The Love of King

CHAPTER 1
A Lonely Child
Prince Edward was born in 1894. His father, King George V, was a
tall, cold man who did not like children. ‘Why does Edward talk all
the time?’ he once said. ‘He’s a very noisy child!’
His mother, Queen Mary, agreed. ‘It doesn’t matter if Edward is
happy or unhappy,’ she said. ‘A child must be silent and strong.’
The family lived in Buckingham Palace, which had 600 rooms.
There were 8 kitchens, 19 bathrooms, 24 toilets, 11 dining rooms, 17
bedrooms and 21 sitting rooms.
Edward once told a story about the house:
Buckingham Palace was very big, and people sometimes got lost.
One night my mother, my father and I were sitting in the dining room.
We were waiting for our dinner. We waited and we waited, but the
food did not come. After twenty minutes, my father was very angry.
He stood up and went to the kitchen. ‘Where is the cook?’ he shouted,
‘and where is my food?’
‘But, Sir,’ the cook replied, ‘your dinner left the kitchen fifteen
minutes ago. Hasn’t it arrived yet?’
‘No, it hasn’t,’ my father shouted, ‘and I’m hungry.’
The King left the kitchen and began to look for the food. Ten
minutes later he saw a woman who was carrying three plates of meat
and potatoes. ‘What happened to you?’ my father said. ‘Why didn’t
you bring us our dinner?’
‘I’m sorry, Sir,’ the woman replied. ‘There are a lot of dining
rooms. I couldn’t remember where to go. But if you return to the table,
Sir, this time I can follow you to the right room.’
Edward did not go to school with other children. He stayed in
Buckingham Palace where he had a special classroom just for him.
This is how Edward described his lessons:
My teacher, Mr Hansell, was a thin man. He never smiled and his
nose was very red. We had lots of books but they were all very boring.
They were full of words and they didn’t have any pictures.
Sometimes I stopped reading and looked out of the window. Mr

Hansell got very angry. He took a stick and hit me on the arm. ‘Don’t
look out of the window, little boy,’ he shouted. ‘Look at the book.’ He
hit me many times and my arm was red.
Every Friday the teacher took me to my father’s room. ‘And what
has my son learnt this week, Mr Hansell?’ the King asked.
And the answer was always: ‘Not very much I’m afraid, Sir.
Edward doesn’t like his lessons. He never listens to what I say.’
When Mr Hansell left the room, my father was angry with me.
‘What’s wrong with you, child?’ he said. ‘Are you stupid? Why can’t
you learn anything?’
‘But the lessons are so boring, Sir,’ I replied. ‘And Mr Hansell hits
me.’
‘I don’t understand you, Edward. You’re a baby. You’re so weak.

You’ll never be a good King. A King must be strong. Go to your room
and stay there until the morning.’
‘I spent many days alone in my room,’ Edward wrote later. ‘I never
played with other children and I didn’t have any friends. I lived in the
most beautiful house in England but I was always lonely and sad. I
saw my mother once a day at dinnertime and I saw my father three or
four times a week, but they never gave me any love. I was afraid of
them and everything I did was wrong.’
CHAPTER TWO
The Prince of Wales
In the spring of 1911, King George called Edward into his room
and said:
‘Next month I’ll make you Prince of Wales and these are your
clothes for the ceremony.’
The King opened a small cupboard and Edward started to cry. ‘But
father,’ he said, ‘I’m sixteen years old now. I can’t wear soft shoes
and askirt. I’ll look like a girl. Why can’t I dress like other people?’
‘Because you’re different and special,’ his father replied, ‘and one
day you’ll be King.’
Edward cried for the next two days, but there was nothing he could
do.
And so, on 10th June 1911, the family drove to Caernarvon Castle
in North Wales and the ceremony began.
The King put a small gold crown on Edward’s head. There was
music and dancing and the crowd began to shout.
The new Prince of Wales closed his eyes. ‘I feel terrible,’ he said.
‘Can we go home now?’
‘Not yet,’ the King replied. ‘The people want to see you.’
Edward walked to the front of the castle and looked down at the
crowd. He was shaking and his face was red.
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“I can’t wear soft shoes and a skirt. I’ll look like a girl.”
‘Smile, Edward,’ the King said. ‘You are happy!’
A few hours later the family were driving back to Windsor.
‘Wasn’t that a lovely day!’ Queen Mary said.
Edward took off his shoes and looked out of the window. ‘Never
again,’ he thought. ‘Never again!’
CHAPTER THREE
The Royal Star
After a year at Oxford University, Edward went to fight in the First
World War. He wrote:
I lived in a house with twenty-five other soldiers. At night, we

talked about our lives and our families. It was very interesting.
I could speak freely to different people — rich and poor, young and
old. But I also saw the blood and noise of war.
One day in 1916, my driver took me to the town of Loos in

Belgium. I got out of the car and walked to the top of the hill. Down
below me there was heavy fighting and I felt very sad.
An hour later, I returned to my car. I’ll never forget what I saw. My
driver was dead. While I was away, somebody shot him in the neck.
When the war finished in 1918, Edward returned to Buckingham

Palace. One night he was talking to his father in the dining room.
‘I don’t understand why countries fight,’ the Prince said. ‘The war
has finished, but nothing has changed. There are still millions of poor
and hungry people. It’s not right. Somebody must do something!’
‘Well,’ King George replied, ‘you can’t change the world if you sit
by the fire. You must travel. Meet people. Talk to them. Listen to what
they say. And then, when you are King, you can make the world a
better place.’
And so, in 1920, Edward left England again. During the next five
years, he travelled 240,000 kilometres and visited 45 different
countries.
He saw India, Argentina, Nigeria, Mexico, New Zealand, Germany,

and Japan. When he came to Toronto, in Canada, there were 500,000
people in the streets to meet him. Everywhere thousands of people
waited to see him — there were crowds of 190,000 in Cape
Town, 300,000 in Paris, 500,000 in New York, and 750,000 in
Melbourne.
‘Edward is the first royal star,’ one newspaper wrote, ‘and he is
now the most famous man in the world. In the old day’s princes were
cold and bored. But Edward is different. He gets out of his car and
walks down the street. Every two or three minutes he stops and speaks
with the crowd. He laughs. He smiles. He shakes a thousand hands.
He is a man of the people with a heart of gold.’
“I saw the blood and noise of war.”

———

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CHAPTER 1

Edward once told a story about the house:

‘No, it hasn’t,’ my father shouted, ‘and I’m hungry.’

This is how Edward described his lessons:

Sometimes I stopped reading and looked out of the window. Mr

‘I don’t understand you, Edward. You’re a baby. You’re so weak.

‘Smile, Edward,’ the King said. ‘You are happy!’

I lived in a house with twenty-five other soldiers. At night, we

One day in 1916, my driver took me to the town of Loos in

When the war finished in 1918, Edward returned to Buckingham

He saw India, Argentina, Nigeria, Mexico, New Zealand, Germany,

“I saw the blood and noise of war.”

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