Alexander Hardinge, 2nd Baron Hardinge of Penshurst KCB GCVO MC PC (17 May 1894–29 May 1960) was Private Secretary to the Sovereign during the Abdication Crisis of Edward VIII and during most of the Second World War. Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ... I have broken it!! ... Military Cross The Military Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army, and formerly also to officers of the armies of other Commonwealth countries, for distinguished and meritorious services in battle. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Private Secretary to the Sovereign is the senior operational member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, as distinct from the Great Officers of the Household. ... The Instrument of Abdication signed by Edward VIII Like King Henry VIII of England, whose wish to marry Anne Boleyn in the 1530s shook his kingdom, King Edward VIII created a crisis for the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth in the 1930s when he wished to marry Wallis Simpson. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Hardinge was born in 1894, the son of The Hon. Charles Hardinge (who was later created Baron Hardinge of Penshurst in 1910). He fought in the First World War, alongside his brother, rising to the rank of Major and in 1920, he became Assistant Private Secretary to King George V. On 8 February 1921, he married Helen Gascoyne-Cecil (a daughter of Lord Edward Gascoyne-Cecil and his wife, Violet) and they had three children. 1894 (MDCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (20 June 1858 - 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916. ... Baron Hardinge of Penshurst is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ... -1... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Major is a military rank denoting an officer of mid-level command status. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert) (3 June 1865–20 January 1936) was the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changing the name to the House of Windsor in 1917. ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Lord Edward Herbert Gascoyne-Cecil (1867-1918) was a British soldier and colonial administrator in Egypt. ...

Hardinge served as Assistant Private Secretary up until the King's death in 1936 and was promoted to Private Secretary upon the accession of King Edward VIII that same year; he continued in this role until his early retirement in 1943. Hardinge's elder brother, Edward, had died from wounds received in action in 1914 and so Hardinge succeeded as Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, on the demise of his father a year later, in 1944. Hardinge died in 1960 and his title was inherited by his son, George. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor), later The Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), was the second British monarch of the House of Windsor. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...