The Love of King

Prince  Edward  was  born  in  1894.  His  father,  King  George  V,  was  a  tall,  cold  man  who  did  not  like  children.  Why  does  Edward  talk  all  the  time?  He  once  said  he  once  said  he's  a  very  noisy  child.  His  mother,  Queen  Mary,  agreed.

It  doesn't  matter  if  Edward  is  happy  or  unhappy,  she  said.  A  child  must  be  silent  and  strong.  The  family  lived  in  Buckingham  Palace,  which  had  600  rooms.  There  were  eight  kitchens,  19  bathrooms,  24  toilets,  eleven  dining  rooms,  17  bedrooms  and  21  sitting  rooms  and  20  ones.  Edward  once  told  a  story  about  the  house  buckingham  palace  was  very  big  and  people  sometimes  got  lost.

One  night,  my  mother,  my  father  and  I  were  sitting  in  the  dining  room.  We  were  waiting  for  our  dinner.  We  waited  and  we  waited,  but  the  food  did  not  come.  After  20  minutes,  my  father  was  very  angry.  He  stood  up  and  went  to  the  kitchen.

Where  is  the  cook?  He  shouted.  And  where  is  my  food?  But,  sir,  the  cook  replied,  your  dinner  left  the  kitchen  15  minutes  ago.  Hasn't  it  arrived  yet?

No,  it  hasn't.  My  father  shouted,  and  I'm  hungry.  The  King  left  the  kitchen  and  began  to  look  for  the  food.  Ten  minutes  later,  he  saw  a  woman  who  was  carrying  three  plates  of  meat  and  potatoes.  What  happened  to  you?

My  father  said.  Why  didn't  you  bring  us  our  dinner?  I'm  sorry,  sir,  the  woman  replied.  There  are  a  lot  of  dining  rooms.  I  couldn't  remember  where  to  go.

But  if  you  return  to  the  table,  sir  this  time  I  can  follow  you  to  the  right  room.  Edward  did  not  go  to  school  with  other  children.  He  stayed  in  Buckingham  Palace,  where  he  had  a  special  classroom  just  for  him.  This  is  how  Edward  described  his  lessons  my  teacher,  Mr  Hansel,  was  a  thin  man.  He  never  smiled  and  his  nose  was  very  red.

We  had  lots  of  books,  but  they  were  all  very  boring.  They  were  full  of  words  and  they  didn't  have  any  pictures.  Sometimes  I  stopped  reading  and  looked  out  of  the  window.  Mr  Hansel  got  very  angry.  He  took  a  stick  and  hit  me  on  the  arm.

Don't  look  out  of  the  window,  little  boy,  he  shouted.  Look  at  the  book.  He  hit  me  many  times  and  my  arm  was  red.  Every  Friday,  the  teacher  took  me  to  my  father's  room.  And  what  has  my  son  learnt  this  week,  Mr  Hansel?

The  king  asked.  And  the  answer  was  always  not  very  much,  I'm  afraid.  Sir  Edward  doesn't  like  his  lessons.  He  never  listens  to  what  I  say.  When  Mr  Hansel  left  the  room,  my  father  was  angry  with  me.

What's  wrong  with  you,  child?  He  said.  Are  you  stupid?  Why  can't  you  learn  anything?  But  the  lessons  are  so  boring,  sir,  I  replied.

And  Mr  Hansel  hits  me.  I  don't  understand  you,  Edward.  You're  a  baby.  You're  so  weak.  You'll  never  be  a  good  king.

A  king  must  be  strong.  Go  to  your  room  and  stay  there  until  the  morning.  I  spent  many  days  alone  in  my  room.  Edward  wrote  later.  I  never  played  with  other  children  and  I  didn't  have  any  friends.

I  lived  in  the  most  beautiful  house  in  England,  but  was  always  lonely  and  sad.  I  saw  my  mother  once  a  day  at  dinner  time,  and  I  saw  my  father  three  or  four  times  a  week.  But  they  never  gave  me  any  love.  I  was  afraid  of  them,  and  everything  I  did  was  wrong.