Part 21 (2/2)
Seddon.
ROYAL AND COLONIAL FUNCTIONS
Lady Lansdowne's function was given in the magnificent drawing-rooms of Lansdowne House in honour of the special Envoys to the Coronation and the Colonial and Indian guests of the King. Nearly all the Colonial Premiers were present at some period during the evening and the Crown Princes of Roumania, Sweden, j.a.pan and Siam, Mgr. Merry del Val, King Lewanika, the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess d'Aosta, the Maharajahs of Gwalior, Jaipur, Kolapore, Bikanur, and Kuch Behar, Sir Pertab Singh, and Mr. and Mrs. Whitelaw Reid. The Amba.s.sadors of France, Austria, Turkey, Spain, United States, Germany, Persia, Belgium and half the countries in the world were also in attendance on what had been originally intended to be a reception by the Foreign Secretary and his wife in honour of the Coronation. After the Dominion Day banquet Lord Strathcona also held a Reception in Piccadilly attended by a great gathering of Canadian and other Colonial celebrities.
The Review of the Indian Coronation Contingent on July 2nd by the Queen and the Prince of Wales was a brilliant spectacle, the enthusiasm of the reception accorded the members of the Royal family as great as on the preceding day, the ma.s.sed crowds even larger than on that occasion, the kaleidoscopic colour and glittering splendour of the scene even more marked. The ordinary incidents of the parade were much the same as in that of the day before but British officers from British countries were superseded by a staff of native Princes blazing with gems, while the white soldier in ordinary British uniform, with only an occasional contingent of Houssas, or Fiji troops, or some other dark-coloured Colonial subjects, were replaced by an Oriental combination of varied uniform and complex colours. They numbered twelve hundred strong and the Eastern side of the display was one which the stricken King--deeply sensitive to the Imperial significance of the Coronation as he was--would have greatly appreciated and understood. The _Times_ description was an eloquent one: ”To those sitting in the stands it appeared as if a great rich ornamental carpet of kaleidoscopic colour had been suddenly unrolled across the gravel of the parade-ground; a line of dazzling tints, before which the impressive grandeur of Household uniforms with attendant cuira.s.ses, bear-skins, scarlet and bullion, dwarfed into insignificance. The front of the Asiatic line was crested with fluttering lance pennons, and beneath these flags were stalwart frames in vermillion, rich orange, purple-drab, French-grey, and gold-tipped navy-blue, dressed shoulder to shoulder, making a nether border of snow-white or orange breeching.”
One after another the representatives of famous Indian regiments pa.s.sed by and no Roman Emperor, or conqueror of old, ever had such a triumphal gathering in victorious procession through his ancient capital as this which pa.s.sed the windows of the room where the Emperor-King lay slowly verging toward recovery. Finally, they had all pa.s.sed--Rajpoot, Sikh, Pathan, Afridi, Jat, Hazura, Gurkha, Dogra, Multani, Madra.s.see, Baluchi, Dekani--and, after a great cheer for the Emperor of India and to the strains of the National Anthem and personal cheering of another kind, the Queen and Princess of Wales drove from the grounds followed by the Prince and the rest of the Royal family.
In the evening a ball was held at the Crystal Palace, the proceeds of which were to go to King Edward's Hospital Fund, as a sort of Coronation tribute to His Majesty's well-known interest in this subject. The function, which had been managed by Mrs. Arthur Paget, Lady Maud Wilbraham and others was a great success. During the same day Mr. W. H.
Grenfell M.P. entertained the Colonial Premiers and visitors, on behalf of the British Empire League, at a water-party on the Thames and a luncheon at Taplow Court. The King's Dinner to the poor people of London took place on July 5th and const.i.tuted probably the most remarkable event of the kind in all history. A statistician estimated that six hundred thousand persons sat down at ninety miles of tables served by eighty thousand voluntary waiters. The cost of the occasion was about __30,000 and how the guests enjoyed their substantial meal of meat, potatoes, bread, cheese, pudding, beer, lime-juice, chocolate, cigarettes and tobacco can be better imagined than stated. There were eight hundred separate feasts and eighteen thousand people entertaining the guests while thirteen members of the Royal family devoted themselves to representing the King and giving the pleasure of their presence to the crowded and happy mult.i.tudes.
The day was beautiful, the arrangements, which had been so largely in the hands of Sir Thomas Lipton, were excellent, and the a.s.sistance abundant. The Coronation mugs gave tremendous pleasure and it would be a problem in psychology to say why the mere sight of Royalty should give the intense satisfaction which it unquestionably afforded the crowds--especially the women. Decorations were everywhere and the Prince and Princess of Wales drove in semi-state all through East London. The final climax to the day was the physicians' announcement from the Palace that the King was out of danger. Princess Christian, the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Connaught, the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Fife, the Prince and Princess Charles of Denmark, the d.u.c.h.ess of Albany, the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Argyll did more than their duty in visiting the various points and giving the feasters a glimpse of those who represented, even indirectly, their Royal host. On the following day Lord Knollys wrote the Lord Mayor, by command of the King, expressing the greatest satisfaction at the success of the affair and at the energy, foresight and skill displayed by those who had taken it in hand. ”I am further commanded”, he wrote, ”to repeat how sincerely His Majesty regretted his inability to be present at any of his dinners and how deeply also he has been touched by the loyal and kind feeling so universally displayed when the bulletin of yesterday morning was read at the various dining-places.”
On the following day and at various times and places in the succeeding weeks the Queen entertained thousands of young servants at tea. Mayors and other officials or prominent persons presided, and each guest, after listening to a musical programme, was sent away happy with a box of chocolate bearing Queen Alexandra's portrait in colours. A function of a different character was the great state dinner given by the Prince and Princess of Wales at St. James's Palace on July 8th in honour of the Colonial guests and visitors. The leading members of the suite during the late Empire tour were present together with the Countess of Hopetoun, the Earl and Countess of Onslow, the Earl and Countess of Minto, the Lord and Lady Lamington, the Lord and Lady Strathcona, Mrs.
Chamberlain, Sir Wilfrid and Lady Laurier, Sir Edmund and Lady Barton, Mr. Seddon, Sir Gordon and Miss Sprigg, Sir Albert and Miss Hime, Sir R.
Bond, Sir John and Lady Forrest, General Sir Edward Brabant, Sir W.
Mulock, the Hon. Mr. Fielding and Hon. Mr. Paterson. During this week the Countess of Jersey gave three garden parties at Osterley Park in honour of the visitors, and Lady Howard de Walden entertained the Colonial and Indian dignitaries at a reception and concert on July 7th.
Three days later the Queen opened the Imperial Coronation Bazaar which was held on behalf of the Ormonde St. Hospital for Sick Children. Her Majesty was accompanied by Princess Victoria, the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Connaught, the Princess Christian and other members of the Royal family, and the occasion was successful despite a storm of wind and rain. In the evening the Prince and Princess of Wales held a Reception of some nine hundred more or less distinguished people at St. James's Palace in honour of the Colonial visitors. Most of the members of the Royal family were present as well as Royal representatives of Roumania, Denmark, Greece and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and the Colonial Premiers and other officials or visitors from the outside Empire. It was a really brilliant function, delightful in its surroundings, decorations and illuminations, and elaborate in its final incident of supper. On the preceding day a detachment of troops from Australia and New Zealand, under arrangements made by Lord Carrington and the Duke of Argyll, visited Windsor Castle and were given luncheon in the town with the former n.o.bleman as host.
About the same time twelve thousand Kensington school-children were entertained under the auspices of Princess Louise, d.u.c.h.ess of Argyll, and revelled in a pleasure such as had perhaps never come before to the most of them.
There were various functions and incidents of interest in the second week following the postponed Coronation. One of the most picturesque scenes ever witnessed in London occurred on July 3rd, when the Fijian soldiers, who had come to the Empire capital for the great event, were being driven around the city. On reaching Buckingham Palace they expressed a wish to sing an intercessory hymn for the King. With their bare heads, legs and feet, their long and frizzy hair, their white cotton skirts and quaint tunics, they made a most unique appearance as they turned toward the Palace and chanted words of which the following is a rough translation:
”The King is great, and n.o.ble, and good.
May he find favour in the sight of the Ruler of Kings; May he wax strong and stay the tears of us all, for his people are sad.
Mighty is the King and his people shall be glad.”
Other parties of West African and Indian troops were driven up and cheered the bare walls of the Palace with fervour. The Duke of Connaught, and afterwards the Duke of Cambridge, visited the Indian troops at Hampton Court. On July 9th, Colonel Lord Binning and the officers and men of the Royal Horse Guards provided an entertainment for the Colonial contingents at the Albany Barracks. Entertainments for the Colonial Premiers were almost continuous. The Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Westminster gave an afternoon party in their honour at Grosvenor House; Lady Lucy Hicks-Beach gave a garden party at the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer; parties of the King's Indian guests were taken at different times by Lord Esher and Lord Churchill to see Windsor Castle; Sir Gilbert Parker gave a dinner in honour of the Premiers of Australia and Canada; Lady Wimborne gave a dinner and reception for the Colonial Premiers; the Const.i.tutional Club on July 7th entertained the guests from the Colonies at a banquet presided over by the Duke of Marlborough. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in the course of his speech, made a notable declaration: ”The bond of the British Empire, let me tell you this my fellow-countrymen, and accept it from a man not of your own race, the bond of union of the British Empire is allegiance to the King without distinction of race or colour.” The Primrose League in London entertained the visiting Premiers at a banquet; and the Fishmonger's Company did the same. An interesting incident was the visit of Mr. R. J. Seddon, Premier of New Zealand, and his wife and daughters to Windsor Castle whence, on July 3rd, they were driven to Frogmore Mausoleum and placed a wreath of lilies and rosebuds on the tomb of the Queen and on behalf of the people of New Zealand.
The Empire Coronation banquet was the great event of these weeks in the way of dining and speaking, although Mr. Chamberlain's unfortunate accident and absence created a serious void. The Earl of Onslow presided, and amongst the speakers were Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Maharajah of Kolapore, Sir Gordon Sprigg and Sir Edmund Barton. Earl Cromer and Lord Lansdowne, Lord Minto, Lord Kelvin and the Maharajahs of Bikanur and Cooch-Behar were also present together with a distinguished array of Colonial dignitaries.
An event of historic importance occurred on July 11th when the Marquess of Salisbury waited upon the King and tendered his resignation of the post of Prime Minister. The fact that His Majesty was able to receive him and deal with the questions involved also served to indicate his progress toward recovery. Mr. A. J. Balfour was at once sent for and, after an interview with Mr. Chamberlain, accepted the task of forming a new Ministry. It had been pretty well understood that Lord Salisbury intended to resign when peace had come and the Coronation ceremonies were disposed of. Delay had naturally occurred owing to the King's illness, but His Majesty's progress toward recovery and the fact of the princ.i.p.al Coronation functions having been disposed of--outside of the event itself--induced the Premier to feel that he could now lay down his burdensome position. Mr. Balfour was received again by the King on July 12th and a little later in the day General Lord Kitchener, after pa.s.sing in triumphal procession through the streets of London on his return from South Africa, was also admitted into audience by the King and personally decorated from his couch with the special Coronation honour--the new Order of Merit. Lord Kitchener then dined with the Prince of Wales, as representing His Majesty, at St. James's Palace.
Meanwhile, the King had been winning golden opinions from all sorts and conditions of men. His plucky conduct at the beginning of the illness, his thoughtful consideration for others through every stage of its continuance, his evidently strong place in the hearts of his subjects, combined to increase the personal popularity of the Sovereign at home while enhancing or promoting respect for him abroad. As the New York _Tribune_ put it on the day before the Coronation: ”The King is showing himself 'every inch a King' in some of those respects which are most prized and cherished by all men of his race, and which unfailingly command admiration among all men and all races. Those are the qualities of unselfishness, and indomitable and uncomplaining pluck.” He had struggled long and earnestly against the malady--not for his own sake, because safety and ease would have early been found in surrender to its natural course. When that became finally necessary, and recovery then succeeded the period of suspense, his whole desire seemed to be the re-a.s.suring of the popular mind and the relieving of public inconvenience. On August 6th the King and Queen Alexandra had landed at Portsmouth from the Royal yacht and proceeded to London. The stations were profusely decorated, and dense crowds were awaiting their arrival in the capital. At the Metropolitan station the King walked easily to the end of the platform and to his carriage, helped the Queen to enter, and followed himself without any apparent difficulty. The route to Buckingham Palace was lined with great throngs of people, and His Majesty acknowledged the continuous cheering with a most cheerful expression and by frequently raising his hat. He was described as looking better than for a long time past--while the Queen appeared positively radiant. On the evening of August 8th, the King issued an autograph message of thanks and appreciation to the nation, through the Home Secretary, couched in the following terms:
”To My People:--On the eve of my Coronation, an event which I look upon as one of the most solemn and most important in my life, I am anxious to express to my people at home and in the Colonies and India, my heartfelt appreciation of the deep sympathy they have manifested towards me during the time my life was in such imminent danger.
”The postponement of the ceremony, owing to my illness, caused, I fear, much inconvenience and trouble to all those who intended to celebrate it, but their disappointment was borne by them with admirable patience and temper.
”The prayers of my people for my recovery were heard, and I now offer up my deepest grat.i.tude to Divine Providence for having preserved my life and given me strength to fulfil the important duties which devolve upon me as Sovereign of this great Empire.
EDWARD R. I.”
While this tactful and sympathetic letter was being written by the Sovereign, his people in London were preparing for the great event of the morrow. The streets were crowded with moving ma.s.ses of people; the decorations, though not as numerous or imposing as in June, were nevertheless effective; the streets were illuminated to a considerable extent, and the stands were nearly all sold out of their seating capacity. During the afternoon the King walked in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and held an Invest.i.ture, at which he gave the Order of the Garter to the Dukes of Wellington and Sutherland and of the Thistle to the Duke of Roxburghe and the Earl of Haddington. A little later, he received in audience Ras MaRonnen, the Abyssinian Envoy. Two interesting announcements were also made at this time--that Lord Salisbury was unwell and would be unable to attend the Coronation, and that Bramwell Booth had been granted special permission by the King to appear at Westminster Abbey in Salvation Army garb. The first incident marked the closing of an era of statecraft; of an age marked by the name and fame of Queen Victoria and her Ministers. The other ill.u.s.trated the tact of the Sovereign as it proved the existence of a religious toleration and equality characteristic of the new period in which the new reign was commencing.
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