Century-old royal slight of P.E.I. comes to light in letter's auction
CBC
The Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, was far from excited to visit Prince Edward Island in 1919, according to a letter written to his mistress back in England.
The letter recently came to light when it was put up for auction.
Certainly Islanders were excited to greet the prince in August 1919. It was the first visit of such a high-ranking royal since 1869.
But the future king of England, in his letter to Freda Dudley Ward, called P.E.I. "a pip squeak province" and lamented the speeches he would give as "these cornie pompous stunts."
UPEI historian Ed MacDonald said the sentiments expressed by the prince should not come as a surprise.
"This fits in quite easily with his known attitude to these kinds of tours and junkets that were required of members of the royal family," said MacDonald.
"He was bored to tears with the tedium of being a royal."