A letter written in 1916 by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) was quoted in The Daily Telegraph on March 30; it shows his discomfort at being awarded the Military Cross, intended to mark “acts of exemplary gallantry”, when he was not allowed to take part in the fighting. Alistair Lexden added some further details in a letter published in the paper on April 1.
SIR--The future Edward VIII was always uncomfortable about the decorations conferred on him during the First World War (“Edward VIII: I didn’t earn MC”, March 30). He felt anguish at being kept out of the front line.
“I do hate being a prince and not allowed to fight with those brave fellows”, he wrote in 1915, when he had to be compelled by his father, King George V, to put on the Russian and French medals that had been awarded to him.
The letter, which has just come to light, is not the only one in which he referred to his embarrassment at receiving the MC in June 1916. He told the married Lady Marion Coke, with whom he was then in love: “I don’t deserve it in the least. There are so many gallant yet undecorated officers who should have the decoration long before me”.
She provided comfort by telling him to think about her initials: “You now have your little MC”.
Lord Lexden
London SW1