Battle Royal
By Kirsty McLeod
An excellent book, this details the lives of two young brothers but a year apart in age. One is garrulous and confident, the other shy and retiring. They both grew up to be kings of the United Kingdom.
Their father was George V, a man who was determined that his children would fear him, just as he had feared his own father; indeed, Prince Harry fainted in his father’s presence at the age of 17 one day, such was the fear he inspired. Their mother, Queen Mary, was all about duty, lacking in maternal instinct. David and Bertie were brought up by tutors, being summoned to their father’s study seemingly only for chastisement.
David learned to associate love with pain from his early days, since his babysitter would always pinch him or twist his arm when passing him to his mother in order to make it seem that he couldn’t bear to be separated from her. He would be passed to the babysitter who would then comfort him, making her appear as a prototype SuperNanny. Bertie didn’t experience this, but suffered from near-constant ill health and had developed a stammer, which was made worse by his father’s constant bellowing “Spit it out, boy!” His feelings of inadequacy were exacerbated by the fact that he was left handed, the mark of the devil, and he was forced to switch to his right, adding to the stress.
The book follows the lives of the two boys, watching how their love turned to enmity, all played out in public.
David was heir to the throne and was trained up from day one for this. However, he didn’t want to be king. The protocol and rigidity that characterised royal duty was totally alien to him. As he became older, he fell in love with someone he ought not to have: a married American who had already been divorced once.
Then his father passed away, and David got the job he never wanted to have: he was King-Emperor. His father prophesied that David would ruin himself within a year.
By this time, Bertie was married to Elizabeth, latterly the Queen Mother, who had done her best to support her confidence-bereft husband, including booking him speech-therapy classes which she attended alongside him. She, like Queen Mary, couldn’t stand Wallis Simpson, seeing her as a schemer out to ensnare the biggest prize in the land, the world’s most eligible bachelor.
David, now King Edward VIII, on the other hand was totally besotted, and determined to have her present at his coronation. This would have caused a huge constitutional uproar, since it would mean that the head of the Church of England would have a married woman (or woman with two living ex-husbands, depending on the timing) as his consort, even though this is not allowed under the rules of the church.
David’s position was clear: he would have to get rid of his partner, since it was unthinkable to imagine a king abdicating. He announced to his family and prime minister the exact opposite, reaffirming his volition to marry Simpson. He even proposed to marry her morganatically, whereby she would not have access to his titles, and their children would be commoners, but this was still not considered acceptable.
Push came to shove, and King George V’s death-bed premonition came true. 11 months after inheriting the throne, King Edward VIII abdicated.
The duty-bound, hypertense Bertie was the new king. Problems abounded: David was loved by the public, a bad word about him never having been published. Bertie, conversely, was known to be aloof, shy, and a poor speaker, and would be seen as a traitor who usurped his own brother. Nonetheless, duty called, and he reluctantly became King George VI. 
History shows that a sea-change occurred soon after. George VI earned the love and respect of his people, staying in residence during the height of the Nazis’ bombing of London. His brother curried no more favour, fraternising with the Nazis and living a life devoid of responsibility.
I found this book to be a wonderful read. The author is precise, and offers psychological explanations at interesting points. (Wallis always made David feel inadequate, which made him work harder to gain her love. Pain was intertwined for him, much as when his nurse would hurt him purely to be able to soothe him after.)
I’m a person who’s always felt that royalty are born lucky. The fact that TWO people in the same family would hate the thought of being king of the land is shocking to me, yet David, destined to fulfil the role from birth, not only always hated the thought of it, but actively became the only serving monarch to relinquish the title, filling Bertie with terror.
A really fun book that was a privilege to read and will no doubt be read again at some point.
Tags: Kirsty McLeod, Royalty