The 4 Do's and 2 VERY Different Brothers

A study of the difference and irony surrounding Edward VIII and George VI

Hi Everyone!

I have decided to do something a little different…. While my aim is still to share both paid and free content on alternating weeks, I want to add in something extra. I have started to feel like I am not offering the bulk of my subscribers enough on weeks that paid content goes out, and quite simply, I want to! So, from now on, on the weeks that paid content goes out, the newsletter will go to all of you, dear subscribers, and I will share a historical tidbit (that might be related to the rest of the post, or might not be) as just a way to hopefully give you an extra bright spot to your day. If you are curious about the rest of the content, great, scroll on down to the preview. If you aren’t that is completely fine to. I just want to keep the historical conversation going as best I can!

I hope you enjoy your first historical tidbit:

Was Queen Elizabeth II Always Destined to be Queen?

So, for this week, I want to talk about the fact that even if Edward VIII had not abdicated the throne, it is very likely that his niece, Elizabeth II would have still become Queen. It is believed that Edward VIII was actually unable to father children as a complication from a case of the mumps that likely left him sterile. While this was never confirmed, it is very believable because in all of his relationships, (at a time when birth control methods were far less effective than today) he never had a child. So, sterile or not, even if he had stayed King until his death in the 1970s, and assuming his brother had died in the 1950s, the throne would have immediately gone to Elizabeth as she would have been the next in line. So, regardless of her father or uncle, King Charles would still likely have been the present day King, the path might have just looked a little different.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this subject!

The 4 Do's and 2 VERY Different Brothers

One part about being Prince of Wales, that the Prince certainly talks a lot about in his letters to Freda is the need for his private life to remain private. While this is felt by most people to an extent, it is particularly true if you are the Prince of Wales. This need for privacy however, is also met with the human need to connect and share your life and happiness with those close to you. When it came to his relationship with Freda, which was no doubt the happiest part of his life at the time, there were very few people who he could share the details of that relationship with. While then, the British Press was much kinder to the Royal Family than it is today, there was still a need for discretion to keep society gossip to a minimum.

One person who Prince Edward could heartily share his relationship with was his brother, Prince Albert (the future George VI and father of Elizabeth II) as for a time, he was engaged in an adulterous relationship as well, with Freda’s best friend, Sheila, Lady Loughborough.

This group called themselves the 4 Do’s and spent a lot of time together during the early part of Edward and Freda’s relationship. It must have felt somewhat normal for the Princes to feel like they had “couple friends”. Not only did this arrangement provide a place for the Princes to share about their relationships, but also for Freda and Sheila to as well because again, discretion was paramount.

“What big babies we 2 Do’s are & I think the other 2 Do’s (2nd Grade) are even bigger babies than we are!! What marvels fun we 4 do have don’t we angel & f— the rest of the world, though guess too et moi are the ‘bear leaders’ (perhaps to much sometimes & anyway we look on life more seriously & are so different team the other 2 Do’s!!”

Sheila in 1922