The Royal Family & WW1
Warfare
History Hit
4.5 • 943 Ratings
🗓️ 3 June 2022
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Happy Platinum Jubilee! As Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to mark 70 years on the throne - as well as commander-in-chief of Her Majesty's Armed Forces - we trace the origins of the House of Windsor's close-knit links to the British military.
Why are the two so seemingly inseparable? The story begins in the First World War, when the dynasty changed its name from the House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha to distance itself from its German roots. Rather than suffer due to its kinship with the kaiser, the royal family's stock amongst the UK public and its soldiery actually rose during and after the Great War.
In this episode James is joined by Heather Jones, Professor in Modern & Contemporary European History at UCL and the author of a new book on the subject, to explore exactly why the Armed Forces serve for king, queen and country.
Prof. Jones's book For King and Country: The British Monarchy and the First World War is out now via Cambridge University Press.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | And the The monarchy and the British military are interlinked, some might argue inseparable. |
| 0:26.0 | But why are there such close links between the two? |
| 0:29.0 | The Queen is Commander-in-Chief of British Armed Forces. |
| 0:32.0 | Royals often serve in the military, |
| 0:34.7 | and everything from Royal Navy ships |
| 0:36.6 | to British Army regiments have royal names and royal links. |
| 0:40.9 | Well, I'm your host James Rogers. |
| 0:42.2 | This is the Warfare Podcast, and as Her Majesty the Queen |
| 0:46.1 | becomes the first British monarch to celebrate a platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service, |
| 0:52.4 | we're looking at the role of the monarchy and the military. |
| 0:55.6 | To take us through this history from the First World War to today, we welcome historian Heather Jones on the podcast. |
| 1:02.0 | Heather is a professor at University College London |
| 1:05.1 | and the author of a new book for King and Country, the British monarchy and the First World War. |
| 1:10.7 | So as you enjoy your Jubilee Bank holiday, sit back, relax, and hear about why exactly the military |
| 1:17.7 | serve for King, Queen, and country. Enjoy. |
| 1:21.7 | Hi Heather, welcome to the Warfare Podcast. |
| 1:25.0 | How you doing? |
| 1:26.0 | I'm in great form. |
| 1:27.0 | Thank you for having me. |
| 1:28.0 | Not a problem at all. |
| 1:29.0 | We are here to talk about the Jubilee, the fact that the Queen will be celebrating her |
| 1:36.4 | platinum Jubilee after 70 years of service. And so I wanted to get an expert |
... |
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