"A Student Prince in Germany"

Edward, Prince of Wales, (later Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor) (1894-1972) seated in a 1910 Pierce-Arrow open-sided touring automobile with Hermann Georg Fiedler, Professor of German at Oxford University on March 31, 1913 outside the Zeppelin works at Friedrichschafen, Germany. Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin (1838-1917) is in white cap near the door. 

Extract from History Today of January 1978

The Prince of Wales and his Oxford tutor paid two agreeable visits to Germany in 1913 from which he returned with a warm affection for the German people.

John Wroughton

Not many young men would regard the prospect of studying at Oxford as 'a dreary chore to be finished with the least possible effort and as quickly as possible'. But it was with such sentiments as these that Edward, Prince of Wales entered the university in October 1912. Writing in later years, the Duke of Windsor was able to recall vividly  those student days in his book, A King's Story.

His natural shyness, coupled with an intense dislike of publicity, ensured that his first weeks at Magdalen College were somewhat lonely. Even the special attentions of Dr. Warren, the College President, a man notorious for his preference for titled undergraduates, failed to bring compensation - ‘Whenever he beamed upon me, I was never quite certain whether it was with a teacher's benevolence or from a  collector's secret satisfaction with a coveted trophy'. Gradually, however, as his confidence grew he began to enjoy what Oxford had to offer - parties, college celebrations, football, beagling, riding, punting, walking and weekly visits to Gunners, 'a musty little taproom' near the Junior Common Room. Nor did he neglect his studies.

One of the dons assigned to supervise his academic work was Professor Hermann Fiedler, his tutor in German. Born in Saxony, Dr. Fiedler had been Professor of German at Oxford since 1907, having previously taught at both Glasgow and Birmingham. By the end of the Prince's first term, Fiedler was able to write a most encouraging report on his work. 'I want you to feel quite free to say what you really think,' the President had assured him in requesting comments for the King's information.

The work which the Prince of Wales has done for me this term has been very satisfactory and has given me great pleasure. From the very first HRH was willing to talk to me in German and there was never any need for me to explain anything in English. I was surprised to find what a large vocabulary and good accent the Prince had already acquired and how early he could carry on a conversation in German whenever a subject interested him. In every lesson I have practised dictation, reading and composition translation from and into German. As homework HRH has done 12 compositions for me. The weak part of the work was the grammar for which HRH has obviously no liking. I have endeavoured to make HRH acquainted with German life, institutions, history and geography by showing him German magazines and inducing him to talk about them. You will be glad to hear that HRH knows a large number of German poems by heart and recites them with much affection. 

Fiedler's enthusiasm and kindness were to make a lasting impression on the young Prince. Describing the Professor as 'a jovial man of fifty with the moustache of a German burgher', he often referred to him affectionately as 'the good Fiedler'. Throughout the troubled times ahead – war, world depression, abdication and exile - Edward regularly exchanged Christmas cards and personal letters with his former tutor. Their friendship and mutual respect were further deepened by two visits to Germany they made together during the Spring and Summer Vacations of 1913. Details of these tours have recently come to light for the first time in a collection of letters, written almost daily, from Fiedler to his wife and now made available by his daughter, the late Miss Herma Fiedler.

They give a keen insight into the character of the Prince who emerges as a likeable, unassuming young man of moderate ability with an ingrown dislike of ceremony, a passionate love of nature's simplicity, a strong yearning to be free from restraints and an ever-increasing will of his own. At the same time, they reveal something of the splendour and formality of the many courts in old Germany just before their final collapse in 1918.

The Queen had decided that a tour of Germany would have the beneficial effect of improving the Prince's language, while at the same time introducing him to the life and culture of his many German relatives. Fiedler was asked to prepare an itinerary which was finally approved at an audience in Buckingham Palace on March 15th. The visit was to consist of a leisurely motor tour of the Rhine and Black Forest before accepting the hospitality of the King of Wurtemberg at Stuttgart. Major the Hon. W. Cadogan, the Prince's equerry who accompanied them on the tour, had already offered his advice on practical details:

As regards clothes for the motor trip, we are going to take as little as possible. The Prince is not taking evening clothes. I think, however, that I shall take mine in case of accidents. I shall take one suit for motoring, a change suit and a dark coloured suit for evening wear - also linen for ten days.

The small party, which also included the Prince's valet (Finch), a chauffeur (Coracknell) and a Scotland Yard detective, finally left Charing Cross by the boat express on Monday, March 17th. Catching the overnight mail packet Pas de Calais, they reached Calais and continued their journey by train to Cologne. The Prince found the bitterly cold night almost unbearable in the sleeping compartment. Fiedler took pleasure in informing his wife of Edward's 'gratitude for your hot water bottle on our night journey from Calais to Cologne’. He was shivering with cold and most thankful when I offered him the bottle. He told me afterwards that in the night he got up and filled it again at the hot water tap in the lavatory,'

Arriving in Cologne on Tuesday morning, the Prince and his party stayed that night in the Hotel du Nord where his grandfather had previously stayed. Accompanied by Fiedler, he went for a tour of the city on foot and by car. As so often on this journey, he took time to buy a present for his family- this time a bottle of Eau de Cologne for his sister. When a Daily Express reporter surprised the shop assistant by revealing the identity of her last customer, the girl admitted that he spoke German with 'an excellent accent'.

In Cologne he was not generally recognised, a fact that pleased him greatly. Admittedly, he was travelling incognito as the Earl of Chester. This, according to his own memoirs, had the double advantage of freeing the German government from offering the honours of official State visits, while 'I on my side escaped the ordeal of having to respond to them'. But the boyish figure in a loose grey topcoat and soft hat was altogether less successful in escaping the attention of the British press. The Prince loathed it.

He was far happier when, on the following day, he made the sixty-mile journey by car from Cologne to Coblentz. Sitting beside the chauffeur with overcoat buttoned up to the chin, he drove through the Rhine valley on a cold, raw day with rain clouds low over the hills. Immediately after his arrival at the Hotel Riesen Furstenhof in Coblentz, he insisted on climbing to the citadel on the rocky slope of Ehrenbreitstein in spite of the piercing wind and rain. Fiedler and Cadogan felt obliged to follow, but found it almost impossible to keep up with his brisk pace.

After an overnight stay in Coblentz, the royal party continued by car to Wiesbaden where Good Friday was spent. Particular care had already been taken by Fiedler in arranging the itinerary to ensure that the Prince was always near an English Church at the appropriate moment. On this occasion he attended morning prayer at the Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury where the front pew was hurriedly cleared five minutes before the service began.

After a motor trip and picnic lunch, the party , returned to a dinner of soup, trout and chicken in their private dining room. The Prince normally spent some time during the evenings in conversation with Fiedler and Cadogan over cigarettes followed by a spell of letter-writing home. Retiring to bed at about 10.30 p.rn., he always took a cold bath before breakfasting on eggs, fish and tea.

On Saturday, March 22nd, after buying postcards and trinkets, they continued their journey to Darmstadt , where they had been invited to stay with the Grand Duke and Duchess of Hesse in the New Palace. In describing this journey to his wife, Fiedler gives a vivid insight into the Prince's character.

 The Prince is enjoying the trip hugely 1 think, particularly when he is in the woods far from the madding crowd as yesterday on the Saalburg. When we were picnicking there he said: 'This is . perfect bliss!' The road from Wiesbaden to Homburg took us through wonderful woods. As soon as we got outside the town he changed his hat for the cap and drove the car himself, supremely happy and managing the car beautifully. About half-way to Homburg we stopped the car and climbed a fine old castle (the Konigstein) on a high hill almost racing up - not easy to keep up with him for an old fellow like myself. Then we sped away to Saalburgh, a most wonderful Roman fortress partly restored. We wandered or rather raced about in the woods (in wonderful weather) and had a jolly picnick (sandwiches, excellent fruit and wine) and then went on through Homburg to Frankfurt. We left the car at one of the gates and did the sights and had tea in a cafe.

In Frankfurt the Prince was fascinated by the traditional Easter toy stalls where he took great delight in buying a chocolate hare. But his passion for taking the wheel of the car and driving at speed was not without its anxious moments. After a moment of indiscretion in an earlier letter, Fiedler wrote home hurriedly to his wife to eliminate any risk of harmful publicity.  I ought not to have spoken of an accident. It was nothing much. Only on turning a sharp corner the Prince ran the car against a house. However we were going very slowly just then, not being sure of the way, and no damage was done. Don't breathe it to anyone.  At the New Palace in Darmstadt Fiedler received his first glimpse of the pre-war life- style of German courts. They were lavishly entertained by the Grand Duke of Hesse. Fiedler himself was given a suite of rooms consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, W.C., and sitting room. Service was immaculate - 'a big footman in gorgeous livery and bedecked with medals is always outside my room ready for orders'. Before he joined the family for dinner in 'smoker with white waistcoat', his footman brought him 'a beautiful white camellia for a button hole'. They were joined at the meal by Prince Henry of Prussia, the Kaiser's younger son - 'a splendid man, keen and energetic, very princely but without any side'. Fiedler, at least, enjoyed his initial taste of court life - 'Everyone is so friendly and kind, that I could feel quite at home and happy'. His cultured background enabled him to appreciate the Duke's work in turning Darmstadt into something of a major arts centre. Painters, sculptors and architects from Vienna had been tempted to settle there by offers of free housing and subsidies from the privy purse.   

From Darmstadt the royal party drove on to the old university town of Heidelberg with the Prince again at the wheel. Although it was dusk on arrival, he was so excited by his initial impression of the beauty of the place that he insisted on climbing up immediately to the castle terrace. According to the ever-present Daily Mirror reporter, the Prince exclaimed as he absorbed the magnificent panoramic view, 'Oh, this is splendid. We must come again early tomorrow.' So enchanted was he that he decided to extend his visit by an extra day before travelling on to Karlsruhe. There he was welcomed in royal style at the Castle by the Grand Duke and GrandDuchess of Baden. Fiedler wrote: 'The whole thing is a dream. Here I am sitting in a gorgeous room of the Castle, wonderful paintings, statues, art treasures around me, a liveried valet waiting for my orders in the adjoining room.. My sitting room is lighted by a crystal candelabra with about thirty electric lights. I have three rooms and a bathroom at my disposal!' The support car, carrying the luggage, the valet and the detective, 'was equally overwhelmed by the number of palaces in Karlsruhe and had great difficulty in finding the right one. It was here that Fiedler met the ageing Dowager Duchess Luisa, daughter of the EmperorWilliam 1. This woman, who had often been at the centre of court intrigue in the time of Bismarck and the unification of Germany, made an immediate impression. 'The old lady is absolutely sweet and fascinating, very intellectual. She began at once about Anglo-German relations and the great mission I had undertaken to initiate the Prince into German life.'

After a short stay in Karlsruhe, the Prince drove on through the Black Forest to the Wilhelm Palace at Stuttgart where he was to be the guest, for the remainder of his visit, of King William and Queen Charlotte of Wurtembcrg-(Onkel Willie and Tame Charlotte, as he called them). 'At 6.15 we drove up before the palace, a huge crowd having gathered, soldiers presenting arms. Dusty and tired in our travelling clothes, we were ushered into a big hall where the King and Queen, surrounded by a dozen dukes and princes and several dozen officers and high court dignitaries received the prince.' The King immediately conferred on his special guest the Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Wurtemberg. This was to symbolise the start of the more formal part of the holiday with the sort of pomp and ceremony which the Prince hated. Fiedler wrote:

You know when we leave our rooms a footman at once marches ahead of us, in the hall several other uniformed men stand up at attention, in the second outer hall soldiers and, I believe, an officer rise, a huge portier in a gorgeous uniform opens the door and the two sentinels outside present arms. This has quite got on the Prince's nerves and I have just arranged in future that we go out unobserved without any fuss by a backdoor , which also the King and Queen frequently use.

Onkel Willie and Tante Charlotte were, nevertheless, pleasant, easy-going hosts who made their English guests feel welcome. The Prince was quickly drawn into the routine of their daily life, as he later described:  

After an enormous lunch, almost every fine afternoon the King and Queen took a leisurely drive through the: suburbs of Stuttgart in an open victoria, and sometimes I was summoned to drive with them. Under the influence of the warm sun and the gentle motion of the carriage, Onkel Willie would quickly fall asleep, only to be constantly aroused by a swift jab of the Queen's elbow to acknowledge the salute of one of his soldiers, the precise salutation of a stolid Wurtemberger, or to straighten the Homburg hat. that kept sliding rakishly to one side of his head. This process had been going on for so many years that, when Onkel Willie got that dig into his well-padded ribs, he was able to straighten his hat in his sleep.

 Food was undoubtedly one of their Majesties' greatest pleasures, consuming four full meals a day. The Queen therefore, not un-naturally, was quick to express her concern to Fiedler about the Prince's own poor appetite:

At luncheon today I sat next to the Queen (on her left, the Prince always sitting on her right) and had a very nice talk with her. She is so homely and sensible, takes quite a motherly interest in the Prince trying to make him eat more. She asked me - the other day whether he always ate so little, or whether he disliked the food she gave him. It seems that she draws the Menu up herself every day. She dresses very simply as a rule, but the other day was resplendent with jewels and wore a diamond crown, looking very queenly.

 Queen Charlotte must have despaired of her young visitor at times. They had little in common. Her chief passion for food, dogs and music held little significance for him. 'Yesterday after lunch', wrote Fiedler, 'the Queen showed us her fine dogs, a collie and a beautiful St. Bernard. The Prince does not fancy dogs and is rather afraid of them.' Of greater significance, however, were his remarks in a later letter home:  

The Queen is quite musical and loves Wagner. She played on the piano last night and told me that she used to sing. The King loves music and goes nearly every evening to the theatre. Our Prince alas shows little interest in music and the theatre.

 Fiedler did his best during the tour to awaken the Prince's cultural interest. It was all to no avail. Visits to the theatre, the opera, the Schiller Museum, the Akademie Karlsschule, the art gallery, the museum of antiquities and many other places of interest seemingly left the Prince cold. Rather frustrated, Fiedler repeatedly wrote asides like these - 'I hope we shall see Hebbels' Nibelungen , unless the Prince backs out'; 'I visited the picture gallery again (the Prince rather hurried through it the other day)'

The Prince, of course, was later to admit that 'for relaxation I have always preferred outdoor exercise to reading. And, ever since I can remember, it has been from people rather than from text books that I have got my education.

This was certainly proved to be true on this tour of Germany. He spent a most memorable morning taking part in the field manoeuvres of the Grenadiers near Plieningen. The mock battle proved totally absorbing; this for him was life in the raw.  

We marched with the soldiers over ploughed field, through brooks and up hill. Both sides were firing, it was just like a battle ... At last the command came: fix bayonets and up we went with hurrah. The enemy fled ... After a while, however, the enemy tried to retake the position ... it was a most exciting affair and the din most dreadful. , , The Prince enjoyed the walking and running and watched somewhat wistfully his cousin, Duke Philip Albrecht (the eldest son of the heir to the throne) who led his company in fine form ... 'We had some difficulty in getting our Prince away; he wanted to wait to the end and march back with the men. However, we were due at the palace at 1 o'clock for a luncheon party and. had to insist on going. He was almost sulky when we got the car up and begged him to get in.

 Perhaps the most exciting moment of the trip came with his visit to Friedrichshafen where he stayed as the guest of Count Zeppelin in his private rooms at the Kurgarten Hotel, On the following morning the royal party visited the airship yard with the intention of making a trip in the new Zeppelin airship Z4. Unfortunately the weather turned so stormy that the flight had to be abandoned. As compensation, however the Zeppelin LZl6 was ordered out of its shed and made a short flight, ‘which the Prince watched through field-glasses, cheerfully waving his cap to the crew'. The Union Jack flew above the Zeppelin shed for the first time.

For much of the lime the Prince was inevitably caught up in the normal round of social functions and various visits. Meals at the Palace produced a crop of interesting visitors, the names of which were placed on Fiedler's table each morning. Occasionally, the Queen held a Familientafel when all the Princes and Princesses were present. Poor Fiedler lamented to his wife that 'He was the only mortal who had not at least a von to his name!' On several occasions the King took the Prince and his party to dine with one of his regiments at its casino - first the Grenadiers, then the Dragoons. The Prince enjoyed these occasions, drinking beer at little tables after the formalities. Needless to say, he was inundated with invitations to visit local establishments from the Daimler car factory to the municipal sewage works.

Throughout, one thing is abundantly clear - the humanity of the Prince. He regularly wrote home and frequently stopped to buy postcards. Each evening he made an entry in his diary, of which he was extremely proud. Nor did he ignore the advice which came back to him from his parents in London, as Fiedler observed:

The Prince had a long letter from his mother this morning saying that- he had better not go to Munchen as Uncle Willie (the King) might not like his leaving him so frequently. This is a great blow to the Prince as he was looking forward to the Munich trip with keen pleasure.

His personal relationships with Fiedler were cordial and affectionate. They frequently breakfasted together, usually after their early morning walk. The Prince delighted in taking snapshots of his tutor, whether talking to the King or stroking the Queen's dogs. Nothing pleased Edward more than when the King of Wurtemberg conferred the Cross of the First Class of the Frederick Order on the Professor:

The Prince showed me how the Order should be worn and today he accompanied me to a shop to buy small replicas of my two orders and a little gold chain for them. When I came down to dinner he at once came across the room and altered the way I had put on the chain.

When the tour finally ended after four enjoyable weeks, the Prince gave Fiedler an inscribed matchbox as an appreciation of all his work.

It was hardly surprising, therefore, that the Prince seized the opportunity to accompany Fiedler on a second visit during the summer vacation of the same year. For much of the time they stayed at Neustrelitz as the guests of Adolphus, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. There they were kept entertained and amused by the Dowager Grand Duchess (formerly Princess Augusta Caroline of Cambridge) a grand-daughter of George III. Even at the age of ninety-one, her clear memory could still recall a pat on the head from George IV in the 1820s.

Fiedler found her conversation irresistible as she relived the pages of history from her own first-hand experience:

She talked of incidents in her long life, about the 1848 Revolution when the insurgents massed before the castle armed with scythes and flails, and she was advised to flee by a back door. The Grand Duke had already left and her husband, the hereditary Grand Duke was busy somewhere. She refused for a long time and finally left the castle carrying her small son in her arms, straight through the crowd of reapers. Astonished, they gave way to her and let her go on her way uninjured.

Fiedler concluded that as its oldest surviving member 'the old Grand Duchess seems to be a kind of family institution and can often say things quite openly in London'. She was certainly blunt and outspoken .in her assessments of the British Royal family:

She related some of her recollections of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort. She idolized him and the court was jealous of his influence. Sometimes he had unwisely gone too far, for example when the courier came with dispatches he received them, read them first and then often said to the Queen, 'Nothing of importance', and put them away. The Queen wanted to procure for him the title of King, but the ministers were resolutely against that

She was even more scathing in her opinion of King George V and Queen Mary, whom she clearly felt were lacking in certain aspects of monarchy.

Then she talked about the' present English court which in her opinion is too modern and democratic. The King, she said, was educated really for the navy and not for the throne and felt, now especially, his ignorance of languages. He has not always been well advised by his entourage, especially not by the quite radical Lord Knollys, who now, thank God, has been released. With the Prince, too much had; been omitted. The Queen has often been in a difficult position - the King was sometimes brusque and impatient with the children who, because of that,, were afraid of him. The Queen was also naturally shy and timid and did not feel fully at ease at large receptions and festivals.

While at Neustrelitz , the Prince worked hard at his German with Fiedler. He nevertheless 'took the opportunity to accept a number of invitations to visit places that offered him a little more excitement. A few thoroughly enjoyable days were therefore spent at Hemmelmark, near Kiel, with Prince Henry of Prussia, the Kaiser's younger brother. 'Uncle Henry', as the Prince called him, was (according to Fiedler) 'a lively art-loving man who likes to look at life from the sunny side'. A senior flag officer in the German navy, he was at his happiest working on his motor car at home or dabbling with inventions. Edward liked him immensely for his ‘sailor's make-up', his pro-British leanings and his sympathetic approach to life. 'He had a way with people and looked you straight in the eye.'

Prince Henry certainly saw to it that his young royal visitor was well entertained on his visit. Two delightful sea-side picnics were arranged. Prince Henry, the Grand Duke of Hesse, the Prince of Wales, Fiedler and Cadogan enjoyed a swim together (bathing costumes and dressing tent provided). The ladies arrived at the beach slightly later, bringing the tea things on a small donkey carriage. On another occasion an excursion was made to the Kiel Canal which greatly satisfied the Prince’s passion for ships:

This morning Prince Henry and the whole house party motored into Kiel to see several battleships. We made a rather early start, leaving here at 8. We first saw one of the new dreadnoughts (Konig Albert) then the Kaiserin and finally the Leidwitz. On each ship the party was received with royal honours. We were taken over the whole ship and shown everything, gun-practice included. We also visited the docks and workshops and steamed some distance up the Kiel Canal (Kaiser Wilhelm Canal) where the new gigantic locks were explained to us.

As with his earlier visit to the Zeppelin factory, this first glimpse of the new Dreadnought battleships provided the Prince with yet another sign of Europe's gradual drift to war. Prince Henry clearly sensed the urgency of the occasion when he talked with Fiedler at lunch about 'how little knowledge the English have of German history' and 'the importance of teaching our Prince a correct view of things'. Fiedler perhaps took this caution to heart because, on his return to Neustrelitz, he commented in a letter home- 'At present I am reading a Life of the Kaiser with the Prince, every morning from 11-12.15', How far this 'education' influenced the Prince is open to speculation.

What is beyond doubt, however, is the enormous impact the Kaiser himself made on him in person. Edward paid him a courtesy visit in Berlin towards the end of his tour and received an immediate shock on being ushered into the Kaiser's room, as he later described:

He was sitting in uniform behind an extraordinarily high desk; and in greeting me he rose in  most curious manner, as if dismounting from a horse. Upon drawing closer I saw to my astonishment that he had risen from a wooden block shaped like a horse's body; to this was girthed a military saddle, complete with stirrups. Noting my startled expression, the Emperor smiled and explained condescendingly that he was so accustomed to sitting on a horse he found a saddle more conducive to clear, concise thinking than a conventional desk chair.

Later the Kaiser entertained Prince Edward and his party to dinner, followed by a visit to the opera, Aida. These events are vividly described by Fiedler in a letter to his wife:

Finally the Kaiser entered the room in full uniform with quick, energetic steps. With him were the Empress and our Prince. The English Ambassador wanted to introduce me, but the Kaiser quickly came up to me, fixed his eagle's gaze on me from his steel blue eyes, powerfully shook hands and said, 'How are you?' Then he spoke of the Prince, of our journey and of Oxford. Then he passed from one to another, spoke a few words to each, always speaking quickly and gesticulating energetically with his right hand. Then

[End of extract]