Quite apart from the bothersome business of being King (or "kinging", as he liked to put it), upon his accession, Edward VIII automatically became the senior Air Marshall of the RAF:
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| Air Marshall Edward VIII, Chief of the RAF. A contemporary postcard recording his inspection tour of 8th July 1936. |
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| Sunglasses on to view the flypast at Northolt. Behind the King, the Duke of York |
This Pathe newsreel records some events from the morning inspection at Northolt (including the King "sneaking a fag" while supposedly closely inspecting his air force) and is complementary to the Pathe newsreel flagged up in this previous post.
The July 1936 RAF inspection was, of course, one of the last occasions upon which the King and the Duke of York were seen in public together before the outbreak of the VBCW. By July 1936, the King was already looking forward to his summer cruise aboard "The Nahlin" in the company of Mrs Simpson (as she then was), which holiday alerted the world (if not then the British public) to the forthcoming crisis in the British monarchy, and thereafter the country. See HERE.
PS. It is unknown how much "air support" the Duke of York presently enjoys within the VBCW. Following his return from Canada, the Duke is instead gathering "popular support" for the Albertine cause in South Wales - and Ross-on-Wye.
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