Monarchs & Royals During WWI & WWII?

[aj00192557]

it must be so sad to be unable to save your cousin because of your position. i think that's what makes them "royal": duty first, before family. sad but there's something very regal about it.

 

[susan alicia]

scots honoured for rescue mission

Donald Edwards will be one of four men receiving the medal

Scottish war veterans who helped rescue the King of Norway in a dangerous wartime mission are to be honoured for their bravery.

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Rescue mission Scots are honoured

On Sunday, four Scots who served on the HMS Glasgow in 1940 were awarded one of Norway's highest military honours at a ceremony in Edinburgh.
The men took part in a daring secret mission to rescue the Norwegian royal family and government.

Donald Edwards was just 16 when he took part in the mission to rescue King Haakon the Seventh, Crown Prince Olav, government ministers, civil servants and some foreign diplomats at Molde. The men were in hiding and in danger of being stranded as German forces advanced.

"It was pitch black, the whole place was on fire and everything was done at 100% speed," Mr Edwards said. "It wasn't until later we realised what we'd done - that we'd rescued a king and a prince, actually took them away under the noses of the Germans."

Since it is 60 years since the end of WW2, and there is an discussion on the 60th anniversary-tread, I thought it would be interesting to know what the European monarchs did to help its people. And what did the rest of the royal family do during the war?

So I start by writing down what I know that King Haakon of Norway did during the war;
The King and CP Olav and some of the ministers had a rather action-filled run from the Nazis. After the King had refused to accept the Nazi government led by Quisling, they had to escape because the Germans had sent troops to catch them. They just barely avoided being captured, and managed to get on board a ship to London. The King arrived in London 7. June 1940 and worked with the Exile government who had been established in London in May 1940. From London The King and CP Olav led the resistance, and the King gave speaches on the radio to keep ut the spirit of the Norwegian people. These speaches became very important to the Norwegians.

CP Märtha and the children (Princess Astrid, Princess Ragnhild and Prince Harald) tried to escape to Sweden, but was refused entry. They were evacuated to the USA, and stayed there the entire war. They visited Norwegian training camps for pilots and soldiers in Canada to boost morale. They also became friends with president Roosevelt and his wife.

 

[Mapple]

The escape of Haakon VII was indeed a remarkable event. He sailed to the UK in HMS Devonshire, which was the only ship to receive a distress signal from the aircraft carrier Glorious--she had met two German battleships. The Devonshire had to observe radio silence--the British could not take the risk of losing the King.

 

[foiegrass]

was denmark occupied by the germans during the war?

 

[Louise]

was denmark occupied by the germans during the war?

Yes, from april 1940 to may 1945.

 

[H.M. Margrethe]

Yes, from april 1940 to may 1945.

Sadly enough..Louise have you ever seen the serie callede Matador her in Denmark?
It´s a serie about a city an it´s life in it her in Denmark from 1929 to 1947 and it interesting to learn how they was struggling tru the war.

 

[maidmarion]

Interesting info

Thank You everyone for sharing all this information. Having been born in the 60's, stories of WWII were always fresh in my relatives minds. Some of these stories of the European Royal families always make for great discussion. Being of European descent and living in Canada as a Canadian makes me very proud to hear about what our society did for the love of tradition and family and cultural customs.
Cheers,
MM

 

[fee]

Scottish war veterans who helped rescue the King of Norway in a dangerous wartime mission are to be honoured for their bravery. Lt Colonel Jan Magnus Brekkhus, of HM The King's Guard of Norway, said: "It's very important for Norway to pay tribute to those men who made such a tremendous effort to help us at a difficult time."

Quite honestly to me it is surprising and almost contradictory, that they would take 60 years until they finally honour these men (and others in other circumstances) if it was indeed so important to them.

 

[snowflower]

Greek Royals and WWII

When Italy proclaimed war to Greece, the King didn't even know it until the morning. The Italian ambassandor went to the Prime Minister's house really early in the Morning, and gave him a telegraph which stated taht , unless Greece surrendered to Italy within 3 hours, war would be proclaimed. Prime Minister Metaxas couldn't reach the Government and the King , so he acted alone declaring that Greece would not surrender. As a result, the royal family learned about the war the next morning when sirines started because the Italian airplanes were flying over Athens.

The whole family started concentreting then to Greece. Crown Prince Paul and Frederika with Sofia and baby Constantine moved to the centre of Athens and stayed with King George and Princess Catherine( Paul and George's sister) in the King's palace. Their niece, Alexandra with their mother Aspasia Manos were living in Venice and were forced the day war was proclaimed to evacuate their home taking only a luggage each and they travelled through Yugoslavia to Athens on the train that was appointed to exchange Greeks form Italy and Italians form Greece to Yugoslavia. Princess Elena and Princess Alice also left their suburban villas and moved to the centre when the bombing began. The last ones to arrive in Athens were Prince George and his wife Marie Bonaparte from Paris and Prince Philip who came to stay with the family a few days before going to serve in the British Royal Navy.Only two members of the family didn't try to join t the rest, Prince Andrew who was living in Monte Carlo and Prince Peter (George and Marie's son ) who stayed in Paris. When bombs started falling, they had to move to Prince George's palace, bacause it was thought to be a safer building.

The day the Germans reached Lamia, the whole family left for Crete, first the women and then the men,and from then they went to Egypt and to South Africa. Paul, Frederica, the children , Marie , George and Catherine settled there and they were joined by Princess Eugenie ( George and Marie's daughter) and her family. Aspasia and Alexandra went to London and King George spent half his time in London and the other half in South Africa. Only two Greek Royals stayed in Greece: Princess Alice , who would not leave and Princess Elena who tried to go and meet her daughter Marina in London but couldn't . They moved in together at Prince George's house.

A quite funny anecdote concerning the first days of war: Mussolini had already bombed Patra , resulting to many deaths and was threatening to bomb Thesaloniki the next day . Thesaloniki didn't have many shelters and the King was over worried, organising stuff etc. Then a telephone arrived from their Embassy in Yugoslavia, and the man on the phone told to King George" Sir , I am to pass you a message from Princess Olga . She informs you that you should not worry about Thesaloniki today." " And how comes cousin Olga exactly knows it?" "Well, Sir, she told me right now to tell you that these imbeciles in the Airforce mixed the cities and bombarded Monastir instead" It seems it is after all useful to have relatives married into other Houses.....

 

[RJ TAYLER]

HRH Prince Henry Duke Of Gloucester was Governor-General of Australia for the last year of WWII ( term being 1945-1947). He also was the only Royal Governor-General in the Commonwealth of Australia's history.

 

[Wisteria]

May I make a summary of this subject.

1. Some went some stayed.
2. Some were exemplary and some were not.

 

[RoyalistRiley]

The Duke fo Windsor (ex King Edward VIII) spent the war as Governor of the Bahamas. It was believed that the Duke should be kept as far away as possible from the war due to his fascist leanings.

 

[Perislov]

The Duke fo Windsor (ex King Edward VIII) spent the war as Governor of the Bahamas. It was believed that the Duke should be kept as far away as possible from the war due to his fascist leanings.

That's a fascinating fact.

Thanks!

 

[Mirabel]

I may be mistaken about this, but weren't many of the people who fled to Canada and the USA considered cowardly by those who stayed? I read Nancy Mitford's books set in that era, and she had some scathing things to say about people who used children as a ticket out.

(I remember there was a popular song titled The King is still in London that lauded him for refusing to evacuate.)

There was also that story that when Parliament was considering leaving the capital, the King and Churchill wore Sten guns onto the floor and said that if nobody else would stay and fight, they would.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

King Ferdinand I of Romania decorated French General Berthelot during World War I.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFAr8jhwqjE

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Starting in 1917 Emperor Charles I of Austria tried to make a separate peace treaty between Austria and the Allies. To this end he sent his brothers-in-law, Prince Sixtus and Prince Xavier, on several occasions, to the governments of France and England.

Queen Consort Elizabeth spoke at the beginning of the Second World War to the nation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O4h2DN2sQI

Queen Marie of Romania was dubbed "Mother of the Wounded" and "Mother of Soldiers" thanks to her active role during the First World War. She travelled to both the front line and to hospitals to ease the suffering of soldiers.

 

[Andy T]

Looking at these images 99 years after the end of the 1914-18 War has made me speculate about how, if at all, the centenary of the end of so many monarchies will be marked next year when the thrones of Austria-Hungary, the German Empire/Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Wurttemberg, Montenegro, the German Grand Duchies, Principalities and Duchies plus the embryonic Kingdoms of Finland and Lithuania were all swept away. 1918 will also be the centenary of the murder of Tsar Nicholas II, as well.

 

[Mbruno]

I may be mistaken about this, but weren't many of the people who fled to Canada and the USA considered cowardly by those who stayed? I read Nancy Mitford's books set in that era, and she had some scathing things to say about people who used children as a ticket out.

I suppose that the monarchs who fled to England and continued the war from there with a government in exile, e.g. Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Haakon VII of Norway, were viewed mostly favorably by the populace of their respective countries. Christian X stayed in Denmark during the war , but is still viewed mostly favorably as someone who (at least pasively) opposed / defied the Nazi occupation; the extent to which that was actually true is debatable.

Leopold III of the Belgians, who also stayed in the country and was effectively held under house arrest by the Germans, is on the contrary viewed mostly negatively for two main reasons: first, he was at odds with the Belgian government in exile in London, who had advised him to leave with them for England and continue the war from there; second, it was inevitable that his decision to surrender to the Germans would be contrasted to his father's heroic stance during WWI when King Albert I never surrendered and took personal command of the Belgian army, holding on to a small piece of unoccupied Belgian territory throughout the war. The latter, however, was not an option for Leopold III as, unlike in WWI, there was no stalemate and years-long trench warfare in Belgium; the German blitzkrieg pretty much overran the country and the Allies were not in a position to strike back until 1944.

In hindsight, following Wilhelmina's and Haakion's examples and leaving for England rather than surrendering and staying in Belgium against the advice of his own ministers would have been better in the long run for Leopold III's image, but subsequent insinuations that he was a collaborationist, especially after meeting with Hitler personally in 1940, are again debatable.

 

[Curryong]

I think Nancy Mitford's books mentioned upper class English people, some with American connections, who opted to sit out the war in comfort in Canada and the US, rather than monarchs etc who fled to England because their countries were conquered.

Of course, for those who had Jewish blood, saw what had been happening on the Continent, and feared a German invasion of Britain, there was some excuse. As well, people of means feared mass bombing and wanted to at least get their children out even if they stayed. Quite a few such children crossed the Atlantic in the first year or so of the war. Then a u-boat attacked one of these vessels carrying youngsters and there was a huge loss of life. So the voyages virtually stopped.

Some were criticised in newspapers for flights out of Britain. I know Alexander Korda (the filmmaker) and Noel Coward, both of whom crossed over to the US frequently, were the subject of attack. Churchill was embarrassed, as Korda was often undertaking secret diplomatic missions in Washington on behalf of the British Government, but frequent Press attacks meant he had to defend Korda (a naturalised Englishman) on the floor of the House of Commons.

Coward was also on 'showing the British flag' endeavours on these excursions. The poet WS Auden, who had left the UK permanently for the US just before the start of the war, was also hauled over the coals by newspaper journalists, though what use he would have been in the British armed services, heaven knows!

As for more obscure middleclass people, who knows whether their departure across the Atlantic was greatly resented. No doubt opinion was mixed. Perhaps some said they were cowards, others 'Half their luck!' Some were too old to be of much help in the war effort anyway.

 

[Denville]

I think Nancy Mitford's books mentioned upper class English people, some with American connections, who opted to sit out the war in comfort in Canada and the US, rather than monarchs etc who fled to England because their countries were conquered.

Of course, for those who had Jewish blood, saw what had been happening on the Continent, and feared a German invasion of Britain, there was some excuse. As well, people of means feared mass bombing and wanted to at least get their children out even if they stayed. Quite a few such children crossed the Atlantic in the first year or so of the war. Then a u-boat attacked one of these vessels carrying youngsters and there was a huge loss of life. So the voyages virtually stopped.

Some were criticised in newspapers for flights out of Britain. I know Alexander Korda (the filmmaker) and Noel Coward, both of whom crossed over to the US frequently, were the subject of attack. Churchill was embarrassed, as Korda was often undertaking secret diplomatic missions in Washington on behalf of the British Government, but frequent Press attacks meant he had to defend Korda (a naturalised Englishman) on the floor of the House of Commons.



As for more obscure middleclass people, who knows whether their departure across the Atlantic was greatly resented. No doubt opinion was mixed. Perhaps some said they were cowards, others 'Half their luck!' Some were too old to be of much help in the war effort anyway.

tehere is a difference between the monarch leaving and ordinary people, usually rich ones, leaving. The monarch was the symbol of the country, and if he or she stayed, they were in effect giving in to the Nazis and accepting their rule.. It was difficult for htem to avoid accusations of collaboration, even if their motives were to try and protect their people and keep the Nazis from the worst excesses... For ordinary rich people who were able to leave or send their children away, the implication was that they were avoiding the bombs and the shortages and avoiding having to fight or help the war effort.. If they were Jewish it was understandable.. but otherwise, many thought they were being cowardly...

 

[RonniR]

you wrote:
CP Märtha and the children (Princess Astrid, Princess Ragnhild and Prince Harald) tried to escape to Sweden, but was refused entry. They were evacuated to the USA, and stayed there the entire war. They visited Norwegian training camps for pilots and soldiers in Canada to boost morale. They also became friends with president Roosevelt and his wife.[/QUOTE]

This is what happend:
WW2
When Germany attacked Norway on April 9, 1940, the Royal Family, the Government and most of the parliamentarians managed to leave Oslo before the German troops moved in. Crown Princess Märtha and the three children crossed the border to Sweden the same night. On August 12, they traveled to the United States, on invitation from Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Crown Prince pair had become close friends with the American presidential couple during a long visit to the USA in the summer of 1939. Crown Princess Märtha worked tirelessly for Norwegian interests, and her friendship with the presidential couple helped to make her go through. She participated in a wide range of areas, from official visits, lectures and talks, to relief missions and refugee work.

The Crown Princess returned to Norway with the children and King Haakon, June 7, 1945. She was met with great warmth - her great efforts during the war had made her even more popular among the people at home.

While king and Crown Prince continued the flight to northern Norway and later to England, Crown Princess Märtha traveled across the border with Sälen with his child and sought shelter with his Swedish family.

Eventually it became Ulriksdal Castle at Edsviken just north of Stockholm, which became the temporary resting place while the war raged in Norway and outside Europe.

Prince Harald becomes great politician
The summer idyll on Ulriksdal lasted only a few months. The Crown Princess was exposed to a strong political press from Oslo, where heavy political interests would cooperate with the occupation power and insert the three-year-old Prince Harald as new king in Norway. Also, King Gustav V and the Swedish government believed that this could save the Norwegian kingdom, and Gustav V sent a letter to Hitler and recommended this solution.

The situation was completely unsustainable for the wars of refugees on Ulriksdal. The Norwegian royal house had to choose a page. The Crown Princess and the children could not risk standing on one side while King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav stood on the other with the Allies in London.

It was time to travel from Ulriksdal. In a hurry, the Norwegian warships break up in August 1940 and travel through Sweden and Finland to the port of Petchenga in the present Russia. There they board aboard a US troop ship that brought them to safety in the United States.

My dear Godfather
In the documentary "Crown Princess Märtha's War" we follow the Norwegian war refugees throughout their stay in the United States in the period 1940-1945. From the dramatic press conference at the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel, when the Crown Princess is in the center of the World Press, to their new home outside of Washington on the property "Pooks Hill". Through brand new sources, not least the crown princess's own slim film footage and photographs, we get close to the royal exile existence.

From the very first day, the Crown Princess and her children were practically incorporated into President Franklin D Roosevelt's own family. They often lived in the White House and in the president's private country-house, and Roosevelt engages strongly and personally in everything that happened in the life of the little family. In his letter, the Crown Princess calls the American president for "My dear Godfather".

In the documentary we also follow the Norwegian author Tor Bomann-Larsen in the crown princess's footsteps in Washington and New York. - Crown Princess Märtha meant a lot to the American president, and she gave a huge human contribution to ease the huge burden rested on the president during the war. Her role was in the international arena. Crown Princess Märtha belonged to world history, says King Biennographer Tor Bomann-Larsen.


There is also made a movie about those days in 1940 and its called: The King's Choice ( it can be seen on Amazon)

Good movie

 

[RonniR]

About H.R.H CP Märtha

WW2
When Germany attacked Norway on April 9, 1940, the Royal Family, the Government and most of the parliamentarians managed to leave Oslo before the German troops moved in. Crown Princess Märtha and the three children crossed the border to Sweden the same night. On August 12, they traveled to the United States, on invitation from Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Crown Prince pair had become close friends with the American presidential couple during a long visit to the USA in the summer of 1939. Crown Princess Märtha worked tirelessly for Norwegian interests, and her friendship with the presidential couple helped to make her go through. She participated in a wide range of areas, from official visits, lectures and talks, to relief missions and refugee work.

The Crown Princess returned to Norway with the children and King Haakon, June 7, 1945. She was met with great warmth - her great efforts during the war had made her even more popular among the people at home.

While king and Crown Prince continued the flight to northern Norway and later to England, Crown Princess Märtha traveled across the border with Sälen with his child and sought shelter with his Swedish family.

Eventually it became Ulriksdal Castle at Edsviken just north of Stockholm, which became the temporary resting place while the war raged in Norway and outside Europe.

Prince Harald becomes great politician
The summer idyll on Ulriksdal lasted only a few months. The Crown Princess was exposed to a strong political press from Oslo, where heavy political interests would cooperate with the occupation power and insert the three-year-old Prince Harald as new king in Norway. Also, King Gustav V and the Swedish government believed that this could save the Norwegian kingdom, and Gustav V sent a letter to Hitler and recommended this solution.

The situation was completely unsustainable for the wars of refugees on Ulriksdal. The Norwegian royal house had to choose a page. The Crown Princess and the children could not risk standing on one side while King Haakon VII and Crown Prince Olav stood on the other with the Allies in London.

It was time to travel from Ulriksdal. In a hurry, the Norwegian warships break up in August 1940 and travel through Sweden and Finland to the port of Petchenga in the present Russia. There they board aboard a US troop ship that brought them to safety in the United States.

My dear Godfather
In the documentary "Crown Princess Märtha's War" we follow the Norwegian war refugees throughout their stay in the United States in the period 1940-1945. From the dramatic press conference at the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel, when the Crown Princess is in the center of the World Press, to their new home outside of Washington on the property "Pooks Hill". Through brand new sources, not least the crown princess's own slim film footage and photographs, we get close to the royal exile existence.

From the very first day, the Crown Princess and her children were practically incorporated into President Franklin D Roosevelt's own family. They often lived in the White House and in the president's private country-house, and Roosevelt engages strongly and personally in everything that happened in the life of the little family. In his letter, the Crown Princess calls the American president for "My dear Godfather".

In the documentary we also follow the Norwegian author Tor Bomann-Larsen in the crown princess's footsteps in Washington and New York. - Crown Princess Märtha meant a lot to the American president, and she gave a huge human contribution to ease the huge burden rested on the president during the war. Her role was in the international arena. Crown Princess Märtha belonged to world history, says King Biennographer Tor Bomann-Larsen.

There is a good movie that was made in 2016 or 2017, its called The Kings Choice, its about those first days of war in Norway 1940. It is with english sub. You can find it on Amazon

 

[Tatiana Maria]

Thank you for the excellent post! I agree that Crown Princess Märtha was a real advocate for her country.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Emperor Wilhelm II's speech about the First World War

 

[Mbruno]

Emperor Wilhelm II's speech about the First World War

Let's not forget:


1) Emperor (Kaiser) Wilhelm II, King George V, and Empress (Tsarina) Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) were first cousins (all of them were grandchildren of Queen Victoria).


2) King George V and Emperor (Tsar) Nicholas II were also first cousins (both were grandsons of King Christian IX of Denmark).



3) King George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II, if I am not mistaken, were also both second cousins once removed to King Albert I of the Belgians since Albert I was a great-grandson of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, whereas George V and Wilheim II were both great-great-grandsons of the same said duke.

 

[Kataryn]

Let's not forget:

3) King George V and Kaiser Wilhelm II, if I am not mistaken, were also both second cousins once removed to King Albert I of the Belgians since Albert I was a great-grandson of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, whereas George V and Wilheim II were both great-great-grandsons of the same said duke.

Yep. Because Ernst I. (father of prince Albert), Victoria (mother of queen Victoria) and Leopold I (first king of the Belgians) were siblings, the Belgian Royal family is related to the BRF through several lines.

Leopold's daughter Charlotte of Belgium (so a direct cousin of Victoria and Albert) was the sister-in-law of emperor Franz Joseph I., married to the unfortunate Archduke Maximilian who died on trying to defend his throne as emperor of Mexico).



Plus queen Luise of Prussia, the mother of German Emperor Wilhelm I was the niece of Sophie Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strehlitz, George III.'s queen.

Thus queen Victoria and Wilhelm I. were cousins.



Another sibling was prince Ferdinand, whose son (named Ferdinand, too) became king of Portugal as husband of the Portugese heiress queen Maria II.


The husband and prince consort of queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who granted Wilhelm II. asylum after WWII., was a cousin of the emperor. His grandmother Alexandrine of Prussia was a sister of Wilhelm I.. The Dutch Royal House in the time between 1850 and 1918 had lots of intermarriages between Prussian princes and princesses and Royals from the Netherlands, so Wilhelm I. and queen Wilhelmina were closely related, too.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Princess Antoinette of Monaco rolled bandages in the Second World War and visited the Italian and German soldiers who had been sent to Monaco's hospital for medical help.

Emperor Charles I of Austria at the bedside of a wounded man in 1917.
https://www.gettyimages.com/license/551900891

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium visited the shattered ruins of Ypres.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-w...belgium-visiting-the-shattered-131021827.html

 

[Muhler]

I'm genuinely surprised there was that much left of the town!

 

[Iluvbertie]

The walls weren't destroyed which did protect some parts of the town (at least that was what I was told on my tour there with a local WWI expert on the town during the war). Buildings close to the walls survived while those in the middle of the town were badly damaged but many weren't fully destroyed although many had to be torn down after the war as they couldn't be repaired. It was never taken and was always in Belgian hands - it was often used, as a place for the soldiers to rest between periods in the front lines - even during the major battles that bear its name.

There are also some wonderful places to buy Belgian chocolates and waffles. Many of the chocolate tins are also memorials to the war with images from the war and there are places to buy a range of memorabilia - both weaponry and poppies. It is a very moving town to visit and I would urge everyone planning a WWI visit to Europe to include it in their visit. I know I want to go back.

For those of you who have never been there, or are planning a trip to the WWI battlefields, this is a 'must see' town but also the various cemeteries around the town, including the Commonwealth War Grave at Tyne Cot but also the German one not far away. I can't believe that four years ago today I was there and laid a wreath during the Menin Gate ceremony - a moving occasion.

The Cloth Hall is a must see as well - it was very badly damaged and is now largely a museum to the war telling the story of Belgium during the war - a country we often forget was very badly affected as a result of the occupation but whose King lead from the front and never left his men.

Many people concentrate on the French battlefields and ignore the Belgian ones which I think is sad - as well as many Aussies and Brits etc ignore Verdun and the surrounding areas there - which are also moving.

One of the things that struck me at the American cemetery near Verdun was the dates of so many of the dead and missing - 10th and 11th November, 1918. I was told, when there, that very few people bother going that far east into France to see the battlefields there as most Americans concentrate on the D-Day battlefields and others from WWII while the Commonwealth citizens concentrate on their battlefields. You can even incorporate a visit to these areas with some lovely wineries as this area is close to and in the champagne region of France.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Romania did enter the First World War on the side of the British and their allies on August 27, 1916. Queen Marie had an unquestioning faith in Britain. It had been unthinkable to King Ferdinand to fight for Britain against Germany and the Central Powers. Marie persuaded Ferdinand to side with Britain.