Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 The making of a diplomat, 1863–1903
- 2 Crete: consulship and civil war, 1903–1906
- 3 Washington: Imperial affairs and arbitration, 1906–1908
- 4 Budapest and Berne: prelude to the Great War, 1908–1913
- 5 Stockholm: war and diplomacy in neutral northern Europe, 1913–1916
- 6 Stockholm: diplomacy and war in neutral northern Europe, 1916–1918
- 7 Paris: Poland, the Baltic States, and the Treaty of Versailles, 1918–1919
- 8 Madrid: Anglo-Spanish relations, 1919–1924
- 9 Washington redux: rebuilding good relations, 1924–1927
- 10 Washington redux: meeting the American challenge, 1927-1930
- Epilogue and conclusion ‘A great ambassador’
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
5 - Stockholm: war and diplomacy in neutral northern Europe, 1913–1916
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 The making of a diplomat, 1863–1903
- 2 Crete: consulship and civil war, 1903–1906
- 3 Washington: Imperial affairs and arbitration, 1906–1908
- 4 Budapest and Berne: prelude to the Great War, 1908–1913
- 5 Stockholm: war and diplomacy in neutral northern Europe, 1913–1916
- 6 Stockholm: diplomacy and war in neutral northern Europe, 1916–1918
- 7 Paris: Poland, the Baltic States, and the Treaty of Versailles, 1918–1919
- 8 Madrid: Anglo-Spanish relations, 1919–1924
- 9 Washington redux: rebuilding good relations, 1924–1927
- 10 Washington redux: meeting the American challenge, 1927-1930
- Epilogue and conclusion ‘A great ambassador’
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
I hope you won't think that I am weak in dealing with the Swedish Government. What I have had constantly before my mind in dealing with them is the necessity of sparing His Majesty's Government and the Russian Government any unnecessary trouble and anxiety on their account.
Howard, April 1916For personal reasons, Howard did not relish the thought of a transfer to head the Legation at Stockholm. Berne lay at the centre of western Europe, making it easy for Howard and Isa to visit both Italy and Britain. By the same token, friends and family had to make only a slight detour when travelling to pass through Switzerland. Stockholm, on the other hand, seemed ‘practically at the end of the civilised world and not on the road to anywhere, so that it was unlikely that many acquaintances would come along that way’. Added to this, the Swedish climate, with its long, dark winter days, did not seem appealing. However, in terms of his career, this transfer amounted to a major step. When writing to congratulate Howard on the Berne post in 1911, Bryce had suggested: ‘You will be at Brussels or Stockholm in a year or two & then go to an Embassy…’ Bryce spoke wisdom. Stockholm served as a final proving ground for those junior British diplomats judged by the Foreign Office to be of ambassadorial material.
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- Esme HowardA Diplomatic Biography, pp. 132 - 163Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1989
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