King George V
Part Two, Chapter Fourteen: A Clean Slate
The King’s confidence had been greatly boosted by his audience with Lord Lyndhurst, yet he was still reluctant to use his reserve powers to dismiss his Prime Minister. Whilst clearly Cottenham was not suited to the position and the country’s domestic situation was declining by the day, it was the Whig majority in the Lords which made him hesitate. His first instinct was to ask Sir James Graham to form a government. It would mean indicating a political preference and as Lord Lyndhurst had warned, the subsequent general election might yet return the Whigs; in which case, the King would find himself plunged into a constitutional crisis of his own making. But it was very unlikely that the Tories could form a government even if the King went with his first choice. That meant that dismissing Cottenham would see yet another Whig installed as Prime Minister with no obligation to call a general election for years to come. There was only one thing to do; to lay his case before Lord Cottenham, raise his concerns and make clear just far he was prepared to go.
Lord Cottenham eventually found his way to Buckingham Palace 8 days after first being summoned for an urgent audience with the King following the Great Thames Flood. When he finally arrived, the King was shocked at the state of the man. Cottenham looked totally drained, he was sweating profusely, and his hands seemed to be shaking. The Prime Minister was clearly not a well man. Yet this did not dampen George’s frustration with Cottenham. Though he respected the Prime Minister for his many years of service to the country, he could not allow himself to lose focus and fail (as he had with Lord Melbourne) to be assertive. As the two men stood (this time, George did not invite Cottenham to sit in his presence, neither did he offer him any refreshments after his long journey), the King began by expressing how disappointed he was that it had taken so long for the Prime Minister to return to London. There was, the King explained, a very important situation developing which he felt quite entitled to raise with the Prime Minister as urgently as possible, and he had been denied that chance by Cottenham’s refusal to leave his country estate in Surrey sooner.
“I quite understand Your Majesty”, the Prime Minister began, “But indeed, it was that situation which delayed me. I did not wish to come before you Sir without being in full possession of the facts, otherwise I should be neglecting my duty to keep Your Majesty fully informed”
George was keen to move on. He knew Cottenham was easily side-tracked.
“Of course, Sir”, Cottenham continued, “We did not foresee this situation because we were perhaps not better informed by Your Majesty’s Private Secretary. As it is, I cannot speak for all members of my Cabinet because some have not returned to London, but those I have conversed with did express some regret that the Russian matter had not been put before us sooner”
“The Russian matter?”, George was puzzled, “What do you mean by that?”
“Why, the marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte Louise to the Tsarevich of Russia Sir. As I say, we had no idea until a few days ago that the situation had got this far and so I had to seek the advice of the Cabinet before I could come to the Palace to discuss the matter with Your Majesty”
George was thrown totally off course.
“Prime Minister, that is not the situation I was discussing, I asked you here because I- “
But Cottenham wasn’t listening.
“The fact is Sir that I’m afraid to say many of my cabinet colleagues have concerns, and I share those anxieties to a certain degree, which is why I took advice before I came here today. Though naturally I apologise for that delay Your Majesty, I do believe we should get to that matter before any other business”.
What on earth was happening? The King had summoned Cottenham with the intention of dismissing him. Or at least to advise him to go to the country in a general election. Yet here was Cottenham discussing a marriage proposal which had not yet come but which apparently had already been discussed in Cabinet. The King had no choice but to address the matter, but he was determined not to lose sight of his original goal. He gave in and motioned to Cottenham to sit down. The old man practically fell into a chair clutching his papers to his chest as if to protect himself from an onslaught. Affixing a pair of pince-nez, Cottenham looked down at the papers and without making eye contact with the King, began to deliver the Cabinet’s verdict on the possibility of a Russian match for the King’s sister. The Prime Minister was perhaps not as addled as he seemed.
Lord Cottenham.
Cottenham had been made aware that the King was furious that the Prime Minister had left London for Crowhurst on the day of the Great Thames Flood. He was even more irritated that it had taken so long for the Prime Minister to return to Buckingham Palace. Fortunately, the Marquess of Normanby had passed on a little tittle-tattle which Cottenham believed might buy him a little time with His Majesty – at the very least, it would wrong foot him. Normanby had dined at Stafford House the previous evening as a guest of the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland. During the course of the evening, the Duke asked Normanby what he made of the King’s sister marrying the Russian Tsarevich. The Duchess tried to change the subject, but Normanby wanted details and continued to press for them. The Duke continued on oblivious to his wife's signals to change course; “They say he’s going to propose to her at Brighton in February. Surely the government has been consulted? Russians at the Palace indeed. I couldn't stomach it, I don't know many who could".
But the government had not been consulted and for very good reason; the 1772 act of parliament which concerned Royal Marriages clearly stated that only the reigning monarch could give or withhold consent for marriages within the Royal Family. The Prime Minister’s opinion was often asked as a courtesy but there was no legal requirement for the government to approve of a marriage. Besides which, the King only had his sister’s word that the Tsarevich intended to propose, and he felt that until a formal offer was made, there was simply no point in raising the matter with Lord Cottenham. Not that he could have, by the time the King had been informed by Princess Charlotte Louise that she believed Sasha was about to pop the question the Prime Minister was on his way to Surrey. George fought hard not to be distracted but now the issue had been raised, he had no choice but to address it.
“The concerns of the cabinet fall into three distinct categories Your Majesty”, Cottenham continued, offering up a few papers to the King, still without making eye contact, “For brevity, I would suggest they run as follows: the political, the social and the constitutional”
George sat down and lit a cigarette. He put the papers Cottenham had given him onto the table in between them. “Why don’t we begin with the constitutional, Prime Minister?”, he said tersely.
“Very good Your Majesty”, Cottenham said, finally looking up from his documents at the King, “It is a question of the succession you see. At the present juncture, Her Royal Highness is second in line to the throne after the Princess Royal. Naturally she will become third in line when Her Majesty is delivered of her second child”
“Our. Child”, the King corrected. He could feel his shoulders tightening.
“As you say Sir”, Cottenham said, ignorant to the offence he had caused, “Now of course, the Cabinet wishes nothing but health and happiness to You and your children, but we must be practical. If the last 20 years has taught us anything it is that the unexpected can often occur. Your Majesty’s late father was known as the
Unexpected King for that very reason. We must ask ourselves what might happen if the Princess Charlotte Louise found herself first in line once more and what the consequences of that may be if Your Majesty were to predecease her. You see Sir, if Her Royal Highness marries the Tsarevich and then were to be called upon to serve as Queen, the Crowns of Britain and Russia would be pushed into a personal union and that could never be acceptable, neither to the government nor to the British people”
The King tried his best to remain calm but, in his mind, he was screaming. Cottenham was now proposing worst case scenarios to try and derail their meeting which was only scheduled to last for another 20 minutes. Whilst the King had considered the constitutional issues that may arise from his sister’s potential marriage with the Russian Tsarevich, it could hardly be regarded as an urgent priority. The Prime Minister continued on, almost becoming obvious in his attempts to run down the clock.
The King's Rooms (Study and Sitting Room) at Buckingham Palace, photographed in 1882.
“The Cabinet believes that there must be a clear guarantee that a personal union between the two crowns be avoided in the future and you can hardly blame them Your Majesty, after all, Russia can hardly be classed an ally to this country though naturally we have fought on the same side in the recent past”
“And how do you propose to prevent that 'personal union' Prime Minister?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple Sir”, Cottenham smiled, “The solution came to me this morning. With Your Majesty's permission, I should like to introduce an amendment to the Act of Settlement of 1701. As it stands, no member of the Royal Family may renounce their rights of succession to the throne and therefore parliament is bound to accept any marriage, however politically unsuitable, if the Sovereign grants His consent. But I must offer the Cabinet reassurance that that the Princess could not serve simultaneously as Queen of England and as Empress of Russia*, nor could her future children claim succession rights in this country. And I believe introducing a mechanism which allows Her Royal Highness to renounce her succession rights would provide that reassurance"
The King snapped to his feet, motioning to Cottenham to stay seated. The Act of Settlement? Succession Rights? Politically unsuitable marriages? Who on earth did the Prime Minister think he was? George walked over to the window, gripping the wooden sill hard to steady himself.
“The political then”, he said through gritted teeth.
“I beg Your Majesty’s pardon?”
“What are the
political objections?”
“Oh, I see Sir”, Cottenham began to ramble again, “Well no doubt Your Majesty is aware of the rivalry we have with the Russians, especially in the light of the situation in Afghanistan. Indeed, that is why we have called for the conference in Brighton next year. This Great Game must be brought to a swift conclusion. But if the Princess intends to marry the Tsarevich, the Russians may feel they are at an advantage, and it won’t end there Sir. Has Your Majesty considered what might happen if the Princess married the Russian crown prince and then a state of war was to exist in the future between our two countries? The Princess Charlotte Louise would find herself categorised as an enemy of this nation Sir. And what if the Russians chose to invade…oh let’s say…France or Prussia? Will the connections between the royal houses demand Britain ally herself to the Russian cause? It doesn’t bear thinking about Your Majesty, the situation would be untenable, the people would not accept it. And neither would the government. Your Majesty must know the Russians remain a most untrusted people in the eyes of your subjects, the people feel a great sense of affection for the Princess, they may be prone to anti-monarchist demonstrations if such a marriage were to go ahead. And they may even- “
“How can they demonstrate Prime Minister, when there will be very few of them left if this situation continues?”
The King had reached his breaking point. He fixed Cottenham with a wide-eyed stare. His face was blushing red.
“I don’t follow Your Majesty”
“You don’t follow? Good God man, are you totally blind to what is all around you? In the last week alone, 6,000 have died of starvation. Half the city is filled with the homeless begging for a crust, they have nowhere to sleep, they have no work, even the churches have been forced to close their doors for they haven’t the room to take them all. And you come here to warn
me about the public mood?”
There was a period of silence. Cottenham looked down bashfully at his papers.
“Where were you Prime Minister?”, George barked, “I asked to see you a week ago, that was not an invitation, that was a command from your Sovereign. A command which you chose to ignore”
“I did not ignore it Sir...I was indisposed”
“Indisposed, was it? Well, I was not indisposed”, George replied, rounding on Cottenham, “I was here, at my desk, trying to make some sense of your endless memorandums which are suspiciously lacking any mention of food shortages, riots or unemployment. I suppose you have seen today’s morning news? An army of 10,000 Chartists rising up in Wales. 22 dead, 234 arrested. The price of a 4lb loaf is now sixpence. Sixpence!”
Cottenham began to rise awkwardly to his feet; “I had no idea Your Majesty was so well informed”, he said. He sounded as if he were on the verge of tears.
“Prime Minister, you do not have my leave to go”, the King warned, “Resume your seat Sir. I am yet to finish”
Cottenham was stunned. In all his years in the service of the Crown, he had never been admonished by the Sovereign before. He knew the jig was up. In his few days away at Crowhurst in the privacy of his study, he had drafted a letter of resignation to the King. He simply could no go on. The stress of the office was taking its toll on his health and now it had been made clear to him that he had no control left over government policy. When he did propose a solution to the food crisis, the Chief Whip informed him that the policy had already been decided. Stanley’s agreement with Lord John Russell had kept the backbenches on Cottenham’s side and had seen him through a vote of no confidence - the Whigs must now apply Lord John's solution to the food shortage. Not only that but Stanley had given a list to the Prime Minister of names which must feature in a reshuffle that had to take place no later than just after the Christmas recess. Cottenham couldn’t even choose his own ministers anymore.
“Please Your Majesty”, he held up a hand, signalling defeat, “I beg for your patience. I apologise for my tardiness, but I confess, I left Downing Street to evaluate my position. I fully intended to come here today and offer you my resignation but I…I am too ashamed Sir”
George felt his anger dissipate a little. Here was a man in his mid-60s who had spent his whole life in the cut and thrust world of politics. Now he was broken and exhausted. The King walked over to a table and poured the Prime Minister a brandy. Passing it to Cottenham, George resumed his seat opposite.
“Ashamed indeed. I disagree with your approach to this mess but what is there to be ashamed of?”, he said, as the Prime Minister reached for a handkerchief to dab his moist eyes.
"I shall be the shortest serving Prime Minister in this Kingdom's history Sir", Cottenham wobbled, "My name shall forever be synonymous with failure"
“Oh poppycock", the King said kindly, "There is no shame in doing the honourable thing. And as for failure, it's those who come after us who determine that. They very well might brand me a failure. But we can't sit still to protect a legacy. My uncle spoke very highly of you, you have served the Crown and the country to the very best of your ability. But we must all accept the limitations of our service. I too will confess when you arrived here today it was my intention to dismiss you. But now I see that would have been an insult to your character. I do not wish to belittle you or make you feel shame. But I have a responsibility to see that my government is acting on the urgent needs of the people. I must put them first”
Finally, the two men had reached an agreement, though they did not yet speak the terms out loud. Cottenham did not wish to continue in office. The King had expressed, in a kind and gentle way, that he felt he no longer had confidence in the government. What might have been a constitutional crisis was now reduced to the King and the Prime Minister sat quietly together at Buckingham Palace, brandy in hand, all options on the table but one; Cottenham could no longer stay as Prime Minister. He drained his glass. For a moment or two, the only sounds to be heard were the gentle ticking of the mantle clock and the crackle of logs in the grate of the fireplace. Cottenham cleared his throat.
“Your Majesty”, he said, “I should like to ask you…to advise…I should like...to request that Your Majesty dissolves parliament before the Christmas recess with a view for a general election to be held no later than March. And I should humbly ask Your Majesty to allow me to continue to serve as your Prime Minister until the result of that general election is known. Regardless of the outcome, I offer my word of honour to Your Majesty that I shall resign as soon as the public have indicated their preference”.
The King nodded his agreement; “I think that is a fine approach Prime Minister”, he said kindly, “A very fine approach indeed. And at the risk of embarrassing you, I do not believe it could have been done with more dignity”. Cottenham buffered himself against the arm of the settee and hauled himself out of his seat. His eyes were moist again, bloodshot and watery. His voice trembled a little. In his memoirs, Cottenham did not reveal what had passed between them that day but when he spoke of George V, it was with nothing but admiration; "His Majesty was then a young man, new to Kingship. But I saw in him all the fine qualities that have since come to define him and I say without fear of contradiction that there can be no minister of the Crown who has not benefitted from his counsel, or been supported by his generosity of spirit".
“It has been a great honour to serve you Sir”, Cottenham said as he bundled his papers away into a red leather pouch, “A very great honour indeed. I shall make all the necessary arrangements of course, and if Your Majesty allows, I should like to return next week to discuss the situation on food shortages”. The King nodded and gave a generous smile to his Prime Minister as he began to bow his way out of the room. George lit a second cigarette and made his way to his desk.
“Oh”, Cottenham said loudly as he reached the door of the King’s Study, “There is just one more thing Your Majesty...”
“Yes, Prime Minister?”
“Tobacco is a most disgusting material Sir; it's use is impolite to others and injurious to the health”
And with that, Lord Cottenham left the room.
The political situation was far from settled, but the King’s audience that day marked some hope that the Winter of Discontent might soon give way to a Spring of Hope. Feeling confident that he had “done his duty”, George decided that he had one more issue to settle before leaving early for Windsor to spend his last Christmas with his daughter Missy before she left for Germany. There could be no better time to put all outstanding business to rest and whilst he had demanded an audience with Lord Cottenham and been kept waiting, it was the King who had been delaying the request for a meeting sought by the Duke of Sussex who was now back in London.
Sussex House.
But instead of bringing the Duke to the Palace, the King decided he would go and visit his uncle instead. He had learned the art of the ambush. The Duke of Sussex lived at the appropriately named Sussex House in Hammersmith, a modest manor which had not been spared damage in the Great Thames Flood. As a result, the Duke had taken up temporary residence in Belgravia in a townhouse loaned to him by the Earl of Caithness who had already left London for his Scottish estate at the Castle of Mey. Accompanied by Charlie Phipps, the King arrived at the fashionable three storey house in Ebury Street and was greeted by a butler who asked for his name and his reason for calling to see His Royal Highness. The poor old man almost dropped to the floor when the reply came; “I am George and I have come to see my Uncle Sussex. Is he at home?”.
The butler led the King into the Morning Room of the house and rushed to the library to fetch the Duke. As he began to dash up the stairs, the Duchess of Inverness caught sight of the hurry and curious as to what was happening, wandered into the Morning Room. She came face to face with the King. She had not been in the royal presence before. She curtseyed low as George approached. He shook her hand.
“Duchess, I must extend my apologies to you for arriving unannounced. I hope my visit is not inconvenient”
“Your Majesty is most welcome”, Cecilia replied. The King could not help but be impressed by how stoic she was. She quickly excused herself on the pretext of finding the Duke who appeared a few moments later in his smoking jacket and cap.
“Good morning Uncle”, the King said tersely, “I hope you are as glad to see me as your wife appeared to be”
“Of course, of course”, the Duke said, flustered and nervous, “Might I fetch you something? Tea perhaps? Or a little sherry?”
“No no”, the King said, helping himself to a chair and motioning that his uncle should do the same, “I shall not be here for very long. I came to make my position clear and I hope you will appreciate that I do not represent others in our family for I am sure their opinion is quite different from mine. Though we are all agreed that your little excursion in Saxony was a damned foolish thing and quite beneath you”
The Duke of Sussex said nothing. He was deeply embarrassed. It was only during his return journey from Hanover that he had been able to contemplate the recklessness of his actions. By marrying Cecilia again and by accepting a foreign title for her in an attempt to boost her reputation in England, he feared he had gone too far and risked being alienated from his family (and from court) forever.
“There are people in this country, very senior people, who seem to believe they have the right to determine the direction of the personal affairs of my family”, the King continued, “And I intend to disavow them of that belief. You know only too well that the only person who can give consent for a marriage of the member of the Royal Family is the Sovereign. Consent which was denied to you because you did not feel that requirement applied to you”
“It was not- “
“I am speaking Uncle”, the Duke of Sussex sat down and said nothing. He did not dare. He had not seen the King for some time, but he was much changed. Not only was he taller with a small moustache on his upper lip, but he was altered in his personality too. He was somehow…bolder. He did not speak as a child seeking approval or praise, rather he almost reminded Sussex of the Duke of Clarence in the way he spoke with an authority that seemed to run through him like rings in a tree. This was not Georgie, the boy King longing for his mother’s love or pulling his sister’s hair. Neither was it the adolescent King tearing about Windsor Great Park with his friends’ playing soldiers. This was King George. Young perhaps, but clearly in far better command of his place in the world and what that meant.
“I shall make this offer to you only once”, the King said brusquely, “So I suggest you do not interrupt me for I may change my mind. I am prepared to recognise your marriage. I am also prepared to invite your wife to my court on the occasions I deem her presence to be appropriate. I cannot promise she will be received kindly by others but that is not my concern. I only wish to do what I believe to be right. In recognising your marriage, your wife shall become a member of our family and I intend that she should not be insulted in any way. For that reason, I am content that she should share your title. I will also make arrangements for you both to be given a property at Windsor for your use as a private residence. However…”
The Duke sat up in his chair. The very thing he’d wanted was right there for the taking.
“You will never again hold an appointment in my name”, the King said bluntly, “You will agree not to make any future appearances in the House of Lords and you will retire all patronages and posts you currently hold. You are
retired Sir. And you will live out your retirement quietly, causing no further scandal or outrage, with your wife and my blessing to do so. Do not ask me for any more than that for if you do, I shall change my mind the moment I leave this house. Now…are those terms acceptable to you?”
Cecilia Underwood.
The Duke of Sussex was so stunned that he could not argue with the King’s conditions. Whilst he had hoped a role might be found for him upon his return to England, he accepted that his recent behaviour could hardly put him in the running for anything of consequence. And retirement might not be so bad. He was fast approaching 67 years old. He was in good health (not having inherited the Hanover gene for excess where his diet was concerned) and he might yet live another 20 years. He had served his country well, he believed, despite his notorious relationships with those deemed “unsuitable” by his family. If the price of happiness was a forced retirement? So be it. He nodded his agreement and moved forward, taking the King’s hand and kissing it softly.
“I…I hardly know how to thank you Georgie”
“Don’t thank me”, George said sarcastically, “I should worry more as to how you’ll outrun Aunt Mary. Once she has skinned me alive,
you shall be her next victim”
And with that, Charlie Phipps draped the King’s fur stole around his neck and the two departed leaving the Duke of Sussex to sink into his chair, totally startled by what had just transpired. Phipps remarked; “That was a noble thing Sir”. But the King did not reply. He believed he may yet live to regret his decision and in truth, as with Lord Cottenham, he had changed his mind only when confronted with the situation. Initially he had intended to offer absolutely no concession to his uncle, to throw him on the scrap heap, cut his allowance and banish him from court.
But there had been enough misery of late. George wanted to head in 1840 with a clean slate and the opportunity of a fresh start. But more than that, he wished to spend Christmas with his wife and daughter at Windsor free from the trials and tribulations of political chaos and family dramas. The new decade ahead looked uncertain, but George had begun to feel secure in his position for the very first time. He finally felt like a King.
Notes
*Yes, she would be Queen of the United Kingdom etc etc and Empress consort of Russia but at this time, most still referred to the monarch as being King or Queen of England. Queen Victoria in the OTL always referred to herself as such until she became Empress of India when suddenly she quite liked reminding people of all the territories she reigned over. But for the most part, in her diaries she refers to herself as Queen of England. Politicians of the day did likewise in every day speech though the proper form would of course have been used in parliament etc. So whilst it's not correct, it is the accurate vernacular of the time.
And finally 1839 comes to an end! I know at times it must have felt like we were stuck in treacle not moving forward so thank you for sticking with TTL! As I said before, I wanted to ensure that the first year of the King's reign as an adult was packed with detail so that later on we can see just how far he progresses (or not as the case may be).
The only other note I have here is regarding the King's decision to finally draw an end to the Sussex nonsense. For those not up to speed with it, the Duke of Sussex first married Cecilia Underwood in 1831. Technically, there was absolutely no reason as to why she wasn't suitable. Kings and Princes had been marrying commoners for centuries (Elizabeth Woodville and four of Henry VIII's wives...) but the Hanoverians considered themselves a cut above previous dynasties and preferred inter-marriages among the (usually German) royal houses.
Underwood wasn't exactly "common" though. She was the daughter of the Earl of Arran and her siblings and half-siblings had pretty much all married into the British aristocracy. She wasn't a Roman Catholic, nor was she a divorcee (she was a widower). The only reason the Duke of Sussex's marriage to her became controversial was because he married her without the permission he needed under the Royal Marriages Act of 1772. He just assumed that as his first marriage (again, contracted without permission) would be declared legally void then so too would his second.
In our TL, Underwood was made Duchess of Inverness in her own right. The same happened in 1840 in the OTL. Queen Victoria was actually quite generous in allowing her aunt (sort of) to accompany the Duke of Sussex to court on a regular basis which had never been allowed before and only then because Sussex was her favourite uncle. She did consider taking the same action our George V has here but Prince Albert advised her against it. He believed that it would set a dangerous precedent and that it would also upset too many older members of the family. By 1843, Sussex was dead and the matter had resolved itself.
The situation is slightly different here for obvious reasons; George is trying to assert himself as King and as head of the family. In this chapter, he takes the opportunity to do both.