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Long live the King! Or maybe even a Cromwellian character will emerge... ;)
 
Thanks gentlemen!

DW - CRAP!!!! I knew I was pushing it on that issue with the flag officers. I for some odd reason kept thinking of Admiral Benbow and when I did my research I found that it was he who had his captains court martialed. As soon as I read your post it all came flooding back into my head about Admiral Byng! Well, I guess we'll call the first of probably many mistakes and chalk it up as learning experience to research twice before you post once, eh?

Oh, the Articles I found on website (for the life of me I can't recall where I put down the name of it!) and copied down into my files.

Humps - Naw, the House of Windsor is here to stay, thank you very much!
 
Yes, it seems the house cleaning is done and the House of Windsor is on the march!
 
Draco Rexus said:
Shortly after the Rhineland Crisis, His Highness directed that I prepare a study of the continued Italian offensive against Emperor Haile Selassie I of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and any possible threats the Italians might become to British interests in the Horn of Africa.

No longer would the British Army be used defensively, rather plans soon began to be formulated to turn the army into a truly offensive force geared toward rapid movement and destruction of the enemy through superior firepower.

hmmm. historically, did the Italians capture the Horn of Africa by force of arms, or otherwise, or not at all? :confused:

HA, blitzkrieg vs blitzkrieg! so, who wins when you have two "offensive" forces going at it? he who has control of the air? it will be interesting to find out... :cool:

truly astounding updates! :D
 
DW - CRAP!!!! I knew I was pushing it on that issue with the flag officers. I for some odd reason kept thinking of Admiral Benbow and when I did my research I found that it was he who had his captains court martialed. As soon as I read your post it all came flooding back into my head about Admiral Byng! Well, I guess we'll call the first of probably many mistakes and chalk it up as learning experience to research twice before you post once, eh?

Well, I think you could make a minor re-write. Byng's exceution for not doing his utmost would fit very well into the narrative I think! (Even if he failed in battle, not in preparation) DW
 
Suggestion taken, re-write complete. Thanks much, DW!
 
If I could grant awards, this would right up at the top of the list. :)
 
Thanks, one and all, once again.

CHAPTER SIX- Part A​


May 14, 1936
Buckingham Palace
London


The Privy Council sat in their normal chamber awaiting the arrival of their Sovereign and his brother the Heir. The Council was clearly divided into two camps, one clearly outnumbering the other. Grouped along the outside wall near the windows overlooking Trafalgar Square stood Prime Minister Churchill, the Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham, Home Secretary Simon, Foreign Secretary Eden, War Secretary Cooper, Air Secretary Lord Swinton, and First Lord of the Admiralty Lord Monsell. The Dominions and Colonial Secretaries, Lord Stanley and Lord Harlech, would have been with this group had they not been on a tour of the Dominions and Colonies and meeting with the heads of each. The much smaller group sat at the large mahogany conference table and consisted of Lord of the Privy Seal Lord Halifax, Lord President of the Council Lord Doxford, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Chamberlain.

Just as the large clock in the room started to ring the two o’clock hour in tandem with Big Ben at Westminster Palace, the door leading toward the King’s offices opened and a uniformed servant stepped in and announced, “My Lords and sirs, His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness, Prince Albert!”

Standing quickly the Privy Council watched as the King and his brother strode into the room speaking softly to one another.

“Please be seated, m’lords,” said the King as he and the Prince sat at the head of the table. As the members of the Council took their seats, he continued, “I would like this to be as brief as possible, I have an tea event to be at four o’clock and still need time to prepare myself, so let us begin, shall we?”

Speaking almost at the same time that the King finished, Chamberlain began. “Your Majesty, Your Highness, m’lords, the Treasury would like to report that as was predicted at the beginning of the Prince’s program, the government is currently running a greater deficit than the Empire can currently afford. While the economy has seen a slight improvement, there is no predicting how long it will last, and we cannot be certain that with government spending on the rise the improvements will not be a bubble and burst, causing another economic downturn. The Treasury would like to recommend that the government cut back it’s funding of the military as well as cease any further funding of any industrial development.”

“And how long would you propose we do this cutting, Neville,” asked “Duff” Cooper. “I won’t speak for the Admiralty or the Air Ministry, but I know that from the reports I’ve seen from Sir Archibald, the army is just now beginning to see the first fruits of the funding you are proposing be cut. Such an action would be more of a danger than if we had received no funding whatsoever!”

“The RAF is in the same position,” added Lord Swinton. “Air Chief Marshal Newall has proven to be quite adept as Chief of the Air Staff, and is just beginning to feel comfortable with the training schedule our funding has been able to provide to his air crews. Any cutting back, like the army, would be very detrimental to the RAF at this time.”

“The Royal Navy would like to say that any cutting in funding would not be detrimental to our operations and training schedules, however the truth is that the Fleet is in the same position as the army and RAF,” spoke Lord Monsell when all the room’s eyes swept to him.

“Your Majesty,” Chamberlain said in a slightly petulant voice, “While I commend their lordships with their attempts to save the funding to their Services, the truth of the matter is, the funding will have to be cut from somewhere or the Treasury forecasts a extremely negative impact to hit the Empire’s economy in the very near future.”

“Thank you, Chancellor,” answered the King with a cold look that made it clear that he was not pleased with Chamberlain’s tone of voice, “However, I believe that my brother also has something to report regarding the status and health of the Empire’s economy and would like to hear his account prior to having the Council make any decisions. Albert?”

“Your Majesty, m’lords,” the Prince said opening a folder from the pile in front of him. “While I will agree with Chancellor Chamberlain that the government is currently running a deficit that is greater than it was prior to the start of our increase in spending, my staff, while working in conjunction with several of the Exchequer’s own experts, have found that there has been a significant improvement of the economy. Industrial out put has increased seventeen percent in just three months time, and the efficiency of the Empire’s heavy industries has increased fourteen percent. While the majority of the items now being produced are for the military instead of the civilian markets, there has been a significant increase in both employment and wages earned, which even the Chancellor must admit is a much better state for the Empire’s economy than what we were facing following the death of our father. At this point, to cut our spending program would in fact cause the bubble that the Chancellor mentioned to burst.”

Looking like a young bull that had just been pole-axed, Chamberlain stammered, “Your Highness, on what do you base your facts, if I may be as so bold as to ask?”

Handing a set of papers to a young aide sitting quietly behind him and watching as the papers were handed out to the members of the Council, the Prince answered pleasantly, “The reports provided to the Exchequer by such firms such as Leyland, Supermarine, Hawker Aircraft, Lee-Enfield, Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding, Vickers and John Brown and Company. Also the reports provided to the Exchequer by the subjects of the Crown as a part of the “Economic Impact on Britons” study set up by the Exchequer and the Bank of London.”

“These reports were not provided to my staff and will have to be looked at in more detail,” said Chamberlain in equal parts anger and shame. “I beg Your Majesty’s leave to issue a more detailed report to the Council when next we meet.”

Suppressing a chuckle that escaped no one in the room, the King replied, “That you have, Chancellor, and until then we will keep the spending programs untouched. Now, what news do you have for us, Anthony?”

“Your Majesty, I was hoping to get to this at the beginning, but Neville spoke first,” Eden said simply while watching the unspoken insult strike hard at Chamberlain. “Our ambassador in Rome, Sir Michael Rensslaer, has found out that Mussolini will be announcing the annexation of Abyssinia-Ethiopia and the crowning of Victor Emmanuell Emperor of the new Italian East Africa which will be made up of Eritrea, Abyssinia and Somaliland.”

“Damn,” spoke the King with quiet vehemence. Looking over at the Prince, the King continued, “Well, your ADC was right on that one, Albert.”

“I wish he weren’t this time,” replied the Prince with a grimace.

“Well, at least we have troops enroute to area, Your Majesty,” Eden continued. “As I said back on the eighteenth of April, the Italians will have to curtail their expansion dreams for Africa once those troops get to the Horn.”

Looking over at Cooper the King asked, “And what is that status of those troops, Duff?”

“According the reports I received from the Admiralty this afternoon, they should arrive at Port Sudan within the week, Your Majesty.”

“Good. Alright, do you have anything else for us, Anthony?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I do. I wanted yourself and the Council to know that the Foreign Office is still having talks with the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians about moving beyond simple non-aggression pacts, and things look quite promising, particularly with the Danes. I am hoping for some significant changes within the next few weeks. That’s the good news from the European arena. The bad news is that from what information Vansittart and his chaps over in Section Zulu have been able to cull from their sources, the French elections scheduled for the 11th of June will be a disaster for the conservatives and a substantial victory for the Front Populaire.”

“If this comes about,” asked Prince Albert with a slight growl, “what sort of impact do you foresee this having on Anglo-French relations?”

“Your Highness,” Eden replied with care, not wanting to raise the Prince’s well-known ire when it came to dealing with political parties of the left side of the spectrum, “as we all know, the Front Populaire is an alliance of the Communists, Socialists and the Radicals. The majority of the party is made up of Socialists, so if the Front does win the general election, the Foreign Office is suspecting that the new government will be mostly Socialists and will more than likely be led by Leon Blum.”

“Socialists are simply Communists who haven’t taken the time to investigate that exactly what they are preaching is at its heart communism,” growled the Prince.

“Albert,” the King spoke soothingly, “don’t shoot the messenger, especially since he’s my messenger, eh?”

Having the grace to look a bit shamefaced, the Prince responded wryly, “Sorry, Anthony. Now where were you?”

“Not a problem, Your Highness. What we are thinking will occur if Blum is elevated to Prime Minister is that while relations will not be adversely effected, their might be a slight short term coolness until Paris comes to realize that a split of the Alliance would leave them virtually alone to face any enemies in Europe and Asia. If, however, the PCF (French Communist Party) has a strong showing, that might mean the PCF party secretary, Maurice Thorez gaining a good deal of power, which would be a very bad thing for the Empire’s relations with France, as Thorez has on more than one occasion voiced the opinion that France has more in common with Communist Russia than she does with Imperial Britain.”

“It’s to bad we were unable to crush the Bolshies back in 1919,” Churchill grumped sadly. “Then we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.”

“Aye, I agree,” replied Eden, “however, dealing with what we have, the Foreign Office is somewhat confident that if the left does win in the elections, it will be mostly Socialists and in the long term, France will see it is best to remain friends with the Empire.”

“Anything else, Anthony,” the King asked. “No? Okay. Keep us apprised of the situation in France and anything else that comes out of Rome dealing with the Horn of Africa.”

*****************
More to come very soon.... I hope! :D
 
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Bring back monarchy to these French types. Let the colours of the French royalty fluter once more. Great update.
 
Draco Rexus said:
..Standing quickly the Privy Council watched as the King and his brother strode into the room speaking softly to one another..

splendid update! ! ! ! :D
 
Thanks again gentleman.

Sir Humphrey - well, as much as that would be nice, it didn't happen and it' aint' gonna happen, as you will find out (hopefully within the next three posts or so. :D )

cthulhu - well, when one is being humiliated by one's monarch, when does one actuall say, hey, that's enough? Besides, dear Neville has other issues that will he will deal with very soon. :eek:
 
Jolly good work Draco. Now it seems like the King and the Prince is in a position to “deal” with Chamberlain and all the problems he is creating;) I would say using on of them Articles of War against him and having him shot sure would be a way to deal with him :p
 
CHAPTER SIX - PART B​

May 14, 1936
Buckingham Palace
London

Buckingham_Palace_web.jpg

“Your Majesty, I believe that the Home Secretary has some information that Council would like to be aware of,” spoke Churchill.

“Aye, Your Majesty, Your Highness, m’lords, that I do,” spoke a troubled looking Simon. Handing out a report stamped SECRET: MI-5, he began. “After some troubling information came to my attention, I have had to order a significant re-organization of MI-5. To give you all the background, Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, “C” at MI-6, was advised by sources in the Soviet Union that the NKVD (Soviet secret police/intelligence gathering department) had infiltrated not only MI-5 and MI-6, but also several other arms of the government. The source of this information “C” would not disclose to me, but from the reaction he was giving me, I was only able to conclude that the information was nearly infallible. Moving as quickly and as quietly as possible, I had Vernon Kell replaced by David Petrie from MI-6. Petrie has conducted a quick investigation, more like an inquisition truthfully, of MI-5 and has come up with this report.”

As the other members of the Council started to flip through the report in front of them, Simon continued, “As you can read, Petrie seized upon an internal memo from MI-5 officer Miles Humphrey who advocated turning the any spies found and having them used as double agents against the Empire’s enemies rather than simply arresting and trying these agents. Using that leverage, Petrie was able to discover a group that has become known to MI-5 as the Cambridge Four.”

The Cambridge Four​
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Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, and "Kim" Philby​

“Good God,” exclaimed Eden as he reached the point in the report that listed the members of the Cambridge Four.

“How accurate is this information, Sir John,” asked the King with a very concerned look upon his brow.

“Your Majesty, each of these… individuals have confessed to their crimes.”

“H.A.R. Philby, known as “Kim”, son of St. John Philby of the Foreign Office, was recruited one Willi Munzenberg, a Commintern agent in Paris, to assist in the Communists efforts in the British Isles,” continued the Home Secretary. “Donald Duart MacLean, son of Sir Donald MacLean, was recruited and is being handled directly by the Soviet NKVD’s Rezident in London, Anatoli Gorsky. Guy F. De Moncy Burgess, currently working for The Times and the BBC, is being tasked by the Commintern to subvert the media of the Empire to the goals of the Commintern. Finally, we have Anthony Blunt who was recruited by the NKVD in 1934 and tasked with doing his utmost to recruit deep cover long term agents from the students at Cambridge since the Government recruits heavily from the college.”

“These are sons of the best of the Empire,” said a clearly shocked Churchill.

“Aye, they are,” replied Simon, “and that is what makes these findings all the more troubling, Your Majesty.”

“What steps have you taken thus far, Sir John,” asked the King.

“Your Majesty, Petrie has fully turned all four of these individuals,” he said with a certain amount of distaste, “and they have all agreed to work for MI-6 against the Communists.”

“How can Petrie be certain that they will fulfill their agreement,” asked the Prince, his anger at the actions of the four clearly visible in his body language. “After all, they turned against the Crown once, they could do it second time.”

“I had the same concern, Your Highness,” replied Simon, “however, Petrie made it clear that MI-5 would be watching these individuals very closely and has made it known to them that the MI-5 agents watching them have been given instructions to eliminate them the moment there is a sign that they have turned traitor a second time. Additionally, from the information “C” has provided, MI-6 has prepared information to be leaked to the Communists that would paint all four in some very negative lighting that would make it uncomfortable for them to return to the Communist fold.”

Cooper spoke up at this point, “What sort of inroads have been made by these four and the Communists into the Government, Sir John?”

Looking quite uncomfortable, Simon replied, “Well, Duff, that is information that generally I would not like to discuss until everything has been double checked and authenticated.”

“That is understandable,” said Lord Hailsham, speaking for the first time since the meeting began, “however, in something of this magnitude, the Privy Council should have at least an inkling of the damage.”

“I agree,” said Lord Halifax. Turning toward the King he continued, “I understand Sir John’s reluctance to disclose this information, Your Majesty, however, the Council should have at least some information so that we know what we are facing within our own departments.”

“As much as I would rather not go against the professional opinions of Sir John and the heads of MI-5 and MI-6,” spoke the King heavily, “I have to agree. What do you have, Sir John?”

“Your Majesty, there are indications that Burgess has close ties with George Dawson, the editor of The Times, who has close personal ties with Chancellor Chamberlain.”

There were several pregnant heartbeats of dead silence while the room’s occupants slowly took in Simon’s reply, the implications, and then turned to look at a shocked Chamberlain.

Standing unsteadily the Chancellor spoke very slowly, “Your Majesty, you must believe me that I have no realistic connection with these individuals and will guarantee that Mr. Dawson is far from a Communist sympathizer.”

“The same could have been said by anyone in this room about these Cambridge Four prior to today’s meeting, Chancellor,” the Prince retorted acidly.

Placing a restraining hand on his brother’s arm the King spoke simply in the royal plural, “We understand your shock at this, Neville, however, it may be in the best interest of the Crown that we allow MI-5 to complete its investigation before me make any statements about guarantees.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” replied a very pale Chamberlain.

“In the mean time,” the King continued, his voice growing colder, “we suggest you turn over your duties to one of your assistants, retire yourself to your home, and make yourself available to MI-5, is that understood?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Chamberlain meekly replied, the full realization that all of his political planning had just been shattered and no amount of savvy, cunning or dirty tricks could save his career or himself if the investigation found anything against him.

Motioning for one of his aide, the King finished. “George will escort you outside and then arrange for your transport to your home. I will not add that I expect that you will not do anything that would in anyway hamper the investigation into this matter.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” came the subdued and mumbled reply.

“Very good. George, please take the Chancellor home.”

“At once, Your Majesty,” came the crisp reply. “Chancellor Chamberlain, if you would walk this way?”

As the in all likelihood disgraced Chamberlain was escorted from the room, the royal brothers exchanged looks before turning to examine the remaining members of the Privy Council. They found stunned shock giving way to outraged at the information provided, each member of the Council realizing not only the magnitude of the possible damage but also the lengths the Crown was willing to take to preserve the Empire.

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The disgraced Chancellor, Neville Chamberlain

“I would take it for granted,” Prince Albert began slowly several quite and very tense minutes after the Chancellor’s exit, “m’lords and gentleman, that you will all ensure that not only what was discussed here today remains in this room, but all such conversations held by the Council would be as well.”

“Good,” spoke the King as each member vehemently gave his assent to the Prince’s question. “Sir John, do you have anything else to share with the Council?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Duff, does the Sir Archibald and Imperial General Staff have anything to share?”

“Other than the imminent arrival of the new British Army of Sub-Sahara in Port Sudan and their beginning of operations to secure the border with this new Italian East Africa, no Your Majesty, the War Office has nothing.”

“What about the RAF and the Air Ministry, Lord Swinton,” the King asked next.

“Your Majesty, several of our aircraft companies are working on some prototypes for several new aircraft, and the Sir Cyril is having the RAF’s new Technology Command working on some sort of apparatus to detect aircraft with some brains down at Cambridge, but nothing ready for a presentation to the Council about,” came the reply.

“I’m sure my brother the pilot here would be quite interested about the new aircraft,” the King replied with a grin. “Do you think you could arrange something, m’lord?”

“To late, Your Majesty,” Lord Swinton replied with a soft chuckle. “His Highness has already made himself known to the companies in question, and if I am correct has already been able to talk them into letting His Highness take with of the crates up into the air.”

“Quite correct, m’lord,” the Prince replied with a smug grin. “If Supermarine can work all the bugs out of that prototype I flew, the RAF will be very, very happy with the newest addition to the squadrons.”

“My brother the pilot,” chuckled the King looking heavenward as if looking for divine assistance. “Right, what about the First Sea Lord, Lord Monsell, what of the Fleet?”

“The Fleet, Your Majesty,” replied Lord Monsell, “is in excellent state, however, First Sea Lord Admiral Chatfield wanted me to advise the Council and Your Majesty that the Fleet could use a few more destroyer flotillas and a cruiser or two.”

“The day the Royal Navy stops asking for more ships,” laughed Churchill, “is the day after the Empire has fallen!”

Laughing with the rest of the Council, the King agreed, “Quite right, Winston, quite right indeed. Lord Monsell, please advised the First Sea Lord that we will do what we can for him, but seeing as the Royal Navy has been getting that message for the last two hundred years, I’m quite sure he is expecting it.”

With that, the meeting came to an end. Leaving first, the royal brothers continued the conversation they had been having when they first walked into the Council chambers. “I told you, Edward, the Communist and Socialist threat is greater to the Empire and the world than everyone realizes! Just imagine what kind of damage could have been done to the interests of Britain if MI-5 hadn’t discovered those Red’s from Cambridge?”

“I know, Albert,” the King replied in a tone that made it known this was far from the first or second time his brother had made this position known to him. “However, until we have no proof, we cannot truly believe that the Communists are truly working for the downfall of the Empire, despite their public outcries.”

“Edward,” the Prince replied with a heavy heart, “I hope I’m wrong, but I fear that attitude of yours may end up being the death of you.”

Stopping in the hallway and turning to place his hand on his younger brother’s shoulder, the King replied, “I hope you are wrong as well, brother, and I am touched by your concern, but even if you are correct, I have no fear, for even when I die, the Empire will go on as it has for centuries.”
 
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Trouble with the Italians and the Commies. I tell you, the crown has it's work cut out for it, right now. I doubt the Italians will put up too much fuss, but it was surely a good thing finding those spies...well, good for everyone but Chamberlain.
 
Why not sponser a Royal marriage or two to calm international tensions?