The Life of King Edward VII / with a sketch of the career of King George V

by J. Castell Hopkins

The Prince and His Family

The home life of the Prince and Princess of Wales was never an absolutely private one. It was lived in the light of an almost ceaseless publicity. Not that the actual house of the Royal couple was, or could ever be, unduly invaded; but that every visitor was a more or less interested spectator and student of conditions and that every trifling incident, as well as the more important matters, of every-day life were remembered, repeated, or recorded as they would never be in an ordinary household.

HOME LIFE OF THE ROYAL COUPLE

Memoirs of British statesmen, leaders in art, or literature, or religion, or the Army and the Navy, teem with references, during forty years, to the life of the Heir Apparent and his wife at Sandringham or Marlborough and, without exception, they convey the impression of honest domestic happiness and unity. Gossip during that long period there had been, of course; unpleasant inuendoes had been uttered in a small and unpleasant section of the press; peculiar and, for the most obvious reasons, impossible stories had been cabled from time to time across the Atlantic; but they were patiently borne by those who were the easy victims of silly statements and they were more than controverted by the tributes published from men who have lived on terms of intimacy with the Royal family and whose death lifted, occasionally, the seal of secrecy from their natural reserve and made the expression of their opinions and experiences possible.

The steady growth of the Prince and Princess in popular favour and the fact that even the most irresponsible or unscrupulous purveyor of news to such sheets as Mr. Labouchere's Truth had never dared to reflect upon the Princess of Wales' beauty of character and life sufficed long before the accession of His Royal Highness to the Throne to kill even the surreptitious stories which always float upon the surface of society regarding persons in Royal positions. In this connection may be quoted the interesting reference to the subject made by Mr. G. W. Smalley, the well-known American writer who for so many years acted as London correspondent of the New York Tribune. He was dealing, under date of January 17th, 1892, with the premature death of the young Duke of Clarence and, after referring to the freshness of affection which prevailed throughout the Royal family, he proceeded in these words: "It is known to be strong and pure in all three generations—indeed there are now four—which together make up the Royal family of England. * * * The domestic traditions were followed just as faithfully at Marlborough House as at Windsor. The Prince of Wales's has been not merely a good but a devoted family. The Princess, whose whole life has been beautiful is in nothing more beautiful than in her love for her children. She passed from the bedside of her second son whose life she helped to save—they say that Prince George never rallied till his mother returned to nurse him—to the bedside of her first-born by whose grave she has now to stand."

Sandringham Hall in Norfolk was the real home of the Royal couple and it was there that the children of their marriage spent much of their younger days and received much of the training which was to fit them for lives of more or less public duty and the responsibilities which go with public position. Marlborough House, in London, was the social centre, the official environment, the public residence, of the Prince and Princess of Wales. But the former place was always the one where they liked to be, where the heart of the Princess always rested with most interest and affection, where the enjoyment of the comforts of country and home life came with most force to the Prince and to his children. Around Sandringham the grounds and woods and park were not allowed to be spoiled by art—the latter was used in just such a degree as would help nature. The house, or palace, was concealed from view until the visitor was quite close to it and its home-like simplicity has always been a much-described quality. There was no elaboration of decoration, or straining after an appearance of stately luxury. Comfort seemed to be the aim and it was most certainly attained. The hall was designed somewhat after the style of the old-fashioned banquetting halls, the various rooms were arranged for convenience and comfort, the decorations were beautiful without being gorgeous, the objects of interest, ornament and curiosity in the drawing-rooms and elsewhere were, of course, simply countless.

Above the porch in front of the Hall was the quaint legend: "This house was built by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Alexandra his wife, in the year of our Lord 1870". The place was originally purchased for £220,000—saved from the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall by the Prince Consort's management—but further large sums had to be spent in order to make the mansion comfortable and the estate the model which it afterwards became. The former was practically rebuilt in 1870 but not until every cottage or farm-house on the property had been first rebuilt, or repaired. The house contained, particularly, the great hall or saloon decorated with trophies of the chase in all countries and with many caskets of gold and silver containing some of the addresses presented to the Prince from time to time; the dining-room with its high oak roof and great fire-place, walls covered with tapestry given the Prince by the late King of Spain and a side-board covered with racing and yachting prizes in gold and silver; the chief drawing room with hangings of dull gold silk, furniture brocaded in soft red and gold, large panel mirrors and quantities of exquisite Sévres and Dresden china; the conservatory where tea was often served; a great ball-room and handsome billiard and smoking rooms. The boudoir of the Princess has been described as a dream of grace and simple beauty and everything about the place was arranged with a view to combining comfort with charm of appearance. The hundred servants employed in or out of the house had everything that could make their lives pleasant and happy.

EDUCATION OF THE ROYAL FAMILY

Amidst these surroundings the sons and daughters of the Royal couple were brought up. Upon the education of the boys the Prince of Wales utilized his own knowledge of life as well as the traditions of his father's training of himself. He is said to have believed that the study of men and the ways of the world had not been sufficiently considered in his own case and that he wished his sons, while escaping the nervousness, constraints and adulation which surrounded the Court, should also avoid the sycophancy and flattery which might be expected in their cases at a public school—even of the highest. He therefore decided that a training ship in early youth and the fresh air, vigorous life and wholesome discipline of the Navy in immediately following years would be the best system of education. Prince Albert Victor and Prince George were, consequently, placed on board the Britannia training ship in 1870 and there they spent two years under conditions of study, work, training, mess, discipline and dress exactly similar to those of their shipmates. Their only dissipation was an occasional visit from their parents and the usual holiday period at home. During the two years spent on this ship they learned carpentering, the details of a ship's rigging and a certain amount of engineering.