The Peoples King (42 page)

Baldwin's delivery of his speech was shambling but possibly all the more effective because of this. He referred, said Bernays, to 'little pieces of paper with ideas on them contributed obviously by his colleagues. When he came in with the dispatch box he found that he had lost his key. He desperately searched in his pockets for it and then found it under Neville Chamberlain's legs.' When he then tried to sort the mass of papers, he upset them and had to retrieve them from the floor. At this point, Hoare 'put his papers on top of Baldwin's notes with the result that they were upset again and had to be retrieved from the floor once more.'
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This fumbling was somehow consistent with his national image: as an Englishman, 'a household figure, almost a family friend', someone who liked to smoke inexpensive pipes.
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When it was over, Baldwin felt that the speech had gone well. 'Stan got back to dinner tired but content,' wrote his wife in her diary.
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But not everyone shared Bernays's opinion that Baldwin's speech was an 'amazing performance'. The Prime Minister, 'who has a natural gift for the counterfeit, surpassed himself' was the acid judgement of Aneurin Bevan. 'He spoke as a pilot who had guided the ship of State safely to harbour through stormy seas, past jagged rocks, and in the teeth of the buffeting winds. The winds, indeed, were boudoir hysteria, the rocks threatened to wreck only his own career, and the official Opposition had not blown even a zephyr across his path.' Bevan was disappointed that the Labour leaders had allowed the problem to be presented as one of Parliament versus King, since Parliament had not been allowed to discuss the matter. Bevan took the view that the constitutional theories of most of his Labour colleagues were mistaken. The real point, he said, was not whether a constitutional monarch must accept the advice of his Cabinet - but whether the Cabinet had given the right advice.
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After Baldwin's speech, Winston Churchill rose to address the House. He said that he unreservedly accepted the Prime Minister's explanation that the King had taken his decision freely, voluntarily and spontaneously, in his own time and in his own way. 'What has been done or left undone belongs to history', he added. He defended the efforts he had made to keep Edward on the throne and said he would have been ashamed 'if in my independent and unofficial position I had not cast about for every lawful means to keep him on the throne of his fathers.' He also praised Edward for his honourable behaviour throughout the crisis:

I venture to say that no Sovereign has ever conformed more strictly or more faithfully to the letter and spirit of the Constitution than his present Majesty. In fact, he has voluntarily made a sacrifice for the peace and strength of his Realm which goes far beyond the bounds required by the law and the Constitution.

He reminded his listeners of Edward's place in the hearts of the poor:

Although our hopes today lie withered, still I would assert that his personality will not go down uncherished to future ages - (hear, hear) - that it will be particularly remembered in the homes of his poorer subjects - (Cheers) - and that they will ever wish from the bottom of their hearts for his private peace and happiness and for the happiness of those who are dear to him.
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'The streets crowded . . . Baldwin has managed the whole thing admirably,' wrote Cecil Headlam in his diary on 10 December.
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A proud Mrs Baldwin agreed. The episode was a sad one, she said, but at least

in this case one's Duty was writ so large and clear that the only thing for a man to do was to brace himself for an unpleasant time and go ahead with it. I am indeed happy and thankful that Stanley was the chosen medium to do the work for the throne and Empire and that God should have inspired him to carry it out as he did.'
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The abdication was nothing less than a triumph for Baldwin. He had returned to Westminster after the summer a weary and fragile man.

 But his 'deft and skilful handling of the Abdication issue', observed Churchill tartly, 'raised him in a fortnight from the depths to the pinnacle.'
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Baldwin 'had a genius', he added, 'for waiting upon events and an imperturbability under adverse criticism. He was singularly adroit in letting events work for him, and capable of seizing the ripe moment when it came.'
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He had been refreshed and revived by the royal crisis and now appeared to have rescued the country from disaster. 'The crisis has ended with the end which I had always predicted', observed Lockhart- 'Baldwin is right up again.'
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Over the next week or so, Baldwin received about a thousand telegrams and letters from people all over Britain, of every social class. Some were angry, but most of them expressed their gratitude to him for guiding the nation safely through the royal crisis. Many sympathized with the Prime Minister for his sorrow at the abdication, which he had described with eloquent regret in the House of Com­mons, and thanked him for doing his best to keep Edward on the throne. Members of the Liverpool Disabled Ex-Service Men's Protec­tion Association wrote to Baldwin to offer their sympathy to him on the abdication. 'Our minds wander back to the days of the Great War,' they said sadly, 'when he stood on the battlefields of France and Flanders a mere boy to welcome the troops as they landed to play their part in that great struggle. Nobody feels his abdication more than we ex servicemen."
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A girl living in Ottawa sent Baldwin a poem of love for Edward and congratulated the Prime Minister on his statesmanship over the last couple of weeks. 'As you yourself know, Mr Baldwin,' she said, 'he was not only the "People's King", but more even than that, he was the people's friend. He has bid us goodbye, and we should like also, apart from our Government and Press, to bid him farewell and voice our appreciation and understanding.' She asked him to pass the poem on to Edward.
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'Didn't I tell you', wrote a poor widow, in shaky writing, that 'the old 'uns were better than the youngsters. Well - you have been just splendid ... I hope you will all stand solidly by and keep the King in his difficulties. I just loved King Edward. He will live to regret his act.'
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Other letters took a robust attitude on the issue of 'proper values'. A letter from Pennsylvania congratulated Baldwin
on your recent triumph in upholding the cause of righteousness and morality . . . That you have forced his hand, and compelled him to either retire or give up a woman of questionable past, deserves nothing but praise from every upright citizen of whatever nationality! More power to you! You have shown us that truth and lofty character still exist, in this time of lax morals and cursed disrespect for the finer and nobler things of life.
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Edith Londonderry assured Baldwin that 'No one besides yourself could have managed the little man in the extraordinary way you have.' It was an issue, she added, 'on which not only the crown but the whole Empire trembled ... I was saying to Charley last night that this was the 4th Sovereign you had served - and that now my refrain would, be - "That kings may come and kings may go - but 'Stan' goes on for ever".'
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The President of the British Legion, Sir Frederick Maurice, told Baldwin that at the National Executive Council of the British Legion there was 'a unanimous & even startling expression of bitter dis­appointment at the conduct of his late Majesty', as well as admiration of Baldwin.
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This was consistent with information obtained by Walter Runciman, who had been informed that the men of the Legion would not stand for Mrs Simpson as Queen. His informant had 'made enquiries from all parts of the country - & the Legion is of course everywhere & there was no division of opinion.'
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But these enquiries were probably confined to the top brass of the Legion, both in London and in the provinces: it would not have been seen as appropriate to consult the lower ranks of the Legion on such a 'delicate' affair. Moreover, as with the telegrams that were sent to the Dominions, it would have been difficult to frame the question in a neutral way.

Away from the National Executive Council and on the ground, it was a different story. Many of the ordinary members of the British Legion - the poor and the unemployed - unswervingly supported the King. The President of the Spring Hill Branch of the British Legion in Birmingham wrote to Edward to express regret and sympathy:
taken our hand, words fail us to show our regret, we know what you have done for Ex-servicemen, Empire and Country, and in our hearts there will always be a joyous remembrance of you. May God Bless you, is our sincere wish.

A message of sympathy and admiration came from the Secretary of the Penrhiwceiber British Legion and United Services Club and Institute, which Edward had visited during his visit to South Wales in November. 'You have all the people's sympathy in this district,' he said,

Parliament can do nothing and the Church are not worth worrying over. If they had only done their duty by the people as you have done it there would not be so many empty places of Worship. So I can only express myself by saying be the Man you were during the War. You went then, into places where the Bishops & politicians would not go such as 'Ducks Bill', Levantie [Laventej, Passchendaele & Pilkin.
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The spirit of these letters echoed others that had been arriving all week from rank-and-file members of the Legion. 'Those who feel their obligations to you', stated a letter from Birmingham, signed 'Legion', 'apologise for the voice of the newspapers and the snobs and other self-centred bodies, we hope you will stand firm and marry who you wish and increase the regard of." From the Honorary Secretary of the British Legion and United Service Fund in Gateshead came every wish for his future happiness: 'I am writing this from my sick bed 8c if we in the British Legion in Gateshead can be of any help to you in encouraging your future happiness [we] will be glad to do so.'
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A member of the Bakewell Branch of the British Legion, who 'had a few kindly words from you, while out in Italy attached in the 140 Field Ambulance, 41st Division', sent loyal support 'upon your pluck'. 'No man understands another man's love', he said,

 
I give you credit of being a man, you always have been straightforward and honest over everything you have undertook, & it is most essential you should be on marriage ... we know quite enough of you to know you are an honest hard working man with a heart that yearns to help all classes
and
conditions
and
why should you be deprived of your comforts. Kick your back into them & you will come out top.
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Vera Brittain heard the announcement of the King's decision to abdicate in the crowded restaurant of a department store. 'After a silence broken only by the opening and shutting of lift gates,' she recalled later, the expected words of the King, read by Baldwin, came over the radio: 'After long and anxious consideration I have determined to renounce the throne to which I succeeded on the death of my father, and I am now communicating this, my final and irrevocable decision ... I have accordingly this morning executed an Instrument of Abdication.'
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Baldwin's speech was then heard verbatim. 'A splendid speech by Mr Baldwin in parliament, explaining all the details, was broadcast from the H of C tonight,' wrote a doctor in Bristol in his diary that night. He added, 'He has acted finely throughout.'
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' 'History was made today', wrote the Londoner who belonged to the British Union of Fascists. 'This was, I think, the most thrilling and exciting news I've ever experienced.' He despaired that the King had 'failed in his duty to his people for the sake of a commonplace cow like Mrs Simpson.' Baldwin's speech, he thought, 'was magnificent. He'll go down in history as the saviour of his country on more than one occasion. A truly great man.'
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'What a pity', thought the wife of a Sutton Coldfield dairyman farmer, that 'the man could not find an English Rosebud for a bride? I cannot help but think he is making a mistake - for himself - his mother and as example to his Country . . ,'
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One angry letter to the King did not mince words: 'Dear Ted. I think you are a bugger. Bill.'
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But many poor people were not judgemental, just sad. 'With tears in my eyes and my heart heavy with sorrow,' wrote one man, 'I must write these lines to the Truest Sportsman and Greatest King that Britain has ever known.'
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They were bitterly disappointed to see Edward go - 'The workers, and unemployed have lost their greatest friend, the one man, and a King, who had their interests at heart.'
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Three 'Loyal Subjects' expressed their 'unspeakable sorrow for a most gallant gentleman' and made 'a toast to your return your majesty with your future bride.' A tenant of a pig farm on a Duchy property in Cornwall sent his deepest sympathies and all happiness, 'which you fully deserve'.
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'May God bless you,' wrote an ex- serviceman, who had been in the tunnelling corps and the London Irish Rifles, 'and send you love, joy, happiness and prosperity always'. Though 'powerless to help you', said the author of a letter from Somerset, 'I will storm heaven with my prayers for your happiness . . .
Don't leave us.'
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'My mother, father, and I waited for the news,' wrote a family to the King from Trelewis in South Wales on 10 December, 'but when it did come through on the wireless, it gave us a terrible shock, it was like as if a bomb had dropped, and we are only three out of millions I am sure.' They found it difficult to accept the meaning of the news, saying that 'we sincerely hope that you will still reign as our King.'
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To the very end, and even afterwards, many of the general public had still not given up hope that abdication could and would be averted. Referring to the King's time in the war and his visit to South Wales just a few weeks before, a man in Kent begged him not to leave the throne: