, insisted the Star, to find a way of keeping the King on the throne and also to promote his personal happiness. 'There may be better Prime Ministers,' it added, but 'there is no better King.'26
A particular disappointment for Baldwin was the view of the News Chronicle. Since this newspaper was the traditional voice of Nonconformists, who were generally seen as puritan in their approach to sexual morality, he thought he had reason to expect its support. But it was not forthcoming. There are 'many people in this country who would not desire to see as Queen of England a woman who had previously been married' and also some who would object to 'an American citizen occupying that high rank', observed the News Chronicle. 'But,' it added,
if the King, who is of an age to know his own mind, is sufficiently in love to persist in his intention, the public would, we think, wish that he should marry the woman of his choice, but that he should do so in his capacity as Duke of Cornwall. His wife's position would then be that of King's Consort, not that of Queen of England.2'
&nbs
p; Lady Milner, who was pleased to note that the Morning Post and the Telegraph were 'very good', was far less happy with the evening papers, which 'are rather pro-Simpson - as is the News Chronicle',28 Politically, thought Beaverbrook, Baldwin was 'in danger of being killed stone dead. There appeared to be a tide now running with immense and gathering force in favour of the King.'29
The 'King's crisis [is] now public property', commented Bruce Lock- hart, who edited the 'Londoner's Diary' in the Evening Standard, in his personal diary on 3 December. But the reaction of the public was not, found Lockhart, what Baldwin had expected. 'For weeks,' he observed, 'MPs have been saying that [the] whole country is seething about [the] King's conduct and Mrs Simpson and that they were being deluged with letters from their constituents. Probably true; but letters came from Mrs Rector and Mrs Town Councillor.' It was now quite clear, he said, 'that ninety per cent of [the] country had never heard of Mrs Simpson. Now there will be - for [the] moment at least - a reaction in favour of [the] King."" In the first days after the news broke, 90 per cent of the letters received by the national newspapers were said to be in favour of the King."
The King himself was sent thousands of letters, most of them offering him support. Letters and telegrams, addressed to Buckingham Palace, Fort Belvedere and St James's Palace, started to arrive daily, from all over the nation and also from abroad. Within the next ten days the King or his personal staff received nearly five thousand letters and telegrams. 'My Dear Wife and myself having just read in the Daily Sketch that your postal deliveries are now sent to you by motor van, due to the quantity, the majority possibly from loyal subjects,' wrote one man to the King, 'we also wish to express our loyalty likewise."2
Most of the letters and telegrams were sent by people of the working and middle classes, though not entirely. Some of the letters are written in an uneven hand and with spelling mistakes, suggesting that their authors did not have much formal education. 'I suppose this will never get to you,' said one letter, 'but who ever get it don't give it to the press the writing and spelling is bad but my heart is good.'3' Many people were determined to write, regardless of the difficulty this might pose or, indeed, of the cost of a stamp which, for an inland letter in 1936, was one and a half (old) pence - no inconsiderable sum for a poor family. According to a report by the British Medical Association in 1936, 'The average [weekly] income per head, exclusive of rent and rates, is shown to range from 4s 9d [four shillings and nine old pence] for the unemployed, to 10s 6d for the employed. This weekly sum has to cover not only food but clothes, heating and lighting."4 The decision to spend one and a half pence on postage, therefore, using up money for food and other essentials, would not have been taken lightly.
It is not clear whether Edward saw any of the letters arriving for him, as it was customary for a king's Private Secretary to deal with the mail and only to show him anything of particular importance. The rush of events at this time, in any case, would have allowed few opportunities for Hardinge to attend to the King's correspondence. Some of the letter-writers had little confidence in the likelihood of their messages reaching the King. 'As a one-time Private Secretary to one of your present Ministers,' wrote a man called Claude Davis on 6 December, 'I realize there is small chance of this letter reaching your own eyes.' But the urge to help him in any way in his 'solitary position', he said, 'compels and justifies the effort.'35 Another letter from London was equally doubtful. 'I suppose this letter may not find its way into your hands? I hope it does, because I wonder if you have any means of knowing how your "common" people think during the present crisis.'16 Certainly it would have been helpful for the King to read these letters of support, which offered a very different view to that of the Britannicus letter.
Many letters were full of warm enthusiasm for Wallis. 'Please accept one of your loyal subjects' congratulations on your forthcoming marriage with, I am certain, one of the sweetest of ladies', wrote a Denbighshire woman. 'Our own King can not choose wrongly! . . . And long may you and your beloved lady live. Again, God bless you bothV37 Another woman, living in London's Baker Street, hoped that he would marry 'the lady of your choice, but please don't abdicate, England needs you too. You have the courage to marry, have the courage to carry on. You are doing a marvellous job, don't leave it, England may appreciate it when she wakes up.'38 From the tearoom at Wittering Aerodrome came the hope that 'you will marry this lady you love & tell them all to go to the deuce. We don't want anybody else as King, so please don't abdicate.'39 'My mother has a milk round in this village,' wrote a teenage boy (who said he had sent a 'stinker' to the Bishop of Bradford),
& has out of curiosity asked some of the customers their opinion on the crisis & they solidly state that the King should marry whom he likes & that they want him & nobody else as King. These I am sure are the thoughts of 90% of the British nation .. . Long live the King & Queen (to be).40
From a poor widow with two sons who had been in the navy and one son who was partially blind came the message, 'You are the People's King and nothing can kill their Love and Faith in You . . . Long life and happiness with the dear Lady You have chosen, "God bless our King".'41 'We are all with you', urged a letter giving the New Zealand High Commission on the Strand in London as its address, 'to the last ditch.'42
Behind most of the correspondence was a wish to comfort and reassure the King. 'Cheer up!' urged one letter. 'You must and will triumph over your difficulties.'4. Knowing from the newsreels and the press that Edward liked to visit his subjects in their homes, as he had done on the Penygarn Estate in South Wales, a number of people sent him an invitation to their own home. They hoped to provide him with the peace and quiet he would need to get through this difficult time. 'We're newlyweds and still furnishing bit by bit,' wrote one man,
but if at any time you look for sympathy in the upper ten thousand or million, and find it lacking; remember it awaits you here with an easy chair, tobacco and a fireside whose privacy is our most treasured possession, yet whose welcome to Your Majesty is complete and unconditional.44
Many letters were from ex-servicemen and members of the British Legion, who gave their regiments, ranks and, sometimes, their numbers. They were often written in the language and with the imagery of the Great War, especially that of trench warfare: 'We are with you ... to a man'; 'If Mrs Simpson is good enough for His Majesty we want her. Stick to your guns'; 'Stand on your ground'; 'Stick to your Post'; 'Stand firm'.45 A telegram from the Caledon Shipyard Workers urged the King, 'Whatever you decide the straight eye at your command.'46 'I beseech your Majesty to "Carry on",' wrote another ex- serviceman, 'so its "eyes Right", Hold your heads up. "Steady" -!!!'47 After a visit to the Kempton races, one man wrote:
the majority of the sporting world are with you body & soul. A message from Wembley reads: - 'All ex-servicemen are furious at what they consider the interference of the Bishops.' Wonder if the Bishop of Bradford will reply to my letter!!! My King - a British-American Alliance would assure world peace. Stand by your guns!48
Ex-servicemen abroad, too, wrote to encourage the King. From Halifax in Nova Scotia came the message, 'Trust in God and Keep your powder dry.'49
Geoffrey H. Wells, a minor author writing under the pseudonym of Geoffrey West who lived in Oxford and was the son of a Cardiff businessman (but no relation of H. G. Wells, although he shared his surname and, indeed, wrote his biography in 1930), was soon fed up with the fever of excitement: 'Oh God it goes on', he wrote in his diary,
If the King does back down, my respect for him will totally vanish (not that I've ever had a lot!): if they want a dummy, not a man, for the job then it really is time to abolish the job. God save us from the long-faced Duke of York - who would, I'm sure, be the best of good boys!
The fact that Wallis was divorced with her two ex-husbands still living did not bother him in the slightest: 'I should have thought if the king didn't mind it was no-one else's business.'50 The mathematician Alan Turing took the same attitude. 'I should tolerate no interferenc
e by bishops,' he told his mother, '& I don't see that the King need either.'5' In America, where news about the King had been unfettered for months, the press trumpeted the King's cause. The New York Post published an open letter to King Edward from Sinclair Lewis, the author of such novels as the satirical Babbitt. Addressed to 'David Windsor', it said, 'We don't know what's happened, but one thing we can tell you - that the whole of America is so excited that you've become a human being instead of just the King of England.' He urged Edward to come to America, where he would 'be received as no guest ever has been'. Americans believed, he added, that
a man must have his own conscience and his own life. We believe that perhaps the most important thing that has happened in the last hundred years is whether David Windsor shall have his own life or not. We believe that it is perhaps more important to the British Empire that a young man in England named David Windsor should be completely loyal to the girl he loves than to a British mirage.52
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