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00:00Queen Victoria, the Queen Empress.
00:06Her 64-year reign was one of perpetual dynastic expansion
00:10as she spread the influence of her kin into nearly all the palaces of Europe.
00:16When she died in 1901, Victoria left an extended family network
00:21that spanned nine European thrones.
00:24From London to Berlin, Oslo to Madrid,
00:28Victoria's offspring and their spouses were at the very top of high society,
00:33and they called themselves the Club.
00:37There are the people that is the aristocracy,
00:41which is slightly more important than the people,
00:45and there are the royals who are different.
00:50But despite the pomp and the privilege,
00:53Victoria's dynasty was not fit for purpose.
00:56This extended royal family would lurch from crisis to crisis.
01:01With these three men in the eye of the storm,
01:04they were first cousins who together ruled over half the earth.
01:09They were Prince George, later to become King George V of England,
01:14Tsar Nicholas II of Russia,
01:16and Kaiser William II of Germany.
01:21Long forgotten royal correspondence has come to light,
01:24revealing the real truth of their relationship
01:27at a time when monarchy was teetering at its height.
01:30My dearest Nicky, I saw William at Coburg the other day.
01:35My dear Georgie, I am sorry I did not answer you directly.
01:40We have lived through very anxious and difficult moments.
01:42What do you say to Georgie at last being married?
01:45Now all the members of the club are married.
01:48But these powerful kings sat on precarious thrones.
01:52With Queen Victoria's death, broken promises and betrayal
01:57would tear this royal club apart,
02:00putting the institution of monarchy itself in grave peril.
02:04Now previously unseen intelligence documents
02:14reveal the British king, George V,
02:17torn between duty to his throne,
02:19his country,
02:21and his family.
02:34Over the years, fragments of royal correspondence
02:45have come to light.
02:47But now, the Russian state archives
02:50have yielded more secrets.
02:52Historian Andrew Cook believes he has found
02:55the crucial missing pieces
02:56in the hidden lives of three monarchs at war.
03:00And George's letters to his cousin Nicholas
03:02offer a rare insight into life
03:04at the heart of the club.
03:07It's very much like looking over the shoulder of George
03:11as he's writing these letters.
03:13My dear Nicky,
03:15May and I are sending you a book of Windsor Castle,
03:17which I thought would interest you.
03:19We had a good day shooting today
03:20and got 2,000 pheasants and 120...
03:22I'm sending you two boxes,
03:24which contain about 80,000 stamps.
03:27Ever your devoted cousin and friend, Georgie.
03:29He's talking about the weather,
03:30he's talking about his family,
03:33he's talking about Nicholas's family,
03:35at the self-same time
03:36that he's talking about
03:37quite significant world events.
03:40But there was trouble at the heart of the club.
03:43Georgie's letters to Tsar Nicholas
03:45reveal his true feelings
03:47towards the third cousin,
03:49Queen Victoria's eldest grandson,
03:51Kaiser William,
03:53Emperor of Germany.
03:54My dearest Nicky,
04:00I saw William at Coburg the other day
04:03and he seemed more excitable than ever.
04:06He hardly spoke to me at all,
04:08which was a good thing.
04:10William fitted very neatly
04:13into that classic Edwardian character type,
04:17the club boar.
04:17He was a man who was constantly animated
04:21with new enthusiasms,
04:23motorcars, yachts, ships, you name it.
04:26And he loved to pin someone in the corner
04:28and to share his enthusiasms with them.
04:31Behind William's back,
04:33George and Nicholas shared their lack of enthusiasm
04:36for their difficult cousin.
04:38My dear Nicky,
04:39now Papa is sending me for William's birthday.
04:42Mother of boar.
04:43But I shall be there a very short time.
04:48He's the kind of person
04:49that you dread sitting next to
04:50on a transatlantic flight.
04:51He was a man of indescribable arrogance and vanity.
04:56The consensus within the family was,
04:58dodge William if you possibly can
05:00at big gatherings.
05:02My dear old Nicky,
05:04how did you get on with William
05:05when you met him this summer?
05:08Inevitably, club gatherings were state occasions
05:11and Kaiser William was a wild card.
05:16William, it has to be said,
05:18was fantastically indiscreet.
05:20We know that King Ferdinand of Bulgaria
05:24left Berlin white-hot with rage
05:26because William had made so bold
05:28as to smack him on the bottom in public.
05:31In 1904,
05:32he playfully broke a field marshal's baton
05:35over the shoulders of Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia
05:38and so on.
05:39So he was someone who was given
05:40to effusive, tactless acts
05:43which often offended people.
05:45As a young child,
05:46William had been obsessed with boats.
05:49Now, an emperor of a vigorous industrial nation,
05:53William had the chance
05:54to build a mighty German navy,
05:56one in the eye of his British relatives.
05:59This new generation of ships,
06:00this is a kind of weapon
06:01that has never been built before.
06:03It involves the latest technology.
06:05These are huge and immensely prestigious objects
06:07and they cost immense fortunes to build.
06:12William threw everything he had
06:14into an arms race
06:15and at the same time claimed
06:16nothing had changed
06:18between him and his British cousins.
06:20Only he chose to do it
06:22in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
06:25He says, for example,
06:26of course I'm not anti-British.
06:28Yes, most Germans are anti-British,
06:30but I'm not.
06:30I love Britain.
06:31I love your country.
06:32I'm the best friend you have in the world
06:33and I don't understand
06:34why I've been misunderstood
06:35and why I'm so vilified by your press.
06:39The British just laughed.
06:40They thought it was hilarious.
06:42But William, the club boar,
06:44didn't get the joke.
06:46He looked down on both George and Nicholas.
06:49He saw George as a hopeless homebody
06:51who didn't travel enough,
06:52who knew no foreign languages,
06:54of Nicholas II of Russia.
06:55He famously said he was perhaps good
06:57for growing turnips
06:58and living in a country house,
06:59but not for much else.
07:01Whilst Queen Victoria's very presence
07:03had kept these family feuds in check,
07:06the new British king, Edward VII,
07:08preferred the high life to club politics,
07:11much to William's disgust.
07:14William had profound contempt
07:16for his uncle Bertie.
07:18He thought that he was self-indulgent,
07:21which he certainly was.
07:22He thought he was stupid,
07:23which he certainly wasn't.
07:25And even more important, perhaps,
07:27he thought that he did not really count as a king.
07:31He was only a king while William was an emperor.
07:35But time was running out for this royal dynasty,
07:38riven with jealousy, rivalry,
07:40and the might of empires.
07:43His history proved only too bitterly
07:45that a royal alliance was no guarantee
07:48of a political alliance.
07:51Britain and Germany were gearing up
07:53for all-out war.
07:57At the dawn of the 20th century,
08:07nine European thrones were related
08:09through Queen Victoria.
08:11Intimate letters revealed the hidden lives
08:13of the three cousins at the centre
08:15of her royal club.
08:17George, William, and Nicholas.
08:20My dear Nicky,
08:22I look upon you, if I may do so,
08:24as one of my oldest and best friends,
08:26Georgie.
08:29But as Britain edged closer to war with Germany,
08:32and whilst the Russian people starved,
08:35the monarchs played on.
08:36My dearest Nicky,
08:45I hope that you have enjoyed your cruise in the yacht.
08:48You seem to be having a very boisterous season,
08:51with no end of balls and parties.
08:54I'm afraid you get but little rest.
08:57Ever your devoted cousin and friend,
08:59Georgia.
08:59On the 2nd of August, 1909,
09:08Georgie's cousin and friend,
09:09Tsar Nicholas,
09:10arrived in England with his family
09:12for the cow's regatta.
09:14The whole family, children included,
09:16had travelled in their royal yacht,
09:18the standard.
09:19Its bow was covered in gold leaf,
09:22and it was thought to be
09:22the most luxurious yacht afloat.
09:25The Russian Tsar was, of course,
09:28a wealthy man,
09:30and it was a completely different world.
09:34Sometimes it was more than
09:37the wildest fantasies of Hollywood would go.
09:42There were journalists everywhere,
09:43there were filmed,
09:44there were newsreels about the fleet reviews,
09:46there were also these regattas and yacht races.
09:49The lifestyle was absolutely enviable,
09:58elegant inertia,
09:59sometimes signing a few documents in between,
10:01but they would meet for these tremendous royal parties.
10:08It was a whirl of social events.
10:11The new British king, Edward VII,
10:13and his son, the future King George V,
10:16entertained the Tsar and Tsarina of Russia.
10:18A family portrait taken at the time
10:22shows two families enjoying their holiday.
10:25The youngest of the Tsar's children,
10:27Zarevich Alekse,
10:29sits with his sister Anastasia,
10:31at the feet of their uncle Edward.
10:33Olga and Tatiana stand behind Uncle Georgie,
10:37who keeps a reassuring arm around his niece Marie.
10:41Everyone loved the fact that,
10:42dressed in matching uniforms,
10:44George and Nicholas looked almost the same man.
10:49My dear Nicky,
10:50I must send you a line to thank you
10:51for the Russian admiral's uniform,
10:53which you have so kindly sent me,
10:55and I wish to tell you again
10:56how proud I am to be an admiral in your navy.
11:01They both loved uniforms,
11:03loved uniforms,
11:04loved dressing up.
11:05They could confuse their own family.
11:07And in St. Petersburg,
11:10George was known as the Tsar's honorary brother.
11:14Dressing up in uniforms and regalia
11:16was part and parcel of being a monarch.
11:19The crown heads of Europe
11:23attached absurdly exaggerated importance
11:25to the whole array of honours and titles
11:29and decorations and medals.
11:32And what feels perhaps almost that
11:34if suddenly all the titles, honours and decorations
11:37were stripped away,
11:38there'd be nothing there.
11:40And George and Nicholas were not alone in their passion.
11:45Kaiser William loved nothing better
11:47than showering himself with military honours.
11:51Even by those standards,
11:52William struck virtually all his contemporaries
11:55as a uniform freak,
11:57a uniform obsessive.
11:58He changed uniforms for public occasions,
12:01sometimes a dozen times in one day.
12:03He took all this terribly seriously.
12:04Whilst cousin William was busy parading around Germany,
12:11Nicholas and George spent four days together at cows,
12:14enjoying cucumber sandwiches and croquet on the lawn.
12:18It seemed swapping uniforms and messing about in boats
12:21really could bring nations together.
12:25But back in Russia,
12:27behind the showy pomp and grandeur,
12:29Nicholas' sprawling empire was falling apart.
12:33His people starved
12:34and the streets ran with fear and violence.
12:37My dearest Nicky,
12:38I'm so sorry to see the students
12:40have again been kicking up a row
12:42in the different universities,
12:43as I know it must be all a great worry to you,
12:47Georgie.
12:48But whilst Russia starved,
12:54Nicholas went hunting.
12:56Dear Georgie,
12:58100 deer,
12:5956 goats,
13:0050 boar,
13:0110 foxes,
13:0227 hares,
13:04243 in 11 days.
13:08Ever yours,
13:09Nicky.
13:11Nicholas was a tragic figure.
13:15He was a man of limited intelligence.
13:19He was politically inept.
13:20He was limited in vision.
13:23He made awful blunders.
13:24He was, I'm afraid,
13:27as a leader,
13:28as a head of one of a great countries of Europe,
13:31an unmitigated disaster.
13:33To make matters worse,
13:35Nicholas did what few other monarchs did.
13:38He listened to his wife,
13:40a granddaughter of Queen Victoria,
13:42Princess Alexandra.
13:43But even worse to Russian eyes,
13:46Alexandra was German.
13:48But she would always deny this and say,
13:51I am English,
13:52you know,
13:52I am not German.
13:54But there was something very unbending about her
13:57and unappealing,
13:59and she did the Tsar no good in Russia at all.
14:02Strong-willed and domineering,
14:06Alexandra took it upon herself to advise the Tsar.
14:11When protesters gathered in St. Petersburg in January 1905,
14:15she was by his side,
14:17when Nicholas, as usual,
14:19dithered over what to do.
14:21And his advisor said,
14:23Sir, you must come into the Winter Palace,
14:26you must talk to these people,
14:27to the leaders of this demonstration.
14:30And Alex said,
14:30Don't you dare,
14:32don't ever, ever capitulate to a mob.
14:36And he listened,
14:37and he obeyed.
14:41The result was a massacre
14:43that became known as Bloody Sunday.
14:49When there was blood on the cobblestones
14:51outside the Winter Palace,
14:54he said,
14:55I think I shall take up dominoes in my spare time.
14:59He was so blinkered,
15:01he was extraordinarily short-sighted,
15:03but even to his bemused and shuttered mind,
15:07I think flickers must have come through,
15:09suggesting that disaster was not very far away.
15:18Whilst Russia suffered under Nicholas,
15:20Britain basked in the reign of popular,
15:23ageing playboy, King Edward VII.
15:25But in May 1910,
15:28Edward died.
15:31Nicholas' cousin Georgie would now be king.
15:34The death of Edward VII is obviously a very momentous moment in George's life,
15:47a very sad and devastating moment for him.
15:49Edward was his mentor.
15:52In many ways,
15:52they worked very, very closely together
15:54from the moment that Edward came to the throne.
15:57My dearest Nicky,
16:01these last three weeks have been terrible.
16:04My heart has been nearly breaking.
16:07At the same time,
16:08I have had to entertain William,
16:10seven kings,
16:11and numerous princes and representatives
16:13from practically all the countries of the world.
16:17Georgie.
16:21In front of the world's press,
16:24George led a funeral procession
16:25which was to go down in history
16:27as the parade of kings.
16:30Up front,
16:31the club's Premier League
16:32paraded in their best uniforms.
16:35Merely elected heads of state,
16:37such as American president Theodore Roosevelt,
16:39were left to trail behind.
16:44But not everyone in line was that upset.
16:53William responded to the news of Edward VII's death
16:57with a sense of deep relief.
17:00It's no exaggeration to say that he loathed Edward VII.
17:03He loathed and feared him.
17:05He envied him.
17:06He was also obsessed with him.
17:07And I think his feeling
17:09when Edward VII died was relief,
17:11but also perhaps the hope
17:13that the relationship within the family,
17:16the relationship with his English relatives
17:18might now be healed,
17:20that there might be a sort of growing together again.
17:22And that, I think,
17:23is what this great funeral in 1910 is all about.
17:27In public,
17:28all seemed well between King George
17:30and his cousin, Kaiser William.
17:32On May 17th, 1911,
17:35outside Buckingham Palace,
17:36together they unveiled a memorial statue
17:38in honour of their grandmother,
17:41Queen Victoria.
17:43It is a source of deep satisfaction to me
17:46that my dear cousin,
17:48the German emperor,
17:49is present at this ceremony.
17:52His imperial majesty
17:53is the eldest grandson of Queen Victoria.
17:57King George pulled a lever
17:59and the curtains fell away.
18:02The colossal figure of the Great Queen
18:11was revealed.
18:13As time passes on
18:15and years unfold,
18:17events are revealed
18:18in their true character and proportion.
18:21We are sure
18:22that the tribute we are paying today
18:25will not be disputed by posterity.
18:27No woman was ever held in high honour.
18:32No queen
18:32was ever loved so well.
18:35Well-trained subjects
18:36let out a hearty cheer
18:38and it seemed a good idea
18:39to let the guns
18:40thunder their salute
18:41in the monarch's honour.
18:42But the next time
18:44the big guns fired,
18:47Britain
18:47would be at war.
18:50And when war broke out,
18:52the battle lines
18:53were drawn along
18:54family friendships.
18:55George and Nicholas
18:56versus their cousin,
18:58William.
19:00Yes, dearest Nicky.
19:02I hope we shall always continue
19:03our old friendship
19:04to one another.
19:06You know I never change
19:07and have always been
19:08very fond of you.
19:09God bless you,
19:10my dear old Nicky.
19:12And remember,
19:13you can always count on me
19:14as your friend.
19:15Ever your devoted friend,
19:17Georgie.
19:19A walking disaster
19:21in peacetime,
19:22Nicholas delivered
19:23little good news in war.
19:25As an ally
19:26against the German-led
19:27Central Powers,
19:28Nicholas' unwieldy
19:30Russian forces
19:30were of little use.
19:32Faced with a collapsing
19:33Eastern Front,
19:35George used every device
19:36to try and keep
19:37Nicholas and his army
19:39on the side.
19:41My dearest Nicky,
19:43I present you
19:43with the baton
19:44of a field marshal
19:45of my army.
19:47My army greatly appreciates
19:48you having become
19:49one of its chiefs.
19:52After all their years
19:53of friendship,
19:55and still George
19:55didn't grasp
19:56quite how inept
19:58his cousin really was.
20:01He had got this vast,
20:04totally incompetent
20:05rabble of the Russian army.
20:06the tragedy was
20:08that he fiddled
20:09while Russia burned
20:10until finally,
20:12in the calamity
20:13of the First World War,
20:14it became clear
20:15that his power
20:17was real,
20:17but he was commanding
20:19nothing.
20:20My dear Nicky,
20:21I am sending you
20:22the GCB,
20:24my highest military order,
20:25to hand to you
20:26as commander-in-chief
20:27of your splendid army,
20:29Georgie.
20:30But field marshal
20:32Nicholas' splendid army
20:33was now in tatters.
20:36Strikes are breaking out.
20:38You've got more
20:39and more people
20:39deserting from
20:41the front line.
20:42The army is
20:42hemorrhaging men.
20:44They're essentially
20:44giving up,
20:45walking in the opposite
20:46direction,
20:47going back home,
20:48and in many cases,
20:49in increasing numbers,
20:51actually joining
20:51the strikers.
20:52Over on the Western Front,
20:55things were also
20:56looking bleak
20:57for George.
20:58It seemed that
20:59their cousin,
21:00Kaiser William,
21:01the club boar,
21:03might actually
21:04win the war.
21:05A silly German sausage
21:07thought Napoleon
21:08he'd be.
21:10Then went and broke
21:11his promise,
21:12it was made in Germany.
21:14He shook hands
21:15with Britannia
21:16and eternal peace
21:18he swore.
21:19Naughty boy,
21:20he talked a beast
21:21while he breathed
21:22prepared for war.
21:24After 1914,
21:26William II
21:27became the poster boy
21:28for German evil
21:30in British wartime
21:31propaganda.
21:32He's depicted
21:33strutting ape-like
21:35before burning libraries,
21:37crouching over
21:38raped and murdered women,
21:41celebrating
21:42the kind of
21:43ghastly atrocities
21:44associated in particular
21:46with the opening
21:47of the war in Belgium.
21:50Belgium put the
21:51keybush on the Kaiser.
21:54My dear Nicky,
21:56England has made up
21:57her mind to fight
21:58this awful war
21:59out to an end,
22:00whatever our sacrifices
22:02may be.
22:04Our very existence
22:05is at stake.
22:06As the bodies
22:09piled up,
22:10newspapers reported
22:12Dachshunds being
22:13kicked off pavements
22:14whilst shops
22:15with German names
22:16had their windows
22:17smashed.
22:18Cousin Kaiser William,
22:20Queen Victoria's
22:21eldest grandson,
22:22was relentlessly
22:23lampooned in the press
22:24and the music hall.
22:25In Russia,
22:34Nicholas had lost
22:34control of both
22:35the war
22:36and his country.
22:38As Germany
22:39crushed his army,
22:41Nicholas desperately
22:42erased all links
22:43with the enemy.
22:44But whilst he could
22:45change the name
22:46of his capital,
22:47St. Petersburg,
22:48to the more Russian-sounding
22:49Petrograd,
22:50he couldn't change
22:51his wife.
22:52Tsarina Alexandra
22:54was denounced
22:55as a German spy.
22:58Crisis boiled over
22:59into revolution
23:00and Tsar Nicholas,
23:02best friend and cousin
23:03of King George V
23:04of England,
23:05was forced
23:07to abdicate.
23:10Stripped of his throne,
23:12Nicholas and his family
23:13were placed
23:13under house arrest.
23:15They desperately
23:16needed a friendly country
23:17to take them in.
23:22historian Andrew Cook
23:36has been studying letters
23:37which reveal
23:38the hidden lives
23:39of three cousins
23:40and monarchs
23:41during their descent
23:42into war.
23:43When the spring comes,
23:45we must attack
23:45the enemy
23:46with all our strength
23:47at the same time.
23:49And I feel sure
23:50that he will not be able
23:52to resist for long.
23:54Your ever most devoted
23:55cousin and friend,
23:57Georgie.
23:59Now,
23:59Cook has also discovered
24:01recently declassified
24:02foreign office telegrams
24:04and secret service records,
24:06detailing the tragic story
24:07of how the Russian
24:08imperial family,
24:10the Romanovs,
24:11tried to seek shelter
24:12in Britain.
24:13Being best friends
24:15with the King of England,
24:16this should have been
24:17a done deal.
24:20At least,
24:21Tsar Nicholas thought so.
24:23I think there was
24:23always an assumption
24:24that yes,
24:25the Romanovs would be
24:25allowed into Britain,
24:26given a country house,
24:27perhaps not in London,
24:28somewhere out of the way
24:30where they could be ignored.
24:31He instructed
24:32the few servants
24:33he had left
24:33to pack his ceremonial uniforms.
24:36He obviously thought
24:37when he got to England,
24:38nothing would have changed.
24:39He would still be
24:40emperor of all the Russias,
24:42you know,
24:42appearing at great
24:43military parades.
24:45On the 22nd of March,
24:541917,
24:55a meeting was convened
24:56between the British
24:57Prime Minister,
24:57Lloyd George,
24:58and King George's
24:59private secretary,
25:00Lord Stamfordham.
25:01The decision was made
25:03that Britain would indeed
25:04offer the Tsar asylum.
25:07The good news went at once
25:08to the provisional
25:09Russian government,
25:10holding the Tsar
25:11and his family.
25:15Meanwhile,
25:16the Tsar's remaining
25:17household servants
25:18packed the imperial
25:19family's belongings.
25:21They fully expected
25:22a call at any moment
25:23to head for the port
25:24of Petrograd
25:25and board a ship
25:26to England.
25:27But the Tsar's children
25:28caught measles
25:29and were under
25:30doctor's orders
25:31not to travel.
25:34One week passed
25:35and at last,
25:36on the 30th of March,
25:38King George summoned
25:38his private secretary,
25:40Stamfordham,
25:41and dictated a letter
25:42to the foreign office.
25:44It seemed George
25:45was finally about
25:46to issue the command
25:47to bring his cousins home.
25:52As you are doubtless aware,
25:54the king has a strong
25:55personal friendship
25:56for the emperor
25:57and therefore would be glad
25:59to do anything
26:00to help him
26:01in this crisis.
26:03But,
26:04his majesty cannot help doubting
26:06whether it is advisable
26:08that the imperial family
26:10should take up residence
26:11in this country.
26:12This past week,
26:14the king had obviously
26:15been doing some hard thinking.
26:18George is obviously
26:20just getting incredibly nervous
26:22about the possibility
26:24of revolution
26:25being exported to Britain.
26:26Of course,
26:27there is some reason for this.
26:29Of course,
26:30Karl Marx had always
26:31written off Russia
26:32as a centre for revolution
26:33because Russia
26:34had not reached
26:34the capitalist stage.
26:35when he wrote
26:36his revolutionary books
26:38in the 19th century,
26:39he wrote them in Britain
26:40and was expecting
26:41it would be
26:41an industrial power
26:43like Britain
26:43which would have
26:44the first
26:45anti-capitalist revolution.
26:47So,
26:47perhaps George V,
26:48although,
26:48let's assume,
26:49not too acquainted
26:50with Marx's works,
26:51is still worried
26:52that this will
26:52light the tinderbox
26:54of revolution
26:54and off we go.
26:55As George's doubts grew,
26:59he left it to Stamfordham
27:01to voice his concerns.
27:03He said to someone,
27:05the trouble is,
27:06you know,
27:06we really,
27:08we don't have
27:08a royal house to spare.
27:10We've only got Balmoral
27:11and, you know,
27:12that's far too cold.
27:14Well, you know,
27:14to say that to a Russian
27:15who's used to Siberian winters
27:17is delightful.
27:22Prime Minister Lloyd George
27:24was surprised by this list
27:26of rather embarrassing excuses.
27:28After all,
27:29they had all agreed
27:30to invite the Tsar to England
27:31and they trusted
27:32that King George
27:33would leave the matter at that.
27:35George and Nicholas
27:36were cousins after all.
27:38But seven days later,
27:40it would become clear to all
27:41that everything had changed.
27:44Friday the 6th of April 1917,
27:47King George was residing
27:48in his favourite residence,
27:50Windsor Castle.
27:51On the face of it,
27:52just another routine royal day.
27:54His day always started
27:56at 6.45,
27:58you know,
27:58whatever happened.
27:59And on the dot of nine,
28:02as the chimes for Big Ben
28:03were striking,
28:04it was always
28:04at that precise moment
28:05he would walk
28:06into the dining room
28:07for breakfast
28:08with Queen Mary.
28:09George spent most
28:11of the morning
28:11poring over
28:12his stamp collection.
28:14But he was more
28:15than usually agitated
28:16and he sent
28:17for his private secretary.
28:18He told Stamfordham
28:21to write to the Foreign Office
28:22once again.
28:27Over in Petrograd,
28:29everybody was ready
28:30to move
28:30at a moment's notice.
28:32With belongings
28:33and uniforms packed,
28:35they could be on a ship
28:36within four hours.
28:37They were in little doubt
28:38as to where
28:39they'd be headed.
28:40Even the children
28:42thought they were
28:43going to England.
28:44They got terribly excited.
28:46It was natural,
28:47absolutely natural
28:48to expect
28:49they would stay at Windsor
28:50with cousin Georgie.
28:54Meanwhile,
28:55Georgie's latest message
28:56was being sent
28:57by royal messenger
28:58from Windsor Castle
28:59to the Foreign Office.
29:00Every day,
29:03the king
29:04is becoming
29:04more concerned.
29:06The matter
29:06is being discussed
29:07not only in clubs
29:09but by working men.
29:12From the first,
29:12the king has thought
29:13the presence
29:14of the imperial family
29:15in this country
29:15would raise
29:16all sorts of difficulties
29:18and I feel sure
29:19that you appreciate
29:20how awkward
29:22it will be.
29:24It was now
29:25painfully apparent
29:26that the king
29:27had major issues
29:28with the offer
29:29of asylum
29:29but as the king
29:30the foreign secretary
29:31read and re-read
29:33the letter,
29:34little did he know
29:35that over in Windsor Castle
29:36King George
29:37was already
29:38pacing his study
29:39dictating
29:40a second tirade.
29:43Georgie V
29:43was a very stubborn man.
29:45He's someone also
29:45prone to enormous
29:47rages too.
29:48He was someone
29:49who liked tradition.
29:51When he'd come
29:52to a point of view
29:52he stuck by it.
29:55He's someone
29:55rather like
29:56his own stamp collection.
29:57He's someone who
29:57when it's pinned down
29:59he wanted to stay
30:00with that.
30:00The arrival
30:01of this second letter
30:03from the king
30:03laid it on the line.
30:06I think having
30:06changed his mind
30:07completely
30:08about the Romanovs
30:09he was adamant
30:10that his worries
30:12should be communicated
30:13to the government
30:13and that the government
30:14should follow suit.
30:16The king must beg you
30:18to represent
30:18to the prime minister
30:19that the opposition
30:21to the emperor
30:21and empress coming here
30:23is so strong
30:24that we must be
30:26allowed to withdraw.
30:27The asylum issue
30:29develops to such a point
30:31that it becomes evident
30:32to Lloyd George
30:33that the king
30:34has reached a stage
30:36now where
30:36there's no way
30:37he's going to back down
30:39or change his mind.
30:40It was a far cry
30:42from the expressions
30:43of deepest affection
30:44contained in George's
30:4625 years of correspondence
30:48with his cousin.
30:50Yes dearest Nicky
30:51I hope we shall always
30:53continue our old friendship
30:54to one.
30:54You know I never change
30:55and have always been
30:56very fond of it.
30:57God bless you
30:58my dear old Nicky
30:59and remember
30:59ever your devoted friend
31:01Georgie.
31:02After a cabinet meeting
31:05on the 13th of April
31:06the offer of asylum
31:08was officially withdrawn.
31:10George seemed
31:11to have firmly
31:12shut the door
31:12on his cousin
31:13coming to England.
31:15George V's U-turn
31:16I think is one
31:17of the most ignominious
31:19chapters in the history
31:20of the 20th century
31:21British monarchy.
31:23Britain had always
31:23been a traditional
31:24home for monarchs
31:25of whatever political hue.
31:28It's a very common
31:28thing for Britain
31:29to give them
31:30a little house
31:31somewhere in the country
31:32where they could
31:32take what was left
31:33of their court.
31:34In that context
31:36refusing or indeed
31:37going back
31:38on the original promise
31:39to grant Nicholas II
31:41asylum in Britain
31:42is astonishing.
31:4531st of July 1917
31:47Nicholas and his family
31:49were moved
31:50without warning.
31:52They were taken
31:52to the town of Tobolsk
31:53deep in Siberia.
31:56If George was
31:57to ever rescue his cousin
31:58he'd have to act fast.
32:02But George had problems
32:08of his own.
32:10The most devastating
32:12war in history
32:13had brought Britain
32:13to its knees
32:14and its grinding
32:16war of attrition
32:17had permeated
32:18the very fabric
32:19of British society.
32:22It even intruded
32:24into a private dinner party
32:25at Buckingham Palace.
32:26And everything
32:28was going beautifully
32:29and talking about
32:30hunting and shooting
32:31and killing things
32:32and the weather.
32:33And Lady Maud Warander
32:35who was a chatterbox
32:37and she artlessly
32:38sort of said
32:38to the king
32:39oh I believe sir
32:40that the rumour
32:42is going about
32:43that because of your name
32:45you'll be pro-German.
32:47Of course
32:48at this
32:49the king nearly
32:49had a seizure.
32:50He went quite white
32:51started
32:52sat back in his chair
32:53and left soon afterwards.
32:57George's own
32:58family name
32:59inherited from
33:00his grandfather
33:00Prince Albert
33:01was fast becoming
33:03a PR nightmare.
33:05The family surname
33:06Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
33:07was unavoidably
33:09very German.
33:10We've had three years
33:14of German shops
33:16being smashed
33:17people with German
33:18names being picked on
33:20it's astonishing
33:21that the name change
33:23does not happen
33:24until three years
33:24into the war.
33:26There are suggestions
33:27that they might want
33:27to re-adopt
33:28the old
33:29dynastic names
33:31Plantagenet
33:32or Tudor
33:33or Stuart
33:34also other names
33:35like Fitzroy
33:36are mentioned
33:37even England
33:38as a name
33:39is mentioned.
33:40But the perfect name
33:42was staring them
33:43right in the face.
33:46It's George's
33:46favourite castle
33:47it's very English
33:49sounding
33:50and you know
33:51it really fits
33:52the bill
33:52in every respect.
33:55As British
33:56as a cup
33:56of Earl Grey
33:57the change of name
33:58was one in the eye
33:59for Cousin William
34:00and the German
34:01half of the club.
34:04The Kaiser
34:05was fuming
34:06about this change
34:07of name
34:08from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
34:10to Windsor
34:11and he said
34:13I shall be coming
34:14to England
34:15he said
34:15to see a performance
34:17of the play
34:18The Merry Wives
34:19of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
34:20Whilst George
34:35was busy
34:35rebranding himself
34:37as a pure
34:37bred Brit
34:38a second wave
34:40of revolution
34:40broke in Russia.
34:44I think that
34:45particularly
34:46once the
34:47Bolsheviks
34:47seized power
34:48in November
34:49of 1917
34:50it becomes evident
34:52to all and sundry
34:54that the lives
34:55of the imperial family
34:56are now
34:57very much in danger.
34:59If George
35:00was to save
35:01his cousin
35:01he would have
35:02to act now.
35:04To make matters worse
35:05Nicholas and his family
35:07were again moved
35:08to the industrial town
35:09of Ekaterinburg
35:10in the Bolshevik heartland.
35:12They were taken
35:13to a fortified compound
35:14known locally
35:15as the Epatieff house.
35:17The Bolsheviks
35:18ominously renamed it
35:19the house
35:20of special purpose.
35:23Well
35:23by now
35:24they were very
35:25dispirited
35:27run down
35:28and Nicholas
35:29had always said
35:30they hate us
35:31in Siberia
35:32he'd always had
35:32some uncanny instinct
35:34that this was
35:34going to be bad.
35:39News reached
35:41King George
35:41could he really
35:42stand by again
35:44as his side
35:45of the club
35:45fell apart.
35:47Was it too late
35:49to rescue
35:49his cousin
35:50Nicholas?
35:51Maybe
35:52there was
35:52one last chance.
35:55Andrew Cook
35:55has discovered
35:56secret service records
35:57and recently
35:58declassified telegrams
36:00which reveal
36:00an audacious
36:01rescue plan
36:02Cook believes
36:03was instigated
36:04by King George.
36:07In 1918
36:09Whitehall Court
36:10was the nerve
36:11centre of Britain's
36:12secret intelligence
36:13services.
36:13head of this
36:15secret service
36:16was Sir Mansfield
36:17Cumming
36:18known simply
36:19as C.
36:20He had a very
36:21close personal
36:22relationship
36:23with George V.
36:25They'd both been
36:25for example
36:26naval cadets
36:27at Greenwich
36:28Naval College.
36:29We learn
36:29for example
36:30from George's diary
36:31that they enjoyed
36:32playing billiards
36:32together.
36:34C.
36:35set about
36:35creating a team
36:36of fluent Russian
36:37speakers
36:38and ordered
36:39a house
36:39to be constructed
36:40in the Russian
36:41port of Mamansk
36:42then under
36:43British control.
36:44An Admiralty
36:45telegram sent
36:46in 1918
36:47is explicit
36:48about its
36:49intended use.
36:51A key quote
36:53in this telegram
36:54refers to the fact
36:56that this house
36:57was originally
36:57intended for use
36:59by the late
37:00Tsar.
37:01Why do you
37:02construct a house
37:03and equip it
37:04in Mamansk
37:05when the Imperial
37:07family are in
37:08Siberia?
37:10The Secret Service
37:11put their top agent
37:12into the field
37:13Stephen Alley.
37:15Stephen Alley
37:16was always known
37:17as the Alley spy
37:18and there was a
37:19feeling in the family
37:20that when he was
37:21in Mamansk
37:22he'd been involved
37:23in a mission
37:24which didn't quite
37:25come off
37:25but nobody ever
37:27quite knew
37:27what it was
37:28and there was
37:28always a mystery
37:29surrounding it.
37:30The rumour
37:30that grandfather
37:31had heard
37:31has now been
37:32proved to be true.
37:33Alley's diaries
37:34and telegrams
37:34have never
37:35been studied
37:35before.
37:36Peppered with
37:37locations,
37:38dates and names
37:38they reveal
37:39a previously
37:40unknown
37:41desperate rescue
37:41plan
37:42relying on
37:42a mysterious
37:43shipping agent
37:44called Armitstead.
37:45He says for example
37:46I have made it
37:48clear to Armitstead
37:49in no uncertain
37:49terms
37:50that his role
37:51is strictly liaison.
37:53We are responsible
37:54for securing
37:55and delivering
37:56valuables.
37:57He is responsible
37:58for their safe
37:58passage out of Russia.
38:00I think we can
38:01again draw
38:02from the terminology
38:04here that valuables
38:06is shorthand
38:07for the imperial
38:08family.
38:10And now after
38:1070 years lying
38:12undiscovered
38:12amongst family
38:13belongings
38:14Ali's personal
38:15notebook has come
38:16to light.
38:17It reveals how
38:18close he came
38:18to rescuing
38:19the Tsar
38:20and his family
38:20even going so
38:21far as to
38:22scout out
38:23to Katerinburg
38:23itself.
38:25One of the
38:25things in the
38:25notebook is
38:27an illustration,
38:29a sketch,
38:30possibly a
38:31street plan.
38:33Cook sourced
38:34a contemporary
38:34map of
38:35the Katerinburg.
38:37And crucially
38:37it shows the
38:38crossroads on
38:39which the
38:40Empathive House
38:41was situated.
38:42Once that
38:43or an extract
38:44of that crossroads
38:45is superimposed
38:46on this
38:46transparency
38:47and we overlay
38:49it onto the
38:50enlargement of
38:51Ali's notepad,
38:52we find that
38:54it's more or less
38:55a mirror image
38:55of the map.
38:58We see for example
38:58the Empathive House
39:00at the crossroads,
39:01we see the
39:02compound.
39:03Effectively the
39:04sketch is the
39:05key to his
39:06thoughts about
39:07exiting the
39:08family potentially
39:09from that
39:10location.
39:12By the first
39:13week in July
39:141918,
39:16George's Secret
39:16Service had
39:17agents in
39:18Russia,
39:19a specially
39:19built house
39:20for the Tsar
39:21and their top
39:22agent,
39:22Stephen Ali,
39:23planning escape
39:24routes for a
39:25daring rescue.
39:26Everything was
39:27in place.
39:29The race was
39:30on to rescue
39:30the Tsar.
39:46The Russian
39:47State Archives
39:48hold many
39:49documents on
39:50the Tsar's
39:50final days in
39:51Siberia,
39:53and historian
39:54Andrew Cook
39:54has found a
39:55missing piece
39:56of their tragic
39:56story in
39:57these archives,
39:59a guard
39:59detachment
40:00record from
40:00the House
40:01of Special
40:01Purpose.
40:03As the
40:03Imperial
40:04family waited
40:05in captivity,
40:06British spy
40:07Stephen Ali
40:07was planning
40:08a daring
40:08rescue.
40:09Cook believes
40:10was requested
40:11by King
40:11George V.
40:13But it
40:13seems what
40:14Ali found
40:14was deeply
40:15worrying.
40:17We know
40:18for example
40:19that a
40:19machine gun
40:20tower was
40:20erected on
40:22the 6th of
40:22July,
40:23which
40:23complemented
40:24other machine
40:25gun nests
40:26and other
40:26machine gun
40:27towers in
40:28the compound.
40:29We also
40:30find references
40:30to sharpshooters
40:32or marksmen,
40:33in other words,
40:34who were located
40:35at key parts
40:36of the compound.
40:37A fortress.
40:39The House of
40:40Special Purpose
40:41would have been
40:41a major
40:42military challenge.
40:44The first
40:44conclusion
40:44would be
40:45that such
40:46an exercise
40:46would be
40:47suicide
40:48for those
40:49British officers
40:49attempting
40:50to rescue
40:51the family
40:52and significantly
40:54it would also
40:55have been
40:55suicide
40:56for the
40:56family
40:57themselves.
40:59George's
40:59desperate
41:00rescue plan
41:01never got
41:01off the ground.
41:02It was
41:03simply too
41:03little,
41:04too late.
41:06God bless
41:07you,
41:08my dear
41:08old Nicky.
41:09And remember,
41:10you can always
41:11count on me
41:11as your friend.
41:13Ever,
41:13your devoted
41:14cousin and
41:15friend,
41:16Georgie.
41:17In spite of
41:17all Georgie's
41:18previous letters
41:19of friendship
41:19and affection,
41:21in the end,
41:21it counted
41:22for nothing.
41:24For Nicholas
41:24and his family,
41:25their fate
41:26was sealed.
41:2816th of July
41:281918
41:29would be
41:30the Imperial
41:30family's
41:31last day.
41:33After over
41:33a year
41:34of house arrest,
41:35Nicholas,
41:36Alexandra,
41:37Marie,
41:38Olga,
41:39Tatiana,
41:39Anastasia
41:40and Alexei
41:41were shot
41:43by their captors.
41:53It was up
41:54to Lord Stamfordham
41:55to break
41:56the terrible news
41:57to King George.
41:58He was
41:59absolutely
42:00shattered
42:01by this.
42:02He said,
42:03Nicholas
42:03was the
42:04kindest of
42:05men.
42:06I was
42:06devoted to
42:07him and
42:07he was
42:08a thorough
42:08gentleman
42:09and then
42:11he started
42:12musing about
42:13these children,
42:15those beautiful
42:16daughters,
42:17perhaps remembering
42:18them at Osborne,
42:19scampering along
42:20by the sea,
42:22playing,
42:23and had such
42:24lovely tender
42:26memories of
42:26them.
42:26William
42:32William responded
42:33to the news
42:34of the
42:34murder
42:35of the
42:36Russian
42:36royal family
42:37with an
42:38extraordinary
42:39coolness.
42:40It had never
42:40been a
42:40particularly
42:41close
42:42relationship
42:42and William
42:44had a lot
42:45of other
42:45things on
42:45his mind.
42:46The Great
42:47War was
42:47still grinding
42:48on.
42:49After four
42:50years of
42:51stalemate
42:51in the
42:52trenches,
42:52even
42:53William's
42:53mighty
42:54Germany
42:54was crumbling
42:55under the
42:56strain.
42:57It was
42:57an empire
42:58spiralling
42:59into chaos
43:00and anarchy.
43:01At one
43:01point he
43:02proposed
43:02that he
43:02might
43:03perhaps lead
43:03his army
43:04back to
43:05Germany
43:05and put
43:06down
43:06the
43:06domestic
43:06unrest
43:07there.
43:07It was
43:08explained
43:08to him
43:08that the
43:09army
43:09was no
43:09longer
43:09his
43:10to lead.
43:11William's
43:11navy
43:12was
43:12mutinying,
43:13his army
43:13collapsing,
43:14his people
43:15were turning
43:15against him.
43:17What
43:17followed
43:17was a
43:18German
43:18revolution
43:19which
43:19swept
43:20William
43:20and
43:21indeed
43:21many
43:21of the
43:22other
43:22German
43:22dynasts
43:23from their
43:24thrones.
43:25who
43:31bashed
43:32Bill
43:32Kaiser?
43:33Aye,
43:35said
43:35General
43:35Joffrey,
43:36I cut
43:37his
43:37retreat
43:38right
43:38off.
43:39I
43:40bashed
43:41Bill
43:41Kaiser.
43:44Then
43:44Tommy
43:45Atkins
43:45lit a
43:46fag
43:46and said
43:47Lord,
43:47is it
43:47over?
43:48Blighty
43:49for me
43:49and then
43:50he jumped
43:50across
43:50the
43:51streets
43:51of
43:51Dover
43:52when
43:53he
43:54heard
43:55of
43:56the
43:56end
43:57of
43:59poor
44:00Bill
44:01Kaiser.
44:06As the
44:07old world
44:07crumbled
44:08around him,
44:09William packed
44:10his medals
44:10and uniforms
44:11and fled
44:12his erstwhile
44:13empire.
44:15William spent
44:16his exile
44:17in a
44:17rather attractive
44:19place called
44:20House Doorn
44:21in Holland,
44:22a nice country
44:23house where
44:24he created a
44:25kind of
44:25Lilliputian
44:26imperial
44:27environment.
44:29And they
44:30lived a
44:30sort of
44:30bizarre life
44:31in what
44:32really felt
44:33a bit like
44:34a doll's
44:34house,
44:35a kind of
44:36symbolic residue
44:37of the old
44:38imperial monarchy.
44:40The final
44:40months of
44:41the war
44:41saw the
44:42club
44:42disintegrate.
44:44The first
44:4418 years
44:45of the
44:4520th century
44:46had seen
44:47quite a
44:48culling
44:48of Queen
44:48Victoria's
44:49extended
44:50family.
44:51Austria
44:52went,
44:52Germany
44:53went,
44:53Russia
44:54went.
44:55They
44:55were
44:56the
44:56three
44:56monarchs
44:57who
44:57really
44:57counted
44:58and
44:59with
44:59their
44:59disappearance
45:00the
45:01idea
45:01of
45:02monarchy
45:02as
45:02a
45:03serious
45:04element
45:04in
45:05international
45:06politics
45:06vanished.
45:10George
45:12alone
45:12was the
45:13only
45:13of the
45:14three
45:14cousins
45:14left
45:15with
45:15a
45:15throne.
45:18George
45:19survives
45:20ironically
45:20for the
45:21very reason
45:21that William
45:22often looked
45:22down on
45:23him.
45:23In other
45:23words,
45:24he was a
45:24constitutional
45:25monarch.
45:26Absolute
45:27monarchs
45:27are often
45:28vulnerable
45:28to absolute
45:29defeat.
45:30As a
45:30constitutional
45:31monarch,
45:32George
45:32survived
45:33not just
45:34because
45:35Britain
45:40war
45:40but
45:41because
45:41a
45:41constitutional
45:42monarch
45:43is
45:43insulated
45:44if you
45:44like
45:45by
45:45a
45:45constitutional
45:46government.
45:50He
45:51busses
45:51himself
45:51with
45:52his
45:52estates
45:53and
45:53his
45:53stamp
45:53albums.
45:55He's
45:55safe,
45:55he's
45:56respectable,
45:57very much
45:57a middle
45:58class
45:58monarch
45:58if you
45:59like.
45:59So
46:00he's
46:00not
46:00someone
46:00around
46:01whom
46:01a
46:02miasma
46:04of
46:04revolution
46:04would
46:05collect.
46:06He's
46:07really
46:07no
46:07threat
46:08to
46:08anyone.
46:08The
46:09Treaty
46:09of
46:09Versailles
46:10concluded
46:11the
46:11war.
46:12The
46:12statesmen
46:13who
46:13had
46:13walked
46:13at
46:13the
46:14rear
46:14of
46:14King
46:14Edward's
46:15funeral
46:15procession
46:16were
46:16now
46:16driving
46:17negotiations.
46:19Presidents,
46:20not
46:20monarchs,
46:21were the
46:21new
46:21world
46:22leaders.
46:23After
46:23millions
46:23of
46:24deaths
46:24in
46:24the
46:24war,
46:25kings
46:26and
46:26emperors
46:26were
46:27not
46:27so
46:27popular
46:28anymore.
46:30It's
46:31very
46:31revealing,
46:32I think,
46:32that the
46:33negotiations
46:33at
46:34Versailles
46:34are,
46:34of course,
46:35run
46:35by
46:35politicians.
46:36It's
46:36really
46:37very
46:37much
46:38underlining
46:38that the
46:39power of
46:40monarchy
46:40worldwide has
46:41really
46:42evaporated.
46:43And the
46:44truth behind
46:45King George's
46:46decision to
46:46turn down
46:47his cousin
46:47and friend
46:48in his
46:48hour of
46:49need
46:49has been
46:50kept
46:50conveniently
46:51quiet.
46:53There is
46:54a yawning
46:54gap in
46:55the archives
46:56covering
46:56exactly that
46:57period.
46:58And over
46:59the years,
47:00royal biographers
47:00were told by
47:02the palace
47:02to always
47:03omit
47:04anything that
47:05might be
47:06a hint
47:07disagreeable
47:08or, you
47:09know, not
47:10flattering to
47:10the royal
47:11family's
47:11image.
47:13King George
47:14was more than
47:14happy to let
47:15the real story
47:16simply disappear.
47:19And
47:20Lloyd George
47:21himself, when he
47:22came to write
47:22his memoirs,
47:24found that
47:24telegrams relating
47:26to the
47:26Tsar had been
47:27mysteriously removed
47:29from the files.
47:30So, the
47:31whole matter
47:32was covered
47:33up with
47:34a sort of
47:34blanket of
47:35secrecy by
47:36palace
47:36mandarins.
47:37And to
47:38this day
47:38it exists.
47:40It's a
47:41painful subject
47:42at the
47:43palace.
48:00of
48:01the
48:02other
48:03other
48:04things
48:05that
48:06could
48:07be
48:08as
48:09a
48:10other
48:11as
48:12as
48:13as
48:14as
48:15as
48:16as
48:17as
48:18as
48:19as
48:20as
48:21as
48:22as
48:23as
48:24as
48:25as
48:26as
48:27as
48:28as
48:29as
Recommended
41:03
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