CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN - Part Two
Westminster Palace
London, England
March 25, 1939
11:00 a.m.
Looking about the room at his Council, King George VI set aside his first response and forced himself to use his ministers for their worth.
“Very well, gentlemen, how do you propose I respond to His Majesty’s request?”
“It’s a very dicey proposition, Your Majesty,” Foreign Secretary Eden replied thoughtfully.
“If you honor the King’s request, you run the risk of relations with Italy being worsened further, however at the same time, the Empire would come across favorably with the rest of the Balkan nations, not to mention the rest of the Europe.”
“I agree with Anthony, Your Majesty,” Prime Minister Churchill said with a spark of excitement in his eye and voice.
“Domestically it would help refute some of the Socialist MPs who have been preaching about the errors of our military expansion at the cost of additional subsidies to the workers.”
With a gleam in his eye recalling his days at sea as a young ship captain, the First Sea Lord gave a military point of view with,
“It would help remind the Regia Marina* that despite Mussolini calling the Med Mare Nostrum** and their building a naval base at Leros,*** the Med is a British pond, has been for generations and will be for more!”
Smiling not only at the old admiral’s fierceness but also that once again he and his Privy Council agreed, the King asked,
“Does anyone see any reasons why I should not honor King Zog’s request?”
“Your Majesty, the only thing I would fear,” Home Secretary Sir John Simon said softly after a few moments of silence,
“is that this would be a ploy by either Italy or King Zog to drag the Empire into a war.”
After a few more moments renewed silence, one that was a touch more tense than before, Prince George, the Duke of Kent, Director of the Imperial Intelligence Office, and the King’s younger brother, replied,
“Before everyone makes the leap and turns to look at me, I can only say that from the reports we’ve been able to get out of Rome after having to pull our man and his source out in January, we haven’t been able to get a feel for how Mussolini will jump. That being said, I would place my money that trying to get us involved in his little party would be the last thing on Mussolini’s mind right now. I don’t know enough about King Zog to say the same about him, but I would be willing to run the risk in trusting whom ever we send to retrieve His Majesty, if we retrieve him that is, not to get involved in a shooting war with the Italians.”
Allowing his Council to reflect upon his brother’s words, King George glanced from the face of one man after the other until he had made eye contact with each of his Counselors.
“So, my lords and gentlemen, what say you?”
“Your Majesty, I do believe,” Churchill said after the briefest pause,
“that it would be in the best interests of the British Empire to honor the request of the Albanian monarchy and provide sanctuary for King Zog and his family”
“Do any of you disagree,” the King asked plainly, again searching the faces of the Privy Council, heartened to see that not only did they all agree, but that they also reached the same conclusion that he had reached several moments ago. Nodding his head when no one spoke up, he turned to the Admiralty’s First Lord.
“Lord Monsell, please direct the First Sea Lord to make the necessary arrangements.”
“At once Your Majesty,” the First Lord replied. Turning his head he smiled at the Royal Navy’s Fleet Admiral and said,
“Admiral, please convey His Majesty’s respects to the Fleet and retrieve the Albanian king from his enemies.”
Standing with a twinkle in his eyes, Admiral Chatfield sketched a quick bow to the First Lord, a deeper one to the King, and said,
“Aye-aye, m’lord, Your Majesty, Admiral Cunningham’s fleet will have their orders within the hour.”
Looking at the retiring back of his First Sea Lord, the King muttered,
“And may God be with us in this endeavor.”
* -
Regia Marina – Italian for Royal Navy, official title of the Italian Navy
** -
Mare Nostrum – Latin for “our sea”
*** - Leros, a Greek island that is a part of the Dodecanese archipelago
The die is cast, the Rubicon has been crossed... now we wait to see the reaction the decision creates, eh? Stay tuned!
