Princess Diana and Edward VIII
There is a parallel between Princess Diana and Edward VIII, whose public image now is that of his sad decline. During his youth he was very attractive and enjoyed a cult similar to that of Diana. He was a student at Magdalen College, Oxford. His French tutor was a kindly Frenchman H.E. Berthon, who was one of mine years later. He still spoke affectionately of Prince Edward, and kept a photograph of him on his desk. In World I,
Edward had served with the Grenadier Guards in France, Italy, Flanders and Egypt. After the war he toured the world and was welcomed with the rapture later enjoyed by Diana.
He was essentially a kind, sensitive man, and that was the source of his troubles. I saw him close up when he came to Winchester to inaugurate Stanmore, a council housing project. The women just loved him. He inspected the houses, chatted with the occupants, and impressed everyone with his sincerity.
The trouble began with the depression, an apt word in view of the mood of the country and his. His concern for the people was patent in his support of slum-clearance projects. He was especially upset by the plight of the Welsh coal-miners. After a visit to a mining visit, he innocently remarked "We must do something about this." He was accused of interfering in politics, a charge which seemed to me absurd and unkind. The royal family has to live within strict verbal limits, and that was part of Diana's troubles.
His affair with Mrs. Simpson brought him trouble, like Dodi Al Fayed she was socially unacceptable. Winston Churchill, who later denounced Edward as a traitor to his country, defended his relationship with Mrs. Simpson, but the Establishment objected even after Mrs. Simpson obtained a divorce, and blocked a morganatic marriage.
Discouraged, Edward left England and lived in France. He visited Hitler's Germany at a time when many Britishers thought an accommodation could be reached with it. I was in depressed, even desperate Germany about that time, and Hitler was widely supported there as one who, like Edward, thought that "we must do something". But what? Edward really did not know; hell is paved with good intentions. Like the Pope, Diana spoke for the people, but the devil is in the details.
It is widely asserted that Diana showed the way to a new royal style. I assume she rode a bicycle, something a British queen is not supposed to do. Come to think of it, I have not seen the Spanish royal couple doing that either. The bicycle is the symbol of a populist monarchy. Perhaps our royals should set an example and contribute to the elimination of traffic jams. Diana hoped to eliminate much more.
Ronald Hilton, 10-5-97
