Office of the Historian

865.01/703: Telegram

The Consul General at Algiers (Wiley) to the Secretary of State

Algiers, November 8, 1943—5 p.m.
[Received (November 9) 8:25 a.m.]

1944. (From Murphy.) MacFarlane telegraphs on November 6 the text of identic personal letters addressed to Berle and Eden94 with the request that the text should be forwarded by telegram to Washington and London. The following text, as telegraphed, is slightly garbled in minor respects:

“King sent me today offer become Prime Minister adding that personal independence towards him would be guaranteed by a solemn declaration that at the end of war he would bow to any decision of nation. I answered:

1.
That if all public men consulted by him agreed on my name it was because my past gave them the belief that WMAL [sic] gave force to unite and govern nation;
2.
That since I had always believed in advantage of representative monarchy I had already succeeded in persuading even extremist to accept formula [of] grandson as King with Badoglio as Regent since all [Page 421] princes are corrupt or dishonored; but that I have fully realized that this is maximum can be imposed on nation;
3.
Therefore if I accepted present government my name would lose any force and prestige;
4.
I added that I would not accept become Regent, my support being for Badoglio who is unwisely opposed by court circles;
5.
That apart from any political considerations, I considered morally inacceptable King’s offer become Prime Minister with mental reservation about his person and his future. Since I am in Italy I have done my best to fortify Badoglio in his effort to help Allies but neither I nor Badoglio can do anything without a complete moral purification of a situation where rightly nor wrongly it appears all forces of reaction and responsible of disaster hail King as their symbol.

Possible nobody told King yet that Monarchy can be saved only through formula of grandson without princes as regents. By now he knows my answer and I am ready to tell him personally. May I add Badoglio shares my views even if silent up to now.

It would help if Allies who have supreme responsibility recognized that there is a minimum that is indispensable to avoid too radical changes and to assure Italian efficiency and collaboration. Signed Sforza”.

[Murphy]
Wiley
  1. Anthony Eden, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.↩