ABSTRACT

This article explores the preparation made by the British government, primarily the Foreign Office, for the state visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to the United States three months before the outbreak of the Second World War. It considers the dynamics of the relationship between the officials in Whitehall, the British ambassador in Washington, Sir Ronald Lindsay, the agenda of the Roosevelt administration and the role of the British royal family as ambassadors in their own right. Lindsay’s role was also pivotal because he was a personal friend of the King and was also on much respected and influential figure in Washington. The article does not discuss the course of the state visit, although there is discussion of the literature that relates to it. However, it does reveal that securing a concrete alliance with the United States was not the priority of the British government in the summer of 1939; that the focus of the Foreign Office, in particular, was on the growing diplomatic crisis in Europe. Lastly, the article argues that in the months leading up to the outbreak of the Second World War, the Foreign Office was confident in its own ability to lead the formulation of British foreign policy; that it was not eclipsed by Neville Chamberlain’s very personal involvement in appeasing the fascist dictators.

摘要

本文探讨了英国政府（主要是外交部）为第二次世界大战爆发前三个月对乔治六世国王和伊丽莎白女王进行国事访问所做的准备工作。它考虑了白厅官员，英国驻华盛顿大使，罗纳德·林赛爵士，罗斯福政府的议程以及英国王室本身作为大使的角色之间的关系动态。林赛的角色也很关键，因为他是国王的亲密朋友，并且在华盛顿也享有很高的声誉和影响力。尽管讨论了与之相关的文献，但本文并未讨论国事访问的过程。然而，它的确揭示了与美国建立具体的联盟不是1939年夏天英国政府的优先事项。特别是外交部的重点是欧洲日益严重的外交危机。最后，文章认为，在第二次世界大战爆发之前的几个月中，外交部对自己领导英国外交政策制定的能力充满信心。内维尔·张伯伦在抚慰法西斯独裁者方面的个人参与并没有使它黯然失色。外交部对自己领导英国外交政策制定的能力充满信心；内维尔·张伯伦在抚慰法西斯独裁者方面的个人参与并没有使它黯然失色。外交部对自己领导英国外交政策制定的能力充满信心；内维尔·张伯伦在抚慰法西斯独裁者方面的个人参与并没有使它黯然失色。