by The Laird o’Thistle
February 15 2009
The Wall Street “Crash” of 1929 marked the starting point of the Great Depression, but the resulting economic implosion continued and spread internationally over the ensuing two years, and beyond. In Britain, the same period was one of quiet increasing concern over the health of King George V, who suffered a major life-threatening illness in 1928 from which he never truly recovered his strength and vigor. (It was during the King’s convalescence from this illness that his tiny granddaughter Lilibet – the current Queen – was brought down to Bognor to cheer the ailing monarch’s spirits.) Elections in 1929 brought a Labour government back to power in London, under the leadership of Ramsay MacDonald. They sought to cope with the crisis according to the economic wisdom of the time, but by the summer of 1931, the international banking system was on the verge of collapse and ruin. (Rather like where we all found ourselves this last October.) At that point, George V became involved in the most controversial constitutional crisis of his reign.
Toward the end of August 1931, the British government was faced with a deficit of 120,000,000 Pounds and was in need of a major infusion of credit to refloat the economy (and the Pound Sterling itself). But in the climate of those times – remember, the Keynesian theories advocating aggressive government economic stimuli were just then beginning to be enunciated – American banks were unwilling to extend needed loans without major cuts in the British deficit, and those would have to be accomplished both by increased taxation and major cuts in salaries and in support for the unemployed. When the American lenders finally pushed harder than most of MacDonald’s cabinet were willing to be pushed, the government submitted its resignation and the King was faced with resolving the crisis.
Later scholars agree that George V, who rushed back to London from Scotland, acted constitutionally. He consulted with the leaders of the Tories (Stanley Baldwin) and the Liberals (Sir Herbert Samuel). Samuel proposed pursuing a “national” (i.e. coalition) government, and Baldwin was willing. Both also agreed that MacDonald should lead it as Prime Minister. The King then talked to MacDonald, who decided to run with the idea. MacDonald, in turn, presented the proposal to the outgoing cabinet. The fatal flaw in the plan, in retrospect, came about because MacDonald did not really have his party behind him, and the King had failed to take that sufficiently into account. The Labour Party quickly split into a factionalism that plagued it for years to come, MacDonald ended up being expelled from his own party, and various of the disgruntled Labour leaders blamed the King. The ensuing National Government failed to save the economy in the way that had been hoped, and though it had been intended as a temporary measure, it basically lasted out George V’s reign.
Although George V’s well-intentioned constitutional intervention yielded very mixed results at best, the King gets good marks from historians for his overall concern for the welfare of his people both in this case and throughout the difficult period. It is said that though he was something of a Conservative by nature, the King often urged his Prime Minister to act to relieve the unemployment and economic distress that he observed as he was out and about among all classes and conditions of folk around the country. Thanks to the exigencies of World War I, the King and Queen had more direct contact with their poorer subjects and their needs than previous generations of royals, and that stood him in good stead in the economic crisis. Even in the earlier period immediately after the war, the King was noted for his provision of fairly generous severance pay for staff that had to let go by the royal household as an economy measure.
Alongside King George, Queen Mary is noted for some small but oddly effective contributions to the recovery efforts of the time. According to Anne Edwards, in her biography Matriarch, Queen Mary was once described by an admirer as “the two best salesmen in Britain.” The Queen made a point of being seen buying British household goods at expositions and of letting the notices go up in her immediate wake “Purchased by Her Majesty Queen Mary.” She is even credited with making the “traditional” brown teapot indispensable to every British home, after making it clear that she and the King used such teapots every morning. Although the King and Queen lived a relatively quiet private life, the Queen actually expanded some of the public occasions that were part of the court rota. She doubled the number of debutantes presented at court during the worst years of the crisis in order to stimulate trade for dressmakers and other merchants. And it is even said that part of the Queen’s intention for the 1935 Silver Jubilee – which was essentially her inspiration – was that it would have its own set of spin-offs in spending and economic benefits as well as boosting public morale.
Other members of the royal family participated in the efforts as well. The Prince of Wales was also noted in those years as a first rate “salesman” for Britain. (And, of course, later on, there was his now infamous “Something must be done!” statement to Welsh workers on the very eve of the Abdication Crisis.) The Duke of York (later George VI) had made himself rather an expert on industrial matters, and his Duke of York’s Camp regularly brought together young men from across the class divide. Such efforts on his part paved the way, in turn, for his later role as King during WWII. The Duke of York also gave up his stable of hunters because of the Depression and became instead a notable gardener as he and his wife fixed up their home at The Royal Lodge, Windsor.
As quaint as such efforts may seem in 2009, the overall picture of having the royal family as roving ambassadors of trade, and as exemplars of concern for the well-being of the entire British population has become part and parcel of the identity of the House and Windsor. The Queen is very much her grandmother’s granddaughter, and she also has her own store of experience from the difficult postwar years, and even from the rather dramatic bumps of the 1970s. In the current climate, the Queen is making a point of letting it be known on the one hand that some of her couture is being thriftily made by her own dressers and staff… while at the same time she, as well as the Prince of Wales, promote the potential economic benefits of more ecologically sound sources of energy. And though the specific “trade” portfolio has been handed to Prince Andrew, the entire royal family engages in the promotion of British business as they travel at home and abroad. The royal household endeavors to run itself as prudently as possible, while continuing the tradition of providing lots of spin-off business to a wide range of providers as literally tens of thousands are annually recognized and entertained by the Queen as part of her official duties.
At the moment Gordon Brown and his colleagues seem to be coping about as well as any other government around the world with the still unfolding crisis, and indeed took the international lead in some key matters at the end of 2008. But the full magnitude of what is occurring is still far from evident. As before, much of the world situation will ultimately depend on how the U.S. attends to putting its economic house in order. As in her grandfather’s reign, the most the Queen can contribute in this arena is to do her constitutional job carefully… and hopefully, avoid even the perceptual mistake that occurred in George V’s time. As always, she brings a unique breadth of memory and experience to her weekly consultations with her P.M., but also a surprising adaptability as required by time and chance. A rather ironic indication of that comes with the re-launching of the official royal website within recent days. In these stressful times, those seeking jobs at the palace can now apparently apply online!
Yours Aye,
Ken Cuthbertson