From her rare public comments, it seems that Maggie never envisaged leaving her beloved Criccieth for good. It would have been entirely out of character for her to do so, and would make her later behaviour inexplicable. But she did accept the wifely role that her future husband described. She would help him through the ‘perpetual conflict’ of his life. It was an essentially submissive role: she was to be the companion of his hearth, the comfort to which he returned each night. For better or worse, she would be Mrs Lloyd George.
*John Jones was the son of Elin, Betsy George’s sister.
PERSUADING MAGGIE TO ACCEPT his ring was one thing, but getting her mother to accept their relationship was quite another, as Lloyd George was to discover. In the early months of 1887 the outlook was indeed bleak. Lloyd George was not allowed near Mynydd Ednyfed, and the lovers still had to meet in secret. The situation in Morvin House was no better: Lloyd George did not dare tell his mother about the relationship, and to confide in Uncle Lloyd was out of the question. But Lloyd George was not easily deterred. Throughout his life he had found that if he worked hard and used his head, the things he wanted tended to fall into his lap, and although he was frequently frustrated at the slow progress of his courtship, he never once admitted the possibility of defeat.
As a boy, Lloyd George was fond of reading military history. He saw each challenge in his own life as a battle to be won, and, as befits a future war leader, his long campaign to be married to Maggie Owen was planned and executed with determination and precision. In his diary, he reveals his strategy: ‘Find I can always work much better for an immediate defined object than for a remote possible one—so think it advisable to have fixed time.’1
Since the previous summer Lloyd George had concentrated on winning Maggie’s heart. Now, in the next phase of the campaign, he was intent on winning her hand. His goal was to persuade Richard Owen to give him permission to marry his daughter, who, still only twenty years old, could not legally marry without her parents’ consent. Maggie loved her parents dearly, and was in all respects a dutiful daughter. Lloyd George knew that it would cause her great unhappiness to go against their express wishes in a matter as important as marriage. For that reason also he needed their agreement to the match, and he knew that the main problem was not likely to be the doting father, but his fiercely judgemental wife.
The breach of promise case involving Ann and Lizzie Jones had indeed caused all the local rumours about Lloyd George to resurface, as Maggie had predicted. On 22 March he wrote gloomily in his diary: ‘It appears that Misses Roberts of Bronygadair and Ystwellgu have been reviling me to Mrs Owen—tllg her that they are surprised how I could stand in my shoes [with Maggie] when I had been courting “merch Nansi Penwaig” [Nancy Herring’s daughter].’ But he turned the situation to his advantage, taking the opportunity to move towards his next goal: ‘Told her that if her parents continued to nag at her in that style that the only way to put an end to it was to get married.’2
Maggie was not to be manipulated so easily: her mother’s objections hit home, especially since she was already worried about Lloyd George’s flirting. Lloyd George knew that he needed to win over the disapproving Mrs Owen, and since he was not allowed to approach her himself, he would have to rely on impressing people close to her who could plead his case.
His first and most devoted advocate was Maggie herself, and Lloyd George had for many months been coaching his sweetheart on how to manage her mother. Back in November the previous year he had been half-jokingly feeding her excuses to slip out to meet him, and had even felt in a strong enough position to poke fun at Mrs Owen’s obstinacy: ‘I send you herewith a formal ticket of invitation to the lecture…You can square your mother by reminding her that Mr Williams is one of the etholedigion [the elect—i.e. a Calvinistic Methodist] &that Griffydd ap Cynan was an eminent Methodist divine who flourished before Christ &in fact initiated him into the true principles of Calvinism. That ought to propitiate her.’
Again, when he had received letters from T.E. Ellis, his friend who had been elected MP for Merioneth in 1886 and who was a respectable Methodist, he wrote:
I enclose the two last letters I received from T. Ellis. It would do your mother good to read these letters as it will bring home to her mind that it is not perhaps essential to even good Methodism that you should taboo other sectarians. Darllenwch nhw i’ch mam bendith tad i chi [Read them to your mother, for goodness’ sake]. She’ll pull as wry a face as if she were drinking a gallon of assafatida [a popular but pungent herbal remedy]. Did you tell her what a scandal she has created about us throughout Lleyn?3
Lloyd George’s humorous tone was becoming tinged with exasperation; he was not used to facing opposition as determined as this, and in Mrs Owen he very nearly met his match. But he had no equal in persistence. Shortly after giving Maggie her ring, when he was called to London at short notice he set her a tricky task to accomplish during his absence:
Remember to behave in my absence ‘fel pe byddwn bresenol yn y corph’ [as if I were present in the flesh] as I shall be ‘yn yr ysbryd’ [in spirit]. Redeem your faithful promise to show your mother the token of our engagement. You may also should you deem it prudent (this I leave to your discretion) arrange an appointment for me to discuss matters with your father mother or any or either or both of them.
That’s a good week’s work (for you)—I have cut out for you.
With sincerest love…
It seems that Maggie did not find the courage to approach her parents during his absence—or decided that there was no point in doing so—and it was to be many months before she and Lloyd George could even meet at her home, let alone have her parents’ blessing to marry.
A few pages later in the carbon letter-book in which lie copies of all Lloyd George’s letters is a draft letter to Miss Roberts, Ynysgain, urging her despite her illness to keep an engagement for tea at Mynydd Ednyfed. Dorothy Roberts was a cousin of the Owens, and Lloyd George had been courting her good opinion almost as assiduously as he had courted Maggie’s. Miss Roberts lived some way outside Criccieth, and was therefore less influenced by the gossip surrounding Lloyd George’s love life. Despite being well established in middle age, she was in an excellent position to advise Maggie. The two were great friends, and Maggie confided her innermost feelings to her cousin. Miss Roberts was a frequent visitor to Mynydd Ednyfed, and could help soften Mrs Owen’s opposition to the match, so Lloyd George decided to launch a fullblown charm offensive.
He began to call on Miss Roberts frequently as he attempted to persuade her of the strength of feeling between himself and Maggie. Before long, Dorothy Roberts had fallen for his charm, and not only spoke favourably of him to Mary Owen, but also helped shore up Maggie’s courage as she faced her parents’ disapproval. According to Lloyd George and Maggie’s eldest son, Dick, ‘It was her aunt [i.e. Dorothy Roberts] who stiffened her backbone and helped her to follow the dictates of her heart in the face of her parents’ violent opposition.’4 Dorothy advised Maggie to put love ahead of family, chapel and politics. This might sound excessively romantic, but it was based on thorough knowledge of the characters involved, and was of course exactly what Maggie wanted to hear.
Another of Lloyd George’s supporters was also female. For some time, Lloyd George had found the ‘post office’, where he and Maggie left notes for each other, troublesome. The problem was that they could not be sure that the notes would reach their recipient quickly. When Maggie could not get away, or Lloyd George’s work sent him on an unexpected journey, letters often failed to reach them in time, and Lloyd George’s frustration grew with each mishap. He needed a go-between, someone who had access to Maggie, and so he began to work his charm on the Mynydd Ednyfed maid, Margiad.