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age them in every way possible.
What a task! Maybe the Prince
did not reaJize quite how much he
was taking on.
He has emulated his father by
sticking his neck out, this time
over race relations. He called for
a real effort to end prejudice and
misunderstanding in order to
maintain a successful "multiracial
society." This, in Britain today, is
a dangerous expression. His
beliefs range al l the way from the
need for a united Europe to the
importance of individualism in
every walk of life.
Prince Charles has played his
full part in the Royal Family's
day-to-day business of public
engagements and continua! con–
tact with the people. He was
al ready a very mature young man
five years ago when he spoke to
200 senior officers of the Royal
Navy. He explained that he was
certainly the youngest person
present, so he must talk about
what his own generation thought.
His address was impeccable, in its
sense, wit and brevity. One admi–
ra! present remarked to another,
"What a piece of luck to have this
young man as our next king."
And the answer was: "Not luck at
all , just a ... miracle"!
Prince Charles wins esteem
without undue effor t, but with
cautious forethought and the very
best advice. He knows where to
turn for counsel. He has himself
spoken of bis "very wise and
incredibly sensible parents, who
have created a marvelous, secure,
happy home." His own self-disci–
pline seems equally effortless.
Prince Charles doesn't smoke (in–
deed, he hates cigarette fumes and
ash), drinks in unselfconscious
moderation, and believes in the vir–
tues of fresh air and physical exer–
cise.
In this mixed-up era of declin–
ing values, morals and standards,
the Prince has set a remarkable
example of duty, loyalty and dedi–
cation.
The Matter of Succession
There has been talk in the past of
the Queen abdicating at the
"right" moment-in fact, when
she believes that Prince Charles
June/ July 1981
will be better able than hcrself to
fulfill the royal duties. A reason
given is that the Queen would not
The
QueenMother
and the Prince
Q
ueen Eli zabeth, the Oueen
Mother, has been depicted as
the " woman who saved the Monar–
chy. " She helped and guided the
late King George VI when he fi rst
stepped into the shoes of his out–
wardly more talented brother, the
late Duke of Windsor. Then she was
at his side in Britain's most critica!
days ( 1939 to 1945) since the Span–
ish Armada.
When it was suggested that she
should send the two young Prin–
cesses (Eiizabeth and Margare!) to
Canada where they would be safe
from Hitler 's bombs and rocket
weapons, her answer was: "The
Princesses cannot go without me.
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cannot go without the King. The
King will never go. We shall all stay."
By the end of the war Buckingham
Palace had been hit nine times by
bombs; once at least the King and
Oueen were nearly killed. Through–
out the war they had won the total
trust and undying gratitude of their
people.
Here, only one of her achieve–
ments needs to be chronicled -the
remarkable empathy that exists
between her and her grandson
Prince Charles and the influence
that she has had upon the Prince of
Wales. Not so much "next to" the
Oueen, but with the Oueen, the
Oueen Mother has been one of the
two most formative influences in the
Prince 's life.
Members of her household
seem to put this down. most of all ,
to one particular characteristic that
they have in common . This can
only be described as a "nongen–
eration" quality. Both of them can
talk with the same ease and inter–
est to people of
every
age group.
In the Oueen Mother's case, as
want Prince Charles to wait for–
ever to "come into his inheri–
tance." We are asked to consider
Keystone Photo
one of her closest advisers indi–
cated, this has made her the " cat–
alyst" of the entire Royal Family:
" She has helped to close the gaps
between tour different genera–
tions. "
She and Prince Charles share a
deep mutual love and sympathy for
others.
The Prince and the Oueen
Mother share two other links–
both of them have a delightfully
fresh sense of humor and both
have the gift of entering into the
lives of and enjoying the company
of others. Along with the Oueen,
they "never give orders but only
make requests' · and invariably
thank those who work for them,
but whom they prefer to regard as
partners. " lt may sound a strange
thing to say of the highest in the
land ," one adviser said, " but they
are both humble minded , deter–
mined never to ride roughshod
over
the feelings of anyone." And :
" They both know how to make
others feel importan! and appre–
ciated ."
The Oueen Mother is on the
phone to her daughter, the Oueen,
nearly every day-never to inter–
fere, but to keep t ruly in touch.
Truly a wonderful lady , who
wears her years with the ease, ele–
gance and good humor that have
made her the much-loved symbol of
Monarchy at its best. o
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