The Heir Apparent (97 page)

The King photographed by Baron de Meyer in 1904.

Dighton Probyn, court comptroller and honorary Sikh, with his “Blessed Lady,” Queen Alexandra, in 1920.

My first and greatest debt is to Her Majesty the Queen for granting me unrestricted access to the papers of Edward VII in the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle. This book is not an official biography. I was not commissioned to write it; the proposal was mine, and it has been an incredible privilege to work in Windsor’s treasure house of papers. Pam Clark and Jill Kelsey guided my research, which must at times have seemed never ending. They painstakingly checked my transcriptions and rigorously examined the accuracy of my text. For this I am grateful, though any remaining errors are, of course, my own. I should like to thank the Royal Librarian Lady Roberts, Lord Luce, and Lady de Bellaigue.

The Hon. Georgina Stonor gave invaluable advice, especially on Queen Alexandra. Victoria Fishburn, an indefatigable researcher, accompanied me on trips to archives and dug away at Daisy Warwick’s papers. I should like to thank Caroline Spurrier for permission to quote
from her Daisy Warwick archive. Other descendants of Bertie’s women friends who have been especially helpful are Anne Somerset, Sarah Lutyens, and Sir Philip Naylor-Leyland. Cara Lancaster generously lent the papers of Mabel Batten. For Emma Bourke, I thank James Collett-White. Miranda Villiers entertained me and helped me to understand the Keppels, and John Phillips provided encouragement and information. Anthony Camp’s prompt and scholarly genealogical research has kept me right on mistresses and bastards.

The late Lord Aylesford was generous with his records and his time at Packington Hall. I am grateful to John Sandwich for permission to use the Mapperton Papers (Oliver Montagu), and for kindly allowing me to reproduce illustrations from his superb albums. Penny Crowe approached me with the forgotten story of her forebear James Mackenzie and made available his papers. Charles Sebag-Montefiore kindly allowed me to use the papers of Philip Magnus. Michaela Reid showed me the diaries of Sir James Reid. Henry Poole and Co. of Savile Row provided an insight into Tum Tum’s waistline. Ian Shapiro generously allowed me to reproduce photographs from his collection at Argyll Etkin.

For advice on medical issues I am grateful to Carole Reeves of the Wellcome Library and to James Lefanu and Anthony Wright. My thanks to Philip Mansel and the Society for Court Studies, to whom I have given four papers on various aspects of this book. Working on a documentary for BBC2 about Bertie with Denys Blakeway and Rob Coldstream greatly helped to focus my thoughts. Edwina Ehrman enlightened me about Alexandra’s clothes. Marina Vorobieva kindly helped with Russian sources. Yvonne Ward lent me her excellent PhD thesis.

I was awarded a Research Fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust in 2007–8. This was immensely valuable in enabling me to dedicate time to writing the book. The Leverhulme Trust also awarded me a research expenses grant to fund the translation from Danish of Alexandra’s letters to her sister Minnie. Birgit Christensen, my translator in Copenhagen, opened up Alexandra’s world for me.

The following people have lent me books and unpublished materials,
provided information, and helped in all sorts of ways with the book: R. J. Q. Adams; Mark Amory; Nicolas Barker; Stephen Bartley; Richard Belfield; Mark Blackett-Ord; Vernon Bogdanor; Mark Bostridge; Fiona Campbell; Moyra Campbell; David Cannadine; Juliet Carey; Professor John Clarke; Miss Denise Critchley-Salmonson; Joe Mordaunt Crook; Sarah Cubitt; Angus Cundey; Mark Curthoys of the ODNB; Richard Davenport-Hines; Susannah Davis; Patric Dickinson; Frances Dimond; Martyn Downer; John Drew; Laura Dugdale; Sir William Dugdale; the late Charles Elwell; Jessica Fletcher; Nicholas Gibbs; Sir Martin Gilbert; Richard Grantley; the Dowager Lady Grimthorpe; Jennifer Holmes; Michael Holroyd; Simon Houfe; Kathryn Hughes; the late Mrs. Maud Hutton-Attenborough; Cindy Jansz; Mary Kenny; Judith Keppel; Anna Kirk; Jeremy Lewis; Lady Amabel Lindsay; Lucy and Andrew Lloyd Davies; Sarah Mahaffy; Clarissa Mitchell; Eoghain Murphy; Maggie Oliphant; Anthea Palmer; Clarissa Palmer; Hannah Palmer; Edward Pearce; Helen Rappaport; Josie Reed; Susanna Rickett; Adam Ridley; my namesake, Jane Ridley; Judy Ridley; Andrew Riley; John Rohl; Ian Scott; Mary Clare Scrope; Anne Sebbah; Thomas Seymour; Rupert Shortt; Nancy Sladek; William St. Clair; Gerard Stamp; Kate Strasdin; Bridget Taverner; Humphrey Thomas; Anna Thomasson; Hugo Vickers; Sheila Walton; Michael Wheeler-Booth; Andrew Wilson; Sue Woolmans; Mary Yule; Philip Ziegler.

Material from the Royal Archives is quoted by permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Hon. Rupert Carington kindly gave permission to quote from the diaries and writings of Lord Carrington (Lincolnshire Papers) held by the Carington Estates at Bledlow and available on microfilm at the Bodleian Library. Passages from the Margot Asquith diaries in the Bodleian Library are reproduced by permission of Christopher Osborne. Edward Sandars and the Bodleian Library gave leave to quote from the Sandars Papers. For permission to quote from the Wilfrid Blunt diaries, I am grateful to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. For permission to quote from the papers of Nathaniel Meyer, 1st Lord Rothschild, I am grateful to the Rothschild Archive, London. The Churchill Archives Centre allowed me to quote
from Jennie Churchill’s papers. The Esher Papers are reproduced by kind permission of the Churchill Archives Centre on behalf of the 5th Lord Esher. My thanks to the Marquess of Salisbury for permission to quote from the papers of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury at Hatfield House. The Royal College of Physicians gave permission to quote from the diaries of Edward Sieveking.

My colleagues at the University of Buckingham have supported my research, especially Judith Bray, Angela Brown, Roy Davis, and Terence Kealey. Special thanks to my students on the Biography MA program, who have no doubt had more than their fill about royal biography.

My son, Toby Thomas, read the book in manuscript and in proof and provided valuable and incisive criticism. My mother, Clayre Percy, was, as always, my first and most encouraging reader.

The Heir Apparent
began life as a gleam in the eye of my agent, Caroline Dawnay, and she has cheerfully supported me and the book through a long and sometimes bumpy gestation. Thank you also to Olivia Hunt and Maria Dawson at United Agents, and to my American agent, Emma Parry. Christopher Phipps did a brilliant job on the index.

I am so thankful to my publishers for standing by the book. Susanna Porter of Random House has been patient and trusting. At Chatto, I have benefited greatly from Becky Hardie’s clearheaded support. My thanks also to Alison Samuel and Parisa Ebrahimi. Silvia Crompton’s quiet efficiency has made working on the last stages of the book a delight. Most of all, I want to thank my editor, Penelope Hoare. She is wise, funny, and always right, and I am the luckiest of writers to have Penny as my editor.