Edward VIII of England King



Future Edward VIII ALS to Royal Australian Naval College Commander 2 Weeks before World War I







2pp ALS inscribed overall and signed by Edward, then Prince of Wales (1894-1972) as "Edward" at center of the second page. Written at Buckingham Palace, London, England on July 14, 1914. On custom bifold cream stationery paper, a black triple-plumed "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense" royal seal embossed in the upper left corner. Expected light paper folds, else near fine, each page measuring 4" x 6.25". Accompanied by a matching envelope addressed to "Commander Duncan W. Grant. R.A.N." and monogramed "E" in the lower left corner. The envelope is letter-opened.







Transcribed below in full, with original spelling and punctuation:







"Buckingham Palace,





London.







July 14th 1914.







Dear Commander Grant,







Very many thanks for your letter which I should have answered before. But my father has been away, so I though it more satisfactory to wait till I had asked him about the photo.







I have much pleasure in enclosing 2 photos for the Royal Australian Naval College at Geelong; one of the king + one of myself.







I hope you like your present job; it must be an interesting one + then you are living in a wonderful country which I hope to visit some time in the near future. Perhaps we shall meet out there; who knows? Hoping this will arrive safely + with all good wishes,







I remain,







Yrs - very sincerely







Edward."







The Prince of Wales wrote this letter roughly one month after he had joined the Grenadier Guards, in June 1914, and two weeks before the onset of World War I. His correspondent, Commander Duncan M. Grant, was the executive officer at the Royal Australian Naval College between 1912-1914 and 1915-1917. This officers' college was temporarily located at Geelong before it moved to its permanent campus near Nowra in southeastern Australia in 1915.







The future Edward VIII had long been earmarked for the Royal Navy. He had attended naval colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth before serving as a midshipman aboard H.M.S. Hindustan for three months in 1910. His naval career was curtailed, however, and he became a polo-playing student at Oxford instead.







Edward speculated in the letter that perhaps he would visit Australia "in the near future." 6 years later, in the spring of 1920, Edward conducted a 49-day tour of Australia, visiting 110 towns and cities. His visit acknowledged the tremendous war contributions of British imperial holdings, like Australia and New Zealand, during World War I.







WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!