Countdown to a Centenary: a prince who longed to be beside the seaside

In April 1926, the papers were filled with royal news as the countdown to the arrival of a new prince or princess entered its final stages. The Duke and Duchess of York, who would later become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, were expecting their first child. The much anticipated baby would be third in line to the throne but a life of obscurity, as a monarch’s cousin, appeared to await. History had other ideas. Royal Central looks back at the countdown to the birth of the baby who would grow up to be Queen Elizabeth II.

Moving tale

The Prince of Wales occupied many minds on April 8 1926. The new royal baby was still thought to be about a month off arriving and so attention turned to their most famous royal uncle. Edward, then 32 and the most famous heir to a throne in the world, had been unwell, suffering from the flu which had led to an ear infection that ended up requiring minor surgery. Now, the Sheffield Daily Telegraph reported, he had been told to get some sea air. The only problem was that he couldn’t find anywhere suitable to stay.

The issue, the paper said, was that ”no member of the Royal Family could lend him a seaside house.” It went on to list a number of properties and their problems, including Sandringham which ”has an inland climate” but came closer to the real issue when it noted that ”Carisbrooke Castle, the official home of Princess Beatrice, in the Isle of Wight, is nearer the sea than any other Royal residence but the Prince has no desire to stay there.” Edward already preferred the headier climes of the continent and a long weekend with Great Aunt Beatrice on the Isle of Wight couldn’t come close.

Football crazy

The routine of the year ground on and The Manchester Evening News was particularly interested in the upcoming FA Cup Final where Manchester City were set to take on Bolton Wanderers. Showing it had its priorities straight, its latest in depth report started with news of the pitch condition (”almost perfect”) before looking at the issue of ticket touts and what could be done to stop them ripping off fans desperate to see their team play.

At the very end of the report, and showing that some things never change, was a discreet line which read ” we are not yet in a position to say whether any member of the Royal Family will be there.”

In the end, King George V went along to the match on April 24 to cheer on both teams and present the Cup. The Manchester Evening News was less thrilled with the result – Bolton won 1-0.

A hint of history

All roads led to the royal baby in April 1926 and many papers, including The Scotsman, covered the news that King George V and Queen Mary had been to call on the expectant parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, at their new home at Bruton Street. The couple had moved there on April 6, straight after their Easter break. The house was the London home of the duchess’ parents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. However, the Lincolnshire Echo, suggested another reason for its choice.

Albert and Elizabeth had been living in a rented property since their marriage in 1923. The Duke of York was second in line to the throne but not expected to succeed as his older and very glamourous brother, Edward, Prince of Wales, was the most eligible bachelor around and destined to marry and provide a line of kings to follow him when he took the throne in time. And so the royal baby was good news but not really considered a future monarch. Enter The Echo.

In its London Gossip column, on April 8, it wrote that whispers were that Albert and Elizabeth had had to move. It reported that ”it is said that the idea that a possible Sovereign might be born in house temporarily rented was not liked in certain quarters.”

And so one of the first mentions of the baby as a Sovereign appeared, just days before their birth. In the end Albert did succeed to the throne when his brother, Edward, abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson. By then, the royal baby of 1926 was a ten year old princess who became heir to the throne and who, in 1952, ascended as Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning Monarch in British history.