A lady presented to the King curtsies. A gentleman presented to the King bows. Neither a lady nor a gentleman seizes the King's hand to shake it. Last week the greatest Court sensation since Soviet Foreign Minister Maxim Maximovich Litvinoff was impudent about King Edward VIII* was created by Adolf Hitler's personal and official envoy to the Court of St. James, Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German Ambassador.
New King George VI, handsomely bedight as Admiral of the Fleet, was standing in his splendid Throne Room at Buckingham Palace, receiving the diplomatic corps for the first time since His Majesty's accession. In strict order of precedence, each diplomat was presented by Lieut. General Sir Sidney Clive, a vigorous Court functionary with a clarion voice. In 1919 he was Military Governor at Cologne, cordially hated by its Germans, as were all the Allied "conquerors." Last week German Ambassador von Ribbentrop, instead of bowing to King George when presented by Sir Sidney, clicked his heels smartly together, gave the Nazi salute and cried, "Heil Hitler!" in ringing tones. Then, according to some of the astonished diplomats whose accounts somewhat differed afterward, he advanced toward King George, saluted a second time, again advanced and saluted a third time, as though trying by repeated example to get George VI to give the Nazi salute or at least some kind of salute in return. His Majesty remained unruffled, returned each von Ribbentrop salute with a formal British bow, and permitted his hand to be gripped and shaken when the German finished up by wanting to do that. By this time every member of the diplomatic corps was watching, fascinated, and agreement was general that "the King, while shaking hands with von Ribbentrop, smiled, although somewhat uneasily."
Much more uneasy were British Labor leaders during the week at the behavior of the German Ambassador.±As though pomp-loving No. 2 Nazi Hermann Wilhelm Göring had decided to attend the Coronation next May, Ambassador von Ribbentrop announced that the Reich is spending £100,000 ($500,000) to enlarge its London Embassy by throwing three great houses into one. Last week this work was going at rush pace and in the House of Commons loud protests were made by Laborite M. P.'s because British workmen were not in on it. Over from Germany, the Baron had brought some 145 bronzed and healthy Nazi workmen. Not only did they fail to correspond to anti-Nazi descriptions of how in Nazi-land most people are painfully tightening their belts, but in London most comfortable Bloomsbury board with all expenses paid was provided for these Nazis by their Embassy and each man additionally received as "pocket money" about as much as the weekly wage of an average English carpenter.