When Andrew Roberts’ 982-page Churchill: Walking With Destiny was published in 2018, it was instantly acclaimed as the best single-volume biography of Winston Churchill.

Mr. Roberts’ fans have eagerly anticipated his latest deep dive into the life and times of an intriguing figure in history. His new book, The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III - yes, this guy – will be published in the U.S. tomorrow.

I’ve read and enjoyed a half-dozen Andrew Roberts’ books. My favorite happens to be his first book: The Holy Fox: A Biography of Lord Halifax, published in 1991.

When I started this project, all I knew about Lord Halifax was that King George VI, as well as many in the British government, strongly favored Halifax for prime minister over Winston Churchill when Neville Chamberlain resigned on May 10, 1940.
 
Had Halifax earnestly pursued the prime minister position, the job probably would have been his. However, Halifax reasoned that as a member of the House of Lords it would not be feasible for him to serve as prime minister and lead the House of Commons. Instead he served Britain as Churchill’s Foreign Minister in the first year of the war, and them moved on - unhappily at first - to Washington, D.C. as Britain’s ambassador at the end of 1940, a duty he carried out with dignity, grace, and good humor for the next five-and-a-half years.
 
Early in the war, when Halifax was Foreign Minister and Churchill was still First Lord of the Admiralty, Halifax stretched the bounds of international law when he approved Churchill’s request to raid a German ship suspected of carrying 299 captive British merchant seamen as it sailed in Norwegian waters. The successful raid and the liberation of all 299 prisoners – with a cry of “the Navy’s here!” - boosted British morale at a time when positive news about the war was scarce. The daring rescue also boosted Churchill’s standing in public, within Neville Chamberlain’s Cabinet, and throughout the Royal Navy. “That was big of Halifax,” Churchill remarked about Halifax’s decision at the time.
 
Halifax certainly had his flaws. He was a fervent appeaser and was more inclined than many to trust the word of Adolf Hitler. In the early days of Churchill’s leadership, Halifax, as Foreign Minister, argued in favor of listening to whatever armistice terms Hitler might be inclined to offer Great Britain. As much as I admire Halifax personally and respect his service as Foreign Minister and, especially, as Ambassador to the U.S., he would have been disastrous as prime minister. (One side note: As brilliant as it was to cast Gary Oldham as Churchill in the film "Darkest Hour," the casting and performance of Stephen Dillane as Lord Halifax was just spot on).
 
In his personal life Halifax handled great hardship with quiet dignity. Six foot, five inches tall and quite thin, he led an active life – even riding and shooting – despite being born with a withered left arm and no left hand. During Halifax’s time in Washington, he and Lady Halifax learned that the second of their three sons – Peter - had been killed at the battle of El Alamein. Eight weeks later they received word that their youngest son – Richard – had lost both legs when a German bomb fell on him but miraculously failed to explode. It was feared that Richard would die from his injuries, and President Roosevelt offered a plane to fly Halifax to his son’s side. Halifax turned down FDR’s offer. According to an embassy aide, Halifax “replied that Richard would be in hospital with many boys whose fathers were not ambassadors, and could not have their parents flown to them in Presidential planes.”
 
Joseph Kennedy, America’s Ambassador to Great Britain, said of Halifax: “He is the noblest Englishman, almost a saint.” He is, to me, the panoramic embodiment of the British Empire. A former Viceroy of India, a member of the House of Lords, Britain’s Foreign Minister, and then her Ambassador to the United States, Edward Wood (as he was born), 1st Earl of Halifax spanned heaven and earth with his life and his interests. “Lord Holy Fox” devoutly embraced his father’s Anglo-Catholic religious beliefs. His faith shaped his character and helped guide many key decisions.
 
In another biography, The Life of Lord Halifax, the Earl of Birkenhead wrote about Lord and Lady Halifax in the aftermath of the death of one son and the severe wounding of another in the war. Birkenhead paints a touching picture of Halifax wheeling his son Richard to communion at Sunday services. And he shared this warm reflection:
 

Edward was perhaps quieter, and looked a little older, but their busy life continued without interruption, and Americans, perhaps more emotional than the English about personal bereavement, were amazed by their self control.  The admiration and affection felt for them in the country had reached its highest point and was never to be lost.  They were now firmly established in the hearts of Americans as people of the highest integrity and character.

Thanks for reading,
Bill