For King and Country: The British Monarchy and the First World War

590 Pages·2021·8.534 MB·English

by  Heather Jones

FOR KING AND COUNTRY
This is a groundbreaking history of the British monarchy in the First
WorldWarandofthesocialandculturalfunctionsofmonarchisminthe
British war effort. Heather Jones examines how the conflict changed
Britishculturalattitudestothemonarchy,arguingthattheconflictultim-
atelyhelpedtoconsolidatethecrown’ssacralisedstatus.Shelooksathow
the monarchy engaged with war recruitment, bereavement and gender
norms,aswellasatitspoliticalandmilitarypowersanditsrelationship
with Ireland and the empire. She considers the role that monarchism
playedinmilitarycultureandexaminesroyalvisitstothefront,aswellas
themonarchy’sroleinhomefrontmoraleandininterwarwarcommem-
oration. Her findings suggest that the rise of republicanism in wartime
Britainhasbeenoverestimatedandthatwarcommemorationwascentral
tothemonarchy’sreveredinterwarstatusuptotheabdicationcrisis.
heather jones is Professor ofModernand Contemporary European
HistoryatUniversityCollegeLondon.AnexpertontheFirstWorldWar,
herpreviouspublicationsincludeViolenceagainstPrisonersofWarinthe
FirstWorldWar:Britain,FranceandGermany,1914–1920(2011).Sheis
aformerMax WeberFellowoftheEuropeanUniversityInstituteandis
adirectoroftheInternationalResearchCentreoftheHistorialdelaGrande
Guerre,Péronne.ShehasbeenawardedtheIrishResearchCouncil’sEda
SagarraGoldMedal.
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StudiesintheSocialandCulturalHistoryofModernWarfare
GeneralEditors
RobertGerwarth,UniversityCollegeDublin
JayWinter,YaleUniversity
AdvisoryEditors
HeatherJones,UniversityCollegeLondon
RanaMitter,UniversityofOxford
MichelleMoyd,IndianaUniversityBloomington
MartinThomas,UniversityofExeter
Inrecentyearsthefieldofmodernhistoryhasbeenenrichedbytheexplorationoftwo
parallelhistories.Thesearethesocialandculturalhistoryofarmedconflict,andthe
impactofmilitaryeventsonsocialandculturalhistory.
StudiesintheSocialandCulturalHistoryofModernWarfarepresentsthefruitsofthis
growingareaofresearch,reflectingboththecolonisationofmilitaryhistorybycultural
historiansandthereciprocalinterestofmilitaryhistoriansinsocialandculturalhistory,
to the benefit of both. The series offers the latest scholarship in European and non-
Europeaneventsfromthe1850stothepresentday.
Afulllistoftitlesintheseriescanbefoundat:
www.cambridge.org/modernwarfare
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FOR KING AND COUNTRY
The British Monarchy and the First World War
HEATHER JONES
UniversityCollegeLondon
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Names:Jones,Heather,1978–author.
Title:Forkingandcountry:theBritishmonarchyandtheFirstWorldWar/HeatherJones,
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Description:Firstedition.|NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,2021.|Series:Studiesin
thesocialandculturalhistoryofmodernwarfare|Includesbibliographicalreferencesand
index.
Identifiers:LCCN2021006787(print)|LCCN2021006788(ebook)|ISBN9781108429368
(hardback)|ISBN9781108554619(ebook)
Subjects:LCSH:Windsor,Houseof.|WorldWar,1914–1918–GreatBritain.|Monarchy–
GreatBritain–History–20thcentury.|GreatBritain–Kingsandrulers–History–20th
century.|GreatBritain–Politicsandgovernment–20thcentury.|BISAC:HISTORY/
Europe/GreatBritain/General|HISTORY/Europe/GreatBritain/General
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CONTENTS
ListofFigures pagevi
ListofTables ix
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
Prelude:TheMonarchyandWartimePoliticalPower 20
parti
TheRoleoftheBritishMonarchyinCultural
MobilisationforWar
1 MonarchistMentalitiesandBritishMobilisation,1914–1916 43
2 MonarchistCultureandCombatantPractices 101
partii TheEmperor’sNewClothes:ChangingCultures
ofDeference
3 TheRoyalBodyinWartime 171
4 De-SacralisationDiscourses:ChallengestotheMonarchy’s
Status,1916–1918 245
partiii
TheUnknownSoldier:TheRoleoftheMonarchy
inPost-WarCommemoration
5 TheMonarchyandtheArmistice:RitualisingVictory,
ChannellingWarGrief 325
6 TheMonarchy’sRoleinSacralisingPost-War
Commemoration 361
Conclusion 405
Notes 413
Bibliography 495
Index 542
v
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FIGURES
1 ThemeetingofKingGeorgeVandPresidentPoincaréofFranceattheBritish
HeadquartersatMerville,Franceon1December1914,byHerbertArnould
Olivier. page61
2 KingGeorgeVworkinginhistentinBuckinghamPalaceGardenswithhisPrivate
SecretaryArthurJohnBigge,LordStamfordham,inJune1918. 62
3 AKingandCountrypostcard,c.1916:‘Amessagetoasoldierfighting
inWorldWarI,sentbyalovedoneathome’,withinsetofKingGeorgeV,
accompaniedbyarousingverse,encouraginghimtodohisbest‘ForKing
andCountry’. 73
4 ParliamentaryRecruitingCommittee,Posterno.74,1915,‘ComeintotheRanks’,
NAM1977-06-81-39. 81
5 RecruitmentPosterfortheSouthMidlandDivision,Art.IWMPST4893. 82
6 ParliamentaryRecruitingCommittee,Posterno.83,May1915,NAM
1981-09-26-1. 83
7 ParliamentaryWarSavingsCommitteeposter,July1915,Art.IWMPST
10135. 84
8 Warcard,MaryEvansPictureLibrary,10728467. 85
9 ‘FortheEmpire!TheKingGivesHisTwoSonstotheWar’,postcard
c.1916,MaryEvansPictureLibrary,10997342. 98
10 IllustratedLondonNews,25November1916,frontpagedepiction:
‘HerSon’sV.C.:TheKingPresentingtheVictoriaCrosstotheMother
ofaFallenHero’,MaryEvansPictureLibrary,10725550. 107
11 PostcardofkingandRoyalNavy,MaryEvansPictureLibrary,10950001. 110
12 ‘TroopsCheeringtheKing’,fromtheFieldMarshalEarlHaigCollection,National
LibraryofScotland,(106)X.33013. 120
13 KingGeorgeVonWytschaeteRidge,FlandersinBelgiumon4July1917,
duringatouroftheWesternFront,IWMQ5586/154448839. 124
14 Exampleofatindecoratedwithwartimemonarchistimagery,MaryEvans
PictureLibrary,11034465. 131
15 APrincessMaryGiftBoxfromthecollectionsoftheHistorialdelaGrandeGuerre,
Péronne,cataloguedasBoîteofferteauxofficiersen1914parla
princesseMary12AFU8.3. 132
vi
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list of figures vii
16 Trench-artversionofaPrincessMaryGiftBoxreworkedasawoodencoffin,
fromthecollectionsoftheHistorialdelaGrandeGuerre,Péronne,catalogued
asCoffretartisanalenformedecerceuil,21ART4.3. 134
17 KingGeorgeVinspectsSouthAfricanNativeLabourCompany,10July1917,from
theFieldMarshalEarlHaigCollection,NationalLibraryofScotland,
C2088. 150
18 ‘TheKingEmperorasColonel-in-Chief,Lancers,IndianArmy’,1914.King
GeorgeV(1865–1936)inmilitaryuniformduringtheFirstWorldWar. 151
19 Christmascard,1917,fromAustralianSignalEngineer,Sapper
D.G.McHugo,ImperialWarMuseum,Documents8877,BoxMisc.82item
1249. 156
20 AChristmascardsentbyEdward,PrinceofWales,in1915,MagdalenCollege
Archives,UniversityofOxfordMCP163/14. 161
21 HRHthePrinceofWalesinthegardenofthechateauwhich
washisHeadquartersinFrance,NAM2001-02-256-11. 184
22 Thekingandqueen’sChristmascardtothetroops,1914,NAM
1999-11-149. 190
23 SouvenirsgatheredfromthebattlefieldsbyGeorgeVandlabelled
bytheking,RoyalCollectionTrust,RCIN69437. 195
24 Matron-in-ChiefintroducesamatrontoHerMajesty,WesternFront,1917,
fromtheFieldMarshalEarlHaigCollection,NationalLibraryofScotland,
C2023. 196
25 QueenMarywithherhusbandandeldestsonduringhervisittotheWestern
Front,fromtheFieldMarshalEarlHaigCollection,NationalLibraryofScotland,
C2062. 197
26 Queenandherpartywitnessingsomeexplosions,1917,fromtheFieldMarshal
EarlHaigCollection,NationalLibraryofScotland,C2040. 200
27 Queenchatswithapatient,WesternFront1917,fromtheFieldMarshal
EarlHaigCollection,NationalLibraryofScotland,C2021. 217
28 ‘QueenAlexandra’sChristmasDayvisittothewounded’,frontpage
oftheDailyMirror,27December1915,MaryEvansPictureLibrary,
11115158. 218
29 ‘TheKing’sDaughterasaHospitalNurse:PrincessMaryinHerUniform
asaProbationer’,IllustratedLondonNews,6July1918,MaryEvansPicture
Library,11806729. 232
30 WartimerollofhonourfromStBarnabas’sChurchofIrelandParish. 258
31 ArmedmembersoftheIrishCitizenArmyparadeoutsideLibertyHall
inDublinundertheiranti-monarchistbanner,KeoghCollection,NationalLibrary
ofIrelandKe198. 262
32 KingGeorgeVandQueenMaryinBelfast,22June1921,photographbyAlex
Hogg. 269
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viii list of figures
33 ‘“AGoodRiddance”:TheKinghasdoneapopularactinabolishing
theGermantitlesheldbymembersofHisMajesty’sFamily’,PunchMagazine,
27June1917. 288
34 ‘KingandPeopleintheStreetsofLondon,ArmisticeDay,November11,1918,’
TheSpherefrontpage,16November1918,illustrationbyFortuninoMatania,
MaryEvansPictureLibrary,10980897. 330
35 ThePublicProclamationofPeaceatFriaryCourt,StJames’sPalace,2July1919,
GettyImages,646304130. 336
36 Clevedon-on-Seapeacesouvenir,1919pamphlet. 341
37 QueenMarylaysflowersatalocalmemorialshrineandrollofhonour
onPalaceRoad,Hackney,August1916,MaryEvansPictureLibrary,
12014319. 353
38 SpruntFamilyMemorial,StPeter’sChurch,Berkhamsted. 357
39 KingGeorgeV(flankedinrearbyPrinceofWalesandDukeofYork)
leadingprocessionfortheburialoftheUnknownSoldierofWWI,
GettyImages,53370747. 377
40 ImageofthekinginawarcemeteryfromTheKing’sPilgrimage(London,
1922). 389
41 CrouyBritishCemetery,thekingtalkingtotwobereavedAustralian
relatives,fromTheKing’sPilgrimage(London,1922). 391
42 ImageofEdwardVIII’svisittoGallipolifromTheSphere,19September
1936,p.456,MaryEvansPictureLibrary,13156681. 400
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TABLE
1 GoogleN-Gramoftheterm‘KingandCountry’,1900–39. page72
ix
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In researching and writing this book, I have been helped by the generosity
andknowledgeofmanyarchivists,librarians,fellowhistoriansandstudents.
It has been my good fortune to work with some of the leading cultural
historians of the First World War – John Horne, Jay Winter, Annette
Becker, Alan Kramer and Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau – who have encour-
agedmeinthisprojectandinspiredwiththeirownworkinequalmeasure.
John and Alan deserve a special note of gratitude as they mentored my
undergraduate and doctoral studies and have been my teachers and col-
leaguesforovertwentyyears.LaurenceVanYperselekindlysharedherown
expertiseontheBelgianmonarchyintheFirstWorldWar.Othershelpedby
offeringthechancetotestoutsomeoftheideasofthisbook.HewStrachan
provided a crucial opportunity to develop some of the ideas in this study
through a conference invitation in 2018 and subsequent paper publication.
SophiedeSchaepdrijverhelpedmetocrystallisemythoughtsonmonarchy
and gender by inviting me to present at the University of Kent while
Mathilde von Bulow invited me to the University of Glasgow. James
McConnel allowed me to trial my arguments on wartime monarchy at
Northumbria University; Christoph Mick enabled me to present parts of
this book to the Modern European Research Seminar at Warwick
University; Philip Mansell kindly invited me to present my ideas to the
Society for Court Studies; Christopher Clark and Tim Rogan helpfully
invited me to present at Cambridge University and discussed ideas for the
bookindetail.GarySheffield,MatthewStibbe,ClaireShaw,MarkConnelly,
BrianWalker,JonathanBoff,DennisWardleworth,JudithRowbotham,Ana
Carden-Coyne, Frédéric Hadley, Alan Fidler and Jenny Macleod offered
invaluable source advice, support, sources or suggestions at key moments.
Jonathan Lewis kindly allowed me to cite his unpublished thesis. Among
those historians whose conversations have advanced and encouraged this
study,I would particularlyliketothankAlisonFell,CatrionaPennell, Max
Jones, Richard Grayson, Santanu Das, Aimée Fox, Adrian Gregory, John
Röhl,AnnikaMombauer,AlexanderWatson,EdwardMadigan,SvenOliver
Müller, Daniel Steinbach, Nicolas Beaupré, Franziska Heimburger, Arndt
Weinrich, Pierre Purseigle, William Philpott, Dominic Lieven, George
x
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