Should the Duke of Windsor have been tried for treason?

In Traitor King, Andrew Lownie shows how the Duke of Windsor — the former Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1936 — gave aid and comfort to his country’s enemies before and during the second world war. Reading this meticulously researched book, it seems extraordinary that he remained at liberty. A less deferential society would have interned him in 1940 along with the followers of his friend Oswald Mosley, most of whom were far less dangerous. He could even have been tried for treason after the war.

To Lownie, the duke was an aberration, a one-off. But in Tea with Hitler, Dean Palmer shows us a family into which he fitted naturally. In trying to ensure the peaceful future of Europe, Queen Victoria scattered her relatives throughout its royal houses in a series of dynastic alliances. She had so many children and grandchildren, often with similar names and titles, that it’s not always easy to follow them, even with the family trees Palmer helpfully provides. The big picture, however, is clear — of cousins living, and to some extent ruling, throughout Europe in the 20th century. But Victoria’s hopes were dashed when their diplomatic usefulness melted like snow on contact with the brutal realities of politics and modern warfare.

In 1914 the Kaiser’s brother, Prince Henry of Prussia, visited George V at Buckingham Palace. The king had intended to make clear that Britain would be drawn into the conflict if Austria proceeded against Serbia; but Prince Henry thought he had said the opposite. These two amateur diplomats did no good, and may have done harm. And that was just the start.

The Duke of Windsor was one of many of European royal blood who flailed frantically and unhappily in the mess of conflicting loyalties which two world wars created.