Royal Ambassadors: British Royalties in Southern Africa 1860 – 1947
By Theo Aronson
Here, in all their pomp and colour, are described the visits of various members of the British royal family to Southern Africa between the years 1860 and 1947.
These royal visitors included Queen Victoria’s second son, the 15-year-old Prince Alfred, in 1860; twenty years later, two of his nephews, Prince Albert Victor and Prince George; in 1901, during the Anglo-Boer War, Prince George again – the future King George V – accompanied by his wife Princess Mary, the future Queen Mary; four years later, Queen Victoria’s third daughter Princess Helena, visiting the grave of her son Prince Christian Victor, who had died in the Anglo-Boer War; in 1925 that most charming, controversial and unconventional heir to the throne, the 30-year-old Prince of Wales; and finally, in 1947, as a climax to all these visits, came the sovereign himself – King George VI, with his radiant queen and their two daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.
The book is considerably more, however, than a mere day-to-day account of these brilliant royal visits. Rather it is a series of incisive biographical studies of each of the visitors and, more important, an attempt to evaluate the mood and the political worth of these occasions. The various royalties are presented, not simply as visitors, but as ambassadors for the monarchy; through these visits Theo Aronson explores the always delicate relationship between South Africa and the British Crown.
Royal Ambassadors is a superb blend of history, politics and royal biography.