A Brief History of the House of Windsor (36 page)

It is important to remember that at no time in modern history has any parliamentary party dared to suggest the abolition of the monarchy. Those who actually take part in government, as opposed to those who protest in the streets, very often come to appreciate how useful an institution it is. For all the flirting with the question of the Crown’s future by home-grown pundits and foreign analysts of British society, none have suggested that the demise of monarchy is imminent, or even foreseeable. For all the hot air talked on television and in the newspapers, for all the periodic opinion polls that show dips in support, there has never been an attempt by any elected party to dethrone the sovereign. No politician or party would take the risk, it would be such a vote loser.

Those who expect to seize the opportunity of the present monarch’s eventual death to end the practice of hereditary rule have miscalculated. Her demise, whenever it happens, may well occur quite suddenly, and there will certainly not be time to dream up and put into practice an entire new constitutional system. The notion of ignoring Charles and crowning his eldest son the next king would cause endless legal dispute and William himself, who wishes to continue his career in the RAF for as long as possible, is unlikely to accept any such suggestion. The general attitude may then be one of waiting to see what sort of monarch Charles will be rather than wishing to throw him out untested. Critics have, however, not reckoned with the power of custom, the appeal of the familiar, the love of tradition and celebration, the vast wave of sentiment and gratitude that will follow the departure of Elizabeth II – and appreciation of the many things that the Prince of Wales has already done. King Charles III will come to the throne on a tide of inherited goodwill. And he will not be the last King of England.

While it would take a revolution to overthrow the monarchy, there has already been a quiet one within the institution itself. It has been going on for most of a century, gradual and often unnoticed. It has been carried out not by a mob at the Palace gates, but by those within. It has been so successful that it has calmed annoyance, disarmed criticism and survived detraction. It will continue, for the royal family will carry on learning the lessons of history and adapting to reflect the better instincts of the people over whom it rules.

abdication of Edward VIII
91
,
95–6
,
99
,
100–3
,
124
,
126
,
157
,
246

Aberystwyth, University of Wales
196

Admiralty Arch
230

Afghanistan
220
,
250

Africa
19
,
61
,
108
,
134
,
142
,
147
,
218

South
10
,
72
,
73
,
148
,
241

Air Ministry
115

air raids
139–40
,
159

Albania
57

Albany, Duke of
22
,
54

Albert Edward, Prince
see
Edward VII, King

Albert Memorial
21

Albert, Prince (Bertie - later George VI)
26
,
72
,
95–6
,
100

see also
George VI, King

Albert, Prince (of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha)
11
,
13–14
,
21
,
116
,
228–9

Albert, Prince, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
22

Albert Victor, Prince (Eddy)
30–3
,
34
,
36–8

Alexander II, Tsar
35

Alexander III, Tsar
39

Alexandra, Princess (later Queen)
34
,
38
,
39
,
42
,
152
,
249

Alfonso XIII, King of Spain
46

Alfred, Prince (son of Queen Victoria)
11

Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Princess
37

Allies, war time
19
,
21
,
35
,
53
,
54
,
57
,
61
,
130
,
132
,
133–4
,
141
,
143

alternatives to monarchy
263–7

Anderson, Eric
219

Andrew, Prince
170–1
,
178
,
182
,
184–5
,
194
,
195
,
199
,
204
,
250

Anne, Princess
163
,
171–2
,
174
,
175
,
180
,
190–1
,
195
,
197–8
,
204
,
209
,
235
,
249

anti-Royalists
239–43
,
245
,
252–4

architecture, Prince Charles and
207–9

Argentina
178

armed forces, British
10
,
50
,
140
,
215
,
220

see also
individual forces by name

Armistice (First World War)
58–9

Armstrong-Jones, Anthony
see
Snowdon, Lord

Army Air Corps
221

Army, British
36
,
83
,
198–9
,
220
,
221

Asquith, Lord
50
,
59

assassinations
10
,
46
,
48
,
174

Astor, Lady
89

Atlee, Clement
77

Australasia
153

Australia
5
,
10
,
44
,
72
,
73
,
86
,
87
,
121
,
134
,
149
,
194
,
211

Austria
48
,
49
,
56–7
,
130–1
,
133

Austria-Hungary
57
,
231
,
246

Auxiliary Territorial Service
140
,
159

Bacchante,
HMS
33

Badminton country house
139

Bagehot
89

Bahamas
104

Baldwin, Stanley
92
,
96
,
97
,
99
,
100

Balmoral Estate
101
,
123
,
139
,
154
,
161

Baring, Helen
119

Battenberg family
54

Bavaria
61

BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
4
,
67
,
105
,
159
,
167

Beatles, The
172

Beaton, Cecil
129

Beaverbrook, Lord
97
,
167

Beefeaters (Yeoman of the Guard)
92
,
231

Belgium
48
,
138
,
147

Belize
218

Belvedere, Fort
93
,
100

Benenden school
197

Bevin, Ernest
143

Bismarck, Otto von
34

Black and Tans
68–9

Blair, Tony
103

Blitz, the
139–40

Blunt, Anthony
171

Blunt, Dr Alfred, Bishop of Bradford
100

Boer War
43–4
,
148

Bognor Regis
74

Bolshevik revolutions
26
,
37
,
55
,
61

Bonaparte, Napoleon
58
,
64
,
231

Bourbon dynasty
37
,
231

Bowes-Lyon, Elizabeth
see
Elizabeth, Queen (Queen Mother)

Brabourne, Lord
173

Bradford, Dr Alfred Blunt, Bishop of
100

Brighton Pavilion
228

Britannia,
HMS
33

Britannia Royal Naval College
see
Dartmouth Royal Naval College

British Empire
128

Empire Exhibition (1924)
72–3

end of
144–5

George V’s tours
43–4

independence of Dominions
71–3

Indian independence
63–4
,
144

British Gazette
89

Bronington,
HMS
198

Bryson, Bill
250

Buchan, John
256

Buckingham Palace
19
,
41
,
58

balcony appearances
7
,
59
,
127–8
,
131
,
142
,
239

birth of Prince Charles
189

bombings
136
,
139
,
141

Changing of the Guard
78

Diamond Jubilee celebrations
239

Edward VII’s modifications to
230

George VI’s coronation
127–8

Girl Guides
156–7

Neville Chamberlain
131

opened to the public
185–6

Order of the British Empire honours (OBEs)
66

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding day
7

VE Day
142–3

Bulgaria
22
,
55
,
57
,
246

Burma
147

Butler, R. A.
109

Caernarfon castle
83
,
174
,
197

Cambridge, Catherine (Kate), Duchess of
5–6
,
27
,
28
,
218
,
220
,
222–3
,
235
,
251–2

Cambridge University
36
,
115
,
179–80
,
193
,
195–6
,
198
,
218

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
177
,
184
,
185
,
186
,
187
,
201
,
203
,
205

Campbell-Bannerman, Henry
47

Canada
5
,
10
,
44
,
72
,
73
,
85–6
,
121–2
,
132
,
133
,
134
,
138–9
,
149
,
153
,
163
,
194

Cape Matapan, Battle of (1942)
178

Carl Eduard, Prince (Duke of Albany)
54

Carl of Denmark, Prince
see
Haakon VII, King of Norway

Caribbean tour, Prince Harry’s
224

Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia
225

Ceausescu, Nicolae
211

Ceylon
147
,
149

Chamberlain, Neville
131–2
,
133
,
134

Chancellors, university
249–50

Changing of the Guard
78

Chapel Royal, Windsor
39

charities
8
,
9–10
,
89
,
209–10
,
214

Charles, Prince
176
,
181
,
182
,
186
,
211–12
,
213–14
,
236
,
248–9
,
250
,
258

agricultural interests
207

architecture
207–9

Australia
194
,
211

books by
206

British Army
197–8

Cambridge University
195–6
,
197

and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
177
,
184
,
185
,
186
,
187
,
201
,
203
,
205

charities
209–10

childhood
149
,
162
,
171
,
173
,
190–4

conservation projects
211

education
191–6

girlfriends
200–2

hobbies and sports
198
,
206

homeopathy
207

Investiture of Prince of Wales
174
,
196
,
245

and Lord Mountbatten
199–200

and Prince William
223

and Princess Diana
176–7
,
184
,
186
,
202–5

Royal Air Force
197

Royal Navy
197
,
199

University of Wales, Aberystwyth
196
,
197

Cheam school
191–2

Chelsea Barracks
208

Children’s Hour
159

Children’s Newspaper
155

Christmas speeches
67
,
125
,
137
,
169–70

Churchill, Winston
61–2
,
69
,
89
,
99
,
106
,
134–6
,
137–8
,
140
,
141
,
143
,
144–5

Civil List
62
,
67
,
122

Clarence, Duke of
83

Clarence House
162
,
197

Clark, Kenneth
109

Coburg
13

College of Arms
18
,
23

Collingwood,
HMS
113
,
114

Colville, Commander
172

Commonwealth
5
,
73–4
,
99
,
147
,
241

corgis
156

Cornwall, Duchess of
see
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall