Abdication A Novel - By Juliet Nicolson Page 0,122
powerful men had been able to convince the king to change his mind. And now the king’s intransigence over his intention to marry Mrs. Simpson had reached a crisis point. Indeed, Philip himself had an air of resignation about him.
“I will try and put you in the picture. Perhaps I should begin by saying that there are some things the British public will never accept and Queen Wallis, a twice-divorced American (with two former husbands still living!) is one of them. I fear it is already too late to make the king see reason, even if there had once been a time for that, which I doubt. He is obsessed with the woman and I suspect his mind was made up to marry her as much as a year ago. I doubt even Mrs. Simpson herself was aware of his decision at that stage. People think it is all her fault but I feel the opposite. In fact, she has not only told the king’s legal friend, and latterly my colleague, Walter Monckton, but also the prime minister, that she has been trying to call the whole thing off for several weeks. However the king is as stubborn about listening even to her as he is weak in what the American papers are calling ‘matters of the heart.’ And I am afraid Alex Hardinge’s plain speaking has cost him the king’s confidence. By advising the king that the newspapers will not hold their silence for much longer, a devoted private secretary has been sent into some sort of purdah.”
Philip paused. He wondered if he was saying too much.
“Some people can see the funny side of it all,” Philip continued in a lighter voice. “For example, the Duchess of Devonshire suggested at dinner the other night that a new post of ‘master of the mistress’ might be created for Mr. Simpson. More worryingly, Lady Colefax says she has it on firsthand authority that the king has threatened to slit his throat if Mrs. Simpson leaves him. Anyway, we have reached a stage where there are four options. Firstly the king gives Mrs. Simpson up, which does not look at all likely. Secondly, the king marries Mrs. Simpson and she becomes queen, an option ruled out by the Church on account of her two divorces. Then there is the suggestion that the Church and Parliament, and not forgetting the dominions, might accept Mrs. Simpson as the sovereign’s wife, but not as his crowned queen, as has been tried at various times throughout our history. Baldwin and the majority of the House, barring the old maverick Churchill of course; Oswald Mosley; and the king’s holiday companion, Duff Cooper, have already indicated they would not give their support to such a plan, although I fear the king continues to think this may indeed be a solution. And of course the final and most drastic choice would be for the king to renounce the throne.”
“Abdicate?” Julian asked, the word zipping into the air like a firework.
“Yes. It is true. There is the option of an abdication. But that would be a last resort,” Philip added hastily. “I don’t think it will come to that. There are so many arguments against it and the king is not unaware of them. For a start he knows the country loves him and would never forgive him if he abandoned them. And for another thing, it is uncertain where he would go. The king is not a man who would take easily to permanent exile.”
Philip was suddenly furious at the king’s wilful selfishness. “The whole thing is the most hell of a mess,” he snapped. “The man is behaving as if no one in the world matters except him.” Clearly exasperated, Philip went over to the whisky decanter and refilled his glass.
“Do me a favour and dine with me tonight?” he asked Julian. “I can find my own company both exhausting and lonely.”
May had remained in her bedroom, writing in her blue notebook. After half an hour Florence returned looking pale and very serious.
“Do you want to talk to me about the photograph?” May asked her.
Florence nodded.
“And do you want to talk to me about the paint?”
A second nod. As Florence sat down on the bed beside May a few feathers escaped from the silky quilt and floated up into the air.
“It’s a secret though,” Florence began, sounding anxious and looking at May in the face for the first time that day.