Eighty Years Ago This Week

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived on US soil from Canada over the bridge at Niagara Falls. It was a momentous event: the first time a reigning British sovereign had set foot on the former colony of the British crown. The historically minded observer might have spotted an odd parallel. George’s elder brother, then Prince of Wales, had made the most high profile of his several visits to the US in 1927, when the “Peace Bridge” across the same river had been opened. Unknown to all but the Prince’s private secretary, the British Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, who was also on the tour, saw enough of Edward to confirm his fears that Edward’s flaws were too deep for him to have much chance of succeeding as King. Baldwin did not brutally throw Edward off the throne when the crisis over Mrs. Simpson arrived in 1936, but he did not struggle that hard to keep him. George’s visit to the US was extremely well received and helped prepare the ground for the Anglo/US alliance that was...

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth reached the west coast of Canada, the turnaround point for their tour of the Dominion, the first ever by a reigning monarch. Canada had long been a rite of passage for the heir to the throne, but now the Canadians were getting the real deal. Perhaps because of this, the spin machine went into overdrive to play down the importance of the upcoming US leg of the North American tour: “a four days' diversion with a friendly neighbour.” Certainly there had been sceptical articles in some Canadian papers as to their Majesties’ true priority, but the presence in the Royal suite of a particular spin doctor invites another explanation. George Steward was taking time off from his normal task as 10 Downing Street’s press liaison for the Canada trip. Steward was a staunch supporter of Neville Chamberlain’s exclusively bilateral Anglo-German solution to European tensions; a solution that firmly excluded any thought of meddling by the US, which would hav...

The German and Italian foreign ministers, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a formal, ten-year   alliance between the two countries in Berlin. This had long been a goal of German diplomacy, tying the Italians to joint military action should either power find itself at war. Secret clauses provided for military and economic cooper ation. Article II, however, provided for consultation between the countries in the event of a crisis and was to be used as an escape clause by the Italians, the following September. Hitler’s failure to consult with the Italians over the invasion of Poland served as a pretext for Italy to remain neutral. Neither Ribbentrop nor Ciano were noted for their honesty, so it is hardly surprising that the operation was marked by bad faith. With an eye to propaganda rather than substance, Mussolini christened the agreement the “Pact of Steel” as a more catchy label than the official “Treaty of Friendship and Alliance.” His early proposal of the...