Mildly ambivalent
Sir: Douglas Chambers appears to believe that in my book, Darling Loosy, I attribute Princess Louise's 'fatal loss of trust' in her husband Lord Lorne entirely to a sledging accident rather than to Lorne's homosexu- ality, 'an aspect of Lorne's character can- didly dealt with in Sandra Gwyn's book . Private Capitol.' (Letters, 12 October.) He is surprised that M.R.D. Foot did 'not chal- lenge this old chestnut' in his review of my book (31 August). Mr Foot's reason was surely that I did not subscribe to the 'old chestnut'. I devoted only two pages to the sledging accident and seven to the question of Lorne's homosexuality, beginning with a citing of my friend Sandra Gwyn's excellent book. My conclusion was that Lorne was `mildly ambivalent', and that this was the `deeper reason' for Louise's aversion to him. As I see it, there is no `either/or' between the two theories: the accident was a shock to her whole system, rendering her incapable of coping with the homosexual aspect of Lorne's character.
Elizabeth Longford
18 Chesil Court, Chelsea Manor Street, London SW3
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