This evening, after dinner we are leaving, & tomorrow morning we start the last week of our trip. I must say that I don’t think that I could bear very much more, as there comes a moment when one’s resistance nearly goes. I am dripping at this moment so I hope that the paper won’t get soaked!
We had two burning, boiling, sweltering, humid furnace-like days in Washington, and as we were busy from early morning till late, you can imagine what we felt like at the end of it! But everybody was so kind & welcoming, & one feels really at home here. Of course speaking the same language is a great link!
This morning we went to Church at the village Church, & the service is exactly the same as ours. It seemed so nice somehow, & homely.
I really haven’t got very much time for writing, but wanted to send you a word from the U.S.
Goodbye my darling, see you very soon,
Your very very loving Mummy
On 22 June the King and Queen arrived back in London to be greeted by huge crowds of people singing ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and ‘God Save the King’ outside Buckingham Palace.
28 June 1939 to Lady Tweedsmuir
Buckingham Palace
My dear Lady Tweedsmuir*
After eight weeks I am at last able to make use of a stationary writing-table!, and one of my first letters must be to you, who I have so much to thank for. Your great kindness, and hospitality, & thought for our comfort at Ottawa will never be forgotten by either the King or by myself, and our gratitude indeed comes from our hearts.
It is really disgraceful how much the comforts of life allure one, and I found myself sometimes thinking longingly of that lovely bedroom & delicious bathroom, when we were travelling in the train, & more particularly at The White House, where my bathroom was about 90 degrees of heat!
It was so delightful staying with Lord Tweedsmuir and yourself, you made us feel so much at home, and we felt truly sad when we left you that Sunday at Ottawa.
Please accept our very deep gratitude for all you did for us, our stay with you was perfect in every way, and I only hope that you were not absolutely dead after that violent three days of functions & being hostess.
The books in the train were a great joy – I read a very good short Canadian history and all Mr James’s Ghost Stories all over again!
I cannot begin to tell you what our feelings and memories are of the tour. Our chief emotion is one of deep thankfulness that it was such a success, for more & more one feels that a united Empire is the only hope for this troubled world of today. Sometimes I wonder whether we are not already fighting a war. A war of love & right thinking against the forces of evil. It was a curious sensation (and one that we had dreaded) of getting back over here to that horrible feeling of tension, rumour, and acute anxiety that had sapped our vitality for so many months before our departure for Canada. We find everybody very calm, very determined, and beginning to lose patience with the Nazi leaders, who seem determined to put a wrong construction on whatever any of our leading politicians say, and are still, I fear, certain that England will not fight. We must continue to pray that some means of preserving Peace will be found, and that Germany will realize that aggression & cruelty lead to destruction. We feel strengthened and encouraged by our trip, and filled with love and pride in Canada & her grand people.
With again my very sincere thanks for all your kindness, and with many kind messages to Lord Tweedsmuir,
I am,
Yours very sincerely
Elizabeth R
PS In Newfoundland I saw a most delightful photograph of Lord Tweedsmuir in an Indian headdress. Might I ask for a copy if you have one? It would give me great pleasure. ER
31 August 1939 to Queen Mary
Buckingham Palace
Darling Mama
I arrived here on Tuesday, and found Bertie very calm and cheerful despite the great anxiety that he is going through. It is indeed terrible that the world should be faced with a war, just because of the wickedness and sheer stupidity of the Nazis. One can only go on hoping & praying, that a solution will be found.
I am thinking of you so much at Sandringham, and so wish that I could come down and see you, but I do not like to leave at this critical moment. It is so wearing to be alone, and I do feel for you with all my heart.
This house is in a most extraordinary state! The garden entrance is being painted, also the Regency room & the Bow Room, and the walls outside our rooms are a network of planks and scaffolding preparatory to cleaning the stone, also the garden front is having various stones replaced – so you can imagine that the whole effect is one of complete upheaval.
The children we are leaving at Balmoral, & if war comes, they will go to Birkhall, anyway for the moment. It is awful to think of being parted, but one must see what happens before risking their coming south.
If David comes back here (I suppose he must if there is a war), what are we going to do about Mrs S? Personally I do not wish to receive her at all, tho’ it must depend on circumstances, what do you feel about it Mama? I am afraid that if they do return, they will wriggle their way into things – tho’ not come to court functions of course. It is a very difficult position, & a great nuisance, with many pitfalls. Lord Halifax* has just been to see Bertie, & remained to tea. What a wonderful man he is – such nobility of character & firmness of purpose – he is indeed a great man.
With all my love darling Mama, & we must have faith that good will prevail,
Your devoted Elizabeth
The Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on the morning of 3 September; his speech was broadcast by the BBC. The next day, the Queen wrote a four-page note describing her feelings.
Diary: 4 September 1939
I wish to try and set down on paper some of the impressions that remain from that ghastly day Sunday September 3rd 1939. And yet when one tries to find words, how impossible, & how inadequate they are to convey even an idea of the torture of mind that we went through.
Having tried by every means in our power to turn Hitler from his purpose of wantonly attacking the Poles, and having warned him of the consequences if he did so, and having been practically ignored by the Nazis, we knew on the night of Sept 2nd, that our request for a withdrawal of German troops from Poland would be refused, so that we went to bed with sad hearts.
I woke early the next morning – at about 5.30. I said to myself – we have only a few hours of Peace left, and from then until 11 o’clock, every moment was an agony.
My last cup of tea in peace! My last bath at leisure; and all the time one’s mind working on many thoughts. Chiefly of the people of this country – their courage, their sense of humour, their sense of right and wrong – how will they come through the wicked things that war lets loose. One thing is, that they are at their best when things are bad, and the spirit is wonderful.
At 10.30 I went to the King’s sitting room, and we sat quietly talking until at 11.15 the Prime Minister broadcast his message from Downing Street, that as the Germans had ignored our communications, we were at war. He spoke so quietly, so sincerely, & was evidently deeply moved & unhappy.
I could not help tears running down my face, but we both realised that it was inevitable, if there was to be any freedom left in our world, that we must face the cruel Nazi creed, & rid ourselves of the continual nightmare of force & material standards. Hitler knew quite surely that when he invaded Poland, he started a terrible war. What kind of mentality could he have?
As we were thinking these things, suddenly from outside the window came the ghastly, horrible wailing of the air raid siren. The King and I looked at each other, and said ‘It can’t be’, but there it was, and with beating hearts we went down to our shelter in the basement. We felt stunned & horrified, and sat waiting for the bombs to fall.
After half an hour the All Clear went, & we returned to our rooms, & then had a prayer in the ‘44* room. We prayed with all our hearts that Peace would come soon – real peace, not a Nazi peace.
One of the Queen’s pr
incipal concerns was for her children. She wrote to her sister Rose (Lady Granville) asking her to look after her two daughters should anything happen to her and the King. The letter has not been found, but in her reply of 6 September Rose wrote, ‘I want to promise you straight away that in the event of anything happening to both you & the King, I would give up everything to try & make the two darlings happy, & try my very best to smooth their lives. I do realise that what I am promising is not an easy thing! – but I will keep your letter, as it would be a help if it ever came to an argument for their good. I have always loved them, & I think if they saw me a good deal, they would come to feel that there was someone to fall back on & rely on – & also someone to laugh at the old jokes with! […] I do promise you that I will try my very best & will go straight to them should anything happen to you both – which God forbid!’†
8 September 1939 to the Most Rev. Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury
Buckingham Palace
My dear Archbishop
I send you my affectionate and grateful thanks for your kind and very helpful letter received two days ago.‡
I must admit that I have had to call up all my reserves of strength and faith to cope with these last few days, and your inspiring words have given me fresh courage & hope. I know, as do all our people, that we are fighting evil things, and we must face the future bravely.
I shall try with all my heart to help the people. If only one could do more for them – they are so wonderful.
One thing I realize clearly, that if one did not love this country & this people with a deep love, then our job would be almost impossible.
The only hope for the world is love. I wish in a way that we had another word for it – in the ordinary human mind love has so many meanings, other than the sense in which I use it.
I hope that we shall soon meet again – if only it were in the clear bright air of dear Balmoral.
I trust that you have been provided with an adequate air raid shelter? How degrading it is, to have to rise from one’s bed, & retire to the basement – I resent it hotly.
With again my grateful thanks for your letter, which I shall always cherish, & read when my courage fails a little.
I am,
Yours affec: & gratefully
Elizabeth R
26 September 1939 to Queen Mary
Buckingham Palace
Darling Mama
Thank you so much for your letter and enclosure. […]
I returned this morning to London after a really lovely week at Birkhall. I went to see the refugees at Balmoral & Abergeldie, the children at the schools & in one or two cottages. A great many have gone back to ‘the Gorbals’ in Glasgow, a very bad slum, taking their children, but the ones who remain are happy, & trying their best to keep things clean & tidy & to help all they can. They are all Irish and of course Roman Catholic. Mrs Ross has done very well, and they are starting a work party for the mothers, to teach them how to sew for their children & themselves. They seem to be woefully ignorant of household matters, so that one hopes they will learn something useful at any rate.
The flowers were heavenly at Balmoral, masses of colour everywhere – it seemed so sad to see everything shut up & empty.
I motored to Glamis yesterday to see my father, who is very well thank God, stopping at Perth en route to visit the Black Watch Depot, where I met the chairman of the committee to provide comforts for the various Battalions. […]
I do hope that life is becoming better for you gradually Mama darling. I do feel that it is terribly hard for you to be uprooted, & only your great courage will keep your spirits up.
I must say, that the first fortnight of September I really felt so miserable & disappointed & exhausted that life was almost horrible.
I have tried hard to pull myself together, & summon all my faith, & hope & trust in the right, & do feel more able to stand up to things – for we are right.
I haven’t heard a word about Mrs Simpson – I trust that she will soon return to France and STAY THERE. I am sure that she hates this dear country, & therefore she should not be here in war time.
I am so happy to hear from Bertie that you are coming here on Thursday – it will be so delicious to see you again.
With my love darling Mama, ever your loving daughter in law
Elizabeth
2October 1939 to Prince Paul of Yugoslavia
Buckingham Palace
My dear Paul,
Thank you a thousand times for your dear letter. It was such a joy to hear from you, and your words were most comforting at this terrible moment in our history. After the first ghastly shock that we all felt when war became inevitable, this country has settled down grimly, quietly, and with the utmost determination, to try and rid the world of this evil thing that has been let loose by those idiotic Germans.
It is truly a struggle of the spirit, evil thinking, arrogance and materialism, against truth, justice & liberty. Bertie & I, who went through the last War, feel deeply unhappy, but we both realize that the issue must be faced, and we are calmly trusting in the ultimate victory of good.
What breaks one’s heart, is to see yet another generation going cheerfully off to face death. I went to see the Black Watch the other day, one of my regiments, and suddenly saw my nephew John Elphinstone* among the officers. I had not seen him before in uniform, and received a great shock, as I thought for an awful moment that it was my brother Fergus who was killed in France when serving with the same regiment. It was only for one second – a flash, a family likeness, but how tragic to think of all that ghastly waste.
And yet is it waste?
Humanity must fight against bad things if we are to survive, and the spiritual things are stronger than anything else, and cannot be destroyed, thank God.
I do feel so deeply for you & Olga parted from your dear boys, please do tell me if there is anything that we can do for them, we would be so glad to be of help at any time.
In a curious way the last 20 years seem to have been suddenly swept away and the last War has joined up on to this one. Perhaps we never finished it after all.
David’s visit passed off very quietly. He and Mrs S stayed with Baba & Fruity Metcalfe,† & they have now returned to France, where let us hope they will remain.
I think that he at last realizes that there is no niche for him here – the mass of the people do not forgive quickly the sort of thing that he did to this country, and they HATE her! D came to see Bertie, and behaved just as if nothing had EVER happened – too extraordinary. I had taken the precaution to send her a message before they came, saying that I was sorry I could not receive her. I thought it more honest to make things quite clear. So she kept away, & nobody saw her. What a curse black sheep are in a family!
I am ordering a photograph for you, & one for Olga, and Mr Beaton‡ who is mincing away at some light war work, will execute my order as soon as possible. I believe he is a telephone operator. Can you not imagine him saying, ‘Number darling’? 2305? ‘Oh divine, my dear,’ etc etc.
Sometimes I feel that we are all living in a terrible nightmare, don’t you?
When so many people in the world long for peace, it seems very hard not to be able to obtain it. The people here are beginning to make jokes about Hitler. That is rather a good sign, for they usually joke about things when they are too serious to be taken seriously – if you know what I mean. He is usually known as Old Nasty. Very childish!
Everything in this country is completely upside down. All the big houses are either maternity homes or hospitals or schools, London is completely black at night, everybody working hard & united as never before, and the balloon barrage swimming over our heads like pretty fishes when high, & very like elephants & sheep when low!
I do hope that you are quite well again. Bertie & I think so often of you & Olga & all you have to bear. How lucky Yugoslavia is to have you.
With our best love to you both, ever your devoted friend,
Elizabeth.
/> PS
Oct 11 1939
I kept my letter back in case the photographs arrived, but as they have not come, I send 2 or 3 baby snapshots taken at the same time – just to amuse you & Olga!
6 November 1939 to the Most Rev. Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury
Buckingham Palace
My dear Archbishop
You very kindly said today, that you would look through my broadcast,* and I now send you the skeleton. I have purposely made it very simple, as I wish to speak to the simple women who are a little perplexed about this War.
One thing I notice is – that I have not brought God into my few words. If you think that I should say anything about our faith in divine guidance – please do suggest a sentence or two. I think that it would be right & helpful myself – if you agree, I should be most grateful for any suggestions. It was so delightful seeing you today. We always feel refreshed & strengthened when we have talked with you. I wonder if you will think my idea of a broadcast too homely? It is so difficult.
Ever yours affec:
Elizabeth R
The Queen’s Broadcast, 11 November 1939
The last time that I broadcast a message was at Halifax, Nova Scotia, when I said a few words of farewell, to all the women and children who had welcomed The King and myself so kindly, during our visits to Canada and the United States of America.
The world was then at peace; and for seven happy weeks we had moved in an atmosphere of such goodwill and human kindliness, that the very idea of strife and bloodshed seemed impossible. The recollection of it still warms my heart and gives me courage.
I speak today in circumstances sadly different. For twenty years, we have kept this Day of Remembrance, as one consecrated to the memory of past and never to be forgotten sacrifice, and now the Peace which that sacrifice made possible has been broken, and once again we have been forced into war.
I know that you would wish me to voice, in the name of the women of the British Empire, our deep and abiding sympathy with those on whom the first cruel and shattering blows have fallen, the women of Poland. Nor do we forget the gallant womanhood of France, who are called on to share with us again the hardships and sorrows of war.
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