This project has reached another Butterfly milestone and gotten me an alert of someone chuckling at something I said 6 months ago.
...
I need to reread this work, I think.
That "someone" is probably me, catching up on this delightful AAR after having not read it since last spring (which in British time means two or three Prime Ministers ago).
Being the proscrinator that I am, I am finally caught up with your AAR, Le Jones. As I was reading, several things stood out to me.
If Butler was seen as a natural leader (and he wasn’t, he just knew how to fire a rifle, and some basic tactical drill, which in the eyes of the Republicans made him the next Duke of Wellington)...
I love how low the bar is to be a "natural leader" in the Republican ranks. "Oh? You know how to pull a trigger? Okay! You're a General now! Lead us to victory!"
“Here are the results from the Exigency Government,” Hacking said flatly, pointing to a second page.
Chamberlain rolled his eyes. “Is that what Lloyd George is calling them?! What a silly name.”
Of course it's a silly name, Chamberlain. This is politics we are talking about. Silly names and politics go hand-in-hand.
“I am fruity Metcalfe, I’m, er, supporting the head man at the moment.
Fruity Metcalfe? Really?
...was to drag the children to Huelva to see the tomb of William Martin / Glyndwr Michael, 'the man who never was'.
I saw a documentary on him once. Interesting story.
On another note, was just reading HANSARD on the OTL abdication address (y'know, just in case) and spotted this...
View attachment 853995
The Duke of Pork.
“So, which of you gets to kiss my hand,” the King asked this with such levity that for the first time it dawned on the politicians that he was almost certainly intoxicated.
A drunk Edward VIII; sadly, a sober Edward VIII isn't much better.
As Prime Minister Anthony Eden was the custodian of much of that prerogative power and looked uncomfortably around his colleagues. “Yes, ah, but…”
Good luck with your new job, buddy. You will need it, especially after taking over from you-know-who.
Will the King approve Herbert Morrison’s re-appointment to Cabinet for a seventh time? Can Hugh Dalton stave off international crisis on his mission to the Kingdom of the Undead? And just how will Clement Attlee fare in his driving test? Find out next time, on
The Kingly Consensus!
I see someone has taken notes from
@El Pip's Norway AAR.
“God Save the King,” Eden, feeling that he should say something, tried to say this with due formality. He turned and bowed to King George VI. “Your Majesty.” He took, and kissed, the King’s hand, not sure if this was the correct thing to do but feeling that something was warranted.
I really enjoyed being a fly on the wall for this momentous event in history.
“Lord Sunningdale,” the King said slowly. “Yes, I think it wwwwwould work. Mama and Georgie would accept it, I think.
Lord Sunningdale: a ridiculous-sounding name fit for a disgraced former King.
There was some cheering at this, and he was glad that he, Kingsley Wood and Stanley, with Hailsham and Halifax’s assent, had decided to merge the Abdication and Accession addresses so as to wheel Edward out of the picture and George onto it.
I think that was a smart move, to kill two birds with one stone.
Let no word be spoken today that the utterer of that word may, ah, come to regret in days to come, let no word be spoken that causes pain, and let us not forget today the revered and beloved figure of Queen Mary, what all this time has meant to her, and think again of His Majesty, King George, of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and of their young daughters, who now occupy places of constitutional significance.
It's striking to read this now.
As I've said above, Churchill is an interesting one - PM in this TL is utterly out of the question, and I concur with @El Pip that the best case for him is probably as a semi-detached elder statesman type (which is also what I think will happen to Attlee, as we'll see).
I am glad to see that neither Chamberlain nor Churchill get the Prime Minister job TTL. I am really interested in seeing how things go with a different driver at the wheel (in this case Eden).
He opened his mouth, gave his banjo an exploratory twang, and…
Er, no. I’m nearly ready to post our next update, but before I do....
Well played, sir. Well played.
Please, no requests for the state of the Dutch bicycle industry or radial engines in fighters – for that level of encyclopaedic detail, @El Pip has the Great White Queen, the Grandmama of Europe, the Queen Victoria of AARs from which all other AARs...descend.
Like a masterpiece painting,
@El Pip's monumental AAR will outlive everybody.
And then we have another Butler, but not the fictional spy, but the sadly very real RA ‘RAB’ Butler. In KFM he was of course, one of the ‘baddies’ in an AAR that (not unlike this one) had its share of scandal and intrigue, I accept that he could be competent but he was, by nature, a schemer.
Ah, yes. Rab Butler. A man I awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to in my Vietnam War AAR, partly because I liked the irony of it.
Mercifully, the King saw the funny sound and barked what was a genuine guffaw. “New King, new Prime Minister. We’ll have to muddle through as best one ccccc-can.”
A sentence that can apply to 2022 as well.
“Is Ribbentwerp kidding?”
I like that.
Half the newspapers supported the King, who turned out to be a deceitful coward (never mind his PM) and the other half supported Chamberlain, who turned out to be a sort-of British Richard Nixon and employed crooks to bug absolutely everyone.
Reading this makes me picture Chamberlain going "I am not a crook."
Good evening, all.
I had intended an update tonight, on the DLI and their adventures in India. I will delay posting until tomorrow; posting on a Royal themed AAR feels inappropriate today.
God Save The King
Given that I am catching up on this AAR after the passing of the Queen, I was wondering how the news affected this AAR at the time.
I think you're right, I've struggled to think of anyone else but they're all long deceased.
According to the
List of last survivors of historical events,
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester was the last living witness to the
Abdication of Edward VIII.
Politics is a cruel game.
A very true sentence, sadly.
“What if Princess Elizabeth abdicates, becomes a Catholic, takes up holy orders, or goes stark raving…”
*holds back a laugh*
“I don’t know,” Keyes said brightly, “I think there’s merit to stopping the odd Duke running off with a chorus girl.”
It is funny seeing Keyes talk about Harry and Meghan without him knowing that he is talking about Harry and Meghan.
“Probably look confused. The Army only recognises a tank if it eats hay and defecates!
