Chapter 16: Wall Street Swastika: The Prince Kisses A Nazi:
“I would be delighted to attend your rally in Nuremberg,” the Prince smiled. “Lately things are getting rather boring here in Whitehall.”
Dora could see him yawn. She realized she was still holding the curtain dividing the two dining rooms. She was aghast and let go. She did not want to be caught doing something so conspicuous. But even after she let go she could hear the Prince yawn again.
“Good!” the interpreter translated Hitler’s words. “We will make you our honored guest. Frick will be attending the rally of course. I will introduce you to him. Also I have some other candidates who might want to run for office. I would be honored to introduce them to you.”
“I should also be honored,” the Prince replied. “It sounds far more interesting and productive than when I have to attend a party here in London to meet the new Prime Minister or the Minister of this or that or God forbid! the new party candidates for Parliament. They all look alike, sound alike, and have the same repetitious, stupid ideas.” He sighed. “If you told them they had to create a new political party from scratch with brand new ideas suited for the time period and all this unemployment and lack of job opportunity, they would be appalled. They would probably go running for the moors and never be seen in London again.”
Hitler could be heard laughing. His translator joined in positively guffawing.
Winston’s jaw dropped. He scribbled furiously on a piece of paper. He scribbled so hard he was tearing the paper. “We cannot allow this trip. We must prevent this for the good of the British people. Their Majesties would be appalled.”
Edward wrote back, “How are we going to proceed? We can hardly walk up to a Royal and tell him he is a naughty boy and must go to his room. In fact, I have never been introduced. I don’t think I by any existing protocol could speak to him at all.”
“I know him,” Churchill wrote back. “I have spoken to him often on from the time he was a boy. In fact, when I was younger he used to be a neighbor of mine of sorts. He was always getting into trouble about protocol. But that is the Prince of Wales for you. If I know the man, we have to create a distraction.”
Dora thought, A neighbor of the Prince of Wales? I wonder what Winston could mean? She directed her questioning look at Edward.
He got her meaning right away. While Winston was busy looking at his pocket watch, drinking his wine, and consulting a pocket guide of what looked like train schedules, Edward wrote a note to Dora. “Winston is the grandson of the Duke of Marlborough. He is almost a British royal himself. That side of him is not well known especially among foreigners. He was born at Blenheim Palace in 1874, you know, and Blenheim Palace is one of the most splendid castles in the realm.”
“How are we going to distract a Prince?” Edward wrote.
Winston wrote back, “That is the question of the hour. It could save the Kingdom for us.”
The party next door seemed to be breaking up. Hitler seemed to be rising from his seat along with his interpreter. “We will send details of the event to you through our embassy in London. I want to introduce you to Frau and Herr von Wessel, the commercial attache here in London.”
To Dora’s horror the couple walked unexpectedly into the next room and shook the Prince’s hand.
“We will be delighted to invite you to dinner at the Embassy next week, Prince Edward,” Frau von Wessel seemed to purr at His Majesty. “We would have invited you there today except there was some what we might call unexpected interference.”
Dora felt a chill go down her spine. No doubt Frau von Wessel meant them. They switched locales at the last moment and had Hitler appear at the Savoy Hotel dining room instead.
“There is nothing I would rather do, but why wait for next week?” the Prince responded. “I am eager to learn everything about your German project that I can as soon as I can and what I can do to help finance it. After all, I have an excessive allowance. I don’t need all the money that Whitehall throws at me.” He laughed.
The Germans chortled. Hitler laughed the loudest of all.
Churchill paled. He wrote furiously, “We can’t have a scandal of such proportions. The Prince will give away government money to a criminal party in Germany? Impossible!”
“Very well,” Frau von Wessel spoke in her alto voice, “How about tomorrow night at our place?”
“Yes indeed!” Herr von Wessel seconded his wife.
“Certainly I would go anywhere for such a lovely teacher!” the Prince exclaimed about Frau von Wessel.
“The von Wessels will attend our rally in Nuremberg,” Hitler replied through his interpreter.
“I would rather go with no one else!”
Winston madly scribbled. “This is the worst possible development. The Prince is besotted with ladies and mistresses. He is one of the worst ladies’ men since Henry VIII!”
Dora could not imagine it. But she heard the sound of the Prince kissing Frau von Wessel’s hand.
Beautiful young woman retro portrait