Part 25 (1/2)
Photo by Paul Thompson, N. Y.]
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The New King and His Imperial Responsibilities
In a.s.suming the burden of his great position and manifold duties King George V had the disadvantage of succeeding a great monarch; he had also the advantage of having been trained in statecraft, diplomacy, and the science and practice of government, by a master in the art. He was young in years--only forty-five--strong, so far as was known, in body and health, equipped with a vigorous intelligence and wide experience of home and European politics and, what was of special importance at the time of his accession, instinct with Imperial sentiment and acquainted, practically and personally, with the politics and leaders of every country in the British Empire--notably India, Canada, South Africa and Australia. He was not known to the public as a man of genial temperament but rather as a strong, reserved, quiet thinker and student of men and conditions. Great patience and considerable tact, common sense and natural ability, eloquence in speech and fondness for home life and out-door sports, he had shown as Prince of Wales or Duke of Cornwall. He spoke German, French, and, of course, English with ease and accuracy; he had seen much service in the Royal Navy and was understood to be devotedly attached to the wide s.p.a.ces of the boundless seas; his Consort was beautiful, kindly, and graceful in bearing, with a profound sense of the importance of her place and duties and a sincere belief in the beneficence and splendid mission of British power.
The Prince of Wales became, of course, King at the moment of his Father's death; on May 7th His Majesty met the Privy Council, signed the proclamation relating to his Accession and accepted the oath of fealty from the Lords and gentlemen a.s.sembled. To them he delivered a brief address expressive of his personal sorrow and sense of his onerous responsibilities: ”In this irreparable loss, which has so suddenly fallen upon me and the whole Empire, I am comforted by the feeling that I have the sympathy of my future subjects, who will mourn with me for their beloved Sovereign, whose own happiness was found in sharing and promoting theirs. I have lost not only a Father's love, but the affectionate and intimate relations of a dear friend and adviser. No less confident am I of the universal and loving sympathy which is a.s.sured to my dearest Mother in her overwhelming grief.
”Standing here, little more than nine years ago, our beloved King declared that so long as there was breath in his body he would work for the good and amelioration of his subjects. I am sure that the opinion of the whole nation will be that this declaration has been fully carried out. To endeavour to follow in his footsteps, and at the same time to uphold the const.i.tutional government of these realms will be the earnest object of my life. I am deeply sensible of the heavy responsibilities which have fallen upon me. I know that I can rely upon the Parliament and on the people of these Islands and my Dominions beyond the Seas for their help in the discharge of these arduous duties and their prayers that G.o.d will grant me strength and guidance. I am encouraged by the knowledge that I have in my dear wife one who will be a constant helpmate in every endeavour for our people's good.”
This speech, delivered with obvious feeling and indicating a real understanding and appreciation of his late Father's character and career, made a most favourable impression upon the Council, the Nation, and the Empire. It was followed by others--all showing tact and a clear grasp of the fundamental conditions of the time and of his new responsibilities. To the British Army King George issued the following Message: ”My beloved Father was always closely a.s.sociated with the Army by ties of strong personal attachment, and from the first day he entered the service he identified himself with everything conducive to its welfare. On my accession to the Throne I take this earliest opportunity of expressing to all ranks my grat.i.tude for their gallant and devoted service to him. Although I have been always interested in the Army, recent years have afforded me special opportunities of becoming more intimately acquainted with our forces both at home and in India, as well as in other parts of the Empire. I shall watch over your interests and efficiency with continuous and keen solicitude and shall rely on that spirit of loyalty which has at all times animated and been the proud tradition of the British Army.” To the Royal Navy His Majesty's Message was issued with special and personal interest. He was devoted to that arm of the service. From the year 1877 when he entered as a Cadet of twelve years old, and 1879 when, with Prince Albert Victor--afterwards Duke of Clarence--he went around the world in H. M. S. _Bacchante_, and 1885 when he became a Mids.h.i.+pman, he had delighted in the Naval service, imbibed the free air of the seas of the world and become instinct with pride in England's naval record and achievements. He had been attached to and served in several great battles.h.i.+ps; in 1888 he commanded a torpedo boat and in 1890 the gunboat _Thrush_; in succeeding years he held more important commands and finally in 1897 had become an Admiral.
To his Navy King George spoke as follows:
”It is my earnest wish on succeeding to the Throne to make known to the Navy how deeply grateful I am for its faithful and distinguished services rendered to the late King, my beloved Father, who ever showed great solicitude for its welfare and efficiency. Educated and trained in that profession which I love so dearly my retirement from active duty has in no sense diminished my feelings of affection for it. For thirty-three years I had the honour of serving in the Navy, and such intimate partic.i.p.ation in its life and work enables me to know how thoroughly I can depend upon that spirit of loyalty and zealous devotion to duty of which the glorious history of our Navy is the outcome. That you will ever continue to be, as in the past, the foremost defenders of your country's honour I know full well, and your fortunes will always be followed by me with deep feelings of pride and affectionate interest.”
Parliament met in special Session on May 11th to tender its combined condolences and congratulations to the new Sovereign. The Addresses from both Houses were identical in terms and referred eulogistically to the great work of the late King in building up and maintaining friendly Foreign relations. To them His Majesty replied briefly as to his personal grief and the national sorrow and then added: ”King Edward's care for the welfare of his people, his skill and prudent guidance of the nation's affairs, his unwavering devotion to public duty during his ill.u.s.trious reign, his simple courage under pain, will long be held in honour by his subjects both at home and beyond the Seas.” Meanwhile an infinite variety of articles were being written about the new King. In Canada and the United States the same despatches, practically, came to the leading papers; in Canada were reproduced many of the attractive articles written by special American correspondents in England. Some of them could hardly have come from personal knowledge; others contained much of current gossip, pa.s.sing stories, hasty impressions; all were interesting. A remarkable feature of nearly all that was written regarding His Majesty was the absence of serious criticism or the slightest cause for condemnation in a life of forty-five years lived in the continuous white light which beats upon Royalty with such merciless precision.
The facts are that King George was and had been essentially a sailor Prince; that he had in his younger days been open-handed, free, and possessed of a certain natural and bluff and pleasant geniality which was, however, quite different from the urbane, charming, courtly geniality of King Edward; that something of this characteristic had disappeared from public view after the death of his brother, the Duke of Clarence, and his own a.s.sumption of public duties and public work as heir presumptive--functions greatly enlarged by the accession of his father to the Throne; that in his travels through the outer s.p.a.ces, the vast Colonial Dominions, of the Empire he was too hedged about with etiquette, too much surrounded by a varied, and constantly changing, and bewildering environment to exhibit anything except devotion to the immediate duty of the moment; that under the circ.u.mstances of his Imperial tours, amidst political conditions wherein a wrong word or even an unwise gesture might, upon occasions, evoke a storm, where not even his carefully-selected suite could be expected to understand all the varied shades of political strife and the infinite varieties of public opinion, it would have been more than human for him to show continuous geniality--as that word is interpreted in democratic countries; that upon many occasions and despite these obstacles he did thoroughly indicate a personal and unaffected enjoyment very different in manner from that of a prince receiving a formal address--notably so in his drives around Quebec during the Tercentenary; that the responsibilities of his position, the personal limitations of his environment, the difficulties always surrounding an heir to the throne, had however, and upon the whole, sobered the one-time ”jolly” Prince into a serious and thoughtful personage--a statesman in the making; that he was, what none of the Royal family had ever been, something of an orator as he proved by his splendid speech in London upon returning from the Empire tour of 1901 and by his delivery of otherwise routine addresses upon many occasions; that there could be absolutely no doubt as to his love of home, his devotion to wife and family, his personal preference for a quieter life than that which destiny had given him. King George was married to Princess May of Teck, on July 6, 1893, and the children of the Royal pair at the Accession were as follows:
H. R. H., Edward Albert Born June 23, 1894 H. R. H., Albert Frederick ” Dec. 14, 1895 H. R. H., Victoria Alexandra ” April 25, 1897 H. R. H., Henry William ” March 31, 1900 H. R. H., George Edward ” Dec. 20, 1902 H. R. H., John Charles ” July 12, 1905
Of the new Queen Mary much might be said. Unspoiled by the social adulation, the personal power of her environment; devoted to her home, its duties and its responsibilities, and believing her children to be the first object and aim of a woman's study and attention, she yet found time to master the underlying principles of her future position, to become thoroughly conversant with all the details of sovereignty--not only in the ordinary sense but in that new meaning which has come to stamp the British Monarchy with such an international and Imperial prestige. The future Queen had some special qualifications for her position. She was British by birth and training and habit of thought--the first Queen-Consort who could claim these conditions in centuries of history. A great-granddaughter of George the Third she was the popular child of a popular mother--Princess Mary of Teck--and was born in Kensington Palace on May 26, 1867, in a room adjacent to that in which Queen Victoria first saw the light of day. Interested in the theatre, in music, and the drama, charitable by nature and incessant in her work for, and amongst, the poor, a cheerful though not exactly eager partic.i.p.ant in social affairs and presiding at the Marlborough House functions with tact and distinction; winning during her tour around the Empire the unstinted liking and respect of the people; the mistress and careful head of her household, a constant friend and adviser and a.s.sociate of her Royal husband, a loving and devoted mother; the Princess of Wales before she entered upon her inheritance of power had well proved her right to help in holding the reins of a greater position and in setting the example of leaders.h.i.+p in her natural and important share of the duties surrounding the throne of Britain and its far-flung realm.
[Ill.u.s.tration: KING GEORGE V Son and successor of Edward VII upon the throne of England]
[Ill.u.s.tration: QUEEN MARY, CONSORT OF GEORGE V]
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE KING AND QUEEN AT TORONTO King George V and the Queen when they visited Toronto, Canada, October 10, 1901, as Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Cornwall and York]
[Ill.u.s.tration: KING GEORGE V LEARNING TO SPLICE ROPE
In this interesting old photograph King George (on the left), and his older brother, the Duke of Clarence (on the right), are shown as boys on the ”Britannia,” where they were thoroughly taught the principles of seamans.h.i.+p. The Duke of Clarence, who was Heir to the Throne, died in 1892 at the age of 28 years, leaving the right of succession to his younger brother.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ROYAL CHILDREN OF KING GEORGE V AND QUEEN MARY Photograph by Paul Thompson, New York.
Reading from left to right: Their Royal Highnesses, Henry William; Albert Frederick; Edward Albert, Prince of Wales; John Charles; Victoria Alexandra, George Edward.]
What can be said of the future? It may be a.s.sumed that King George V will know his people well. He is thoroughly English in life, character, feelings; he knows Europe and the Empire better perhaps than any other living man; he is in sympathetic touch with rich and poor alike and has taken for many years deep interest in philanthropic and other schemes for the betterment of the poor; he has been trained in the school of const.i.tutional monarchy by the personal teachings of his father and the potent example of Queen Victoria. The London _Daily Telegraph_ said of him at the time of his accession--speaking probably with the knowledge of Lord Burnham, its proprietor, who had for many years been on intimate terms of friends.h.i.+p with the Royal Family--that the new King had undergone sedulous training and been educated to rule by learning to obey. ”The country will discover in him what those admitted to his confidence have always realized--admirable traits of kindliness and strength; wise common sense, practical judgment of affairs; shrewd insight into character; and a singularly upright and lofty conception of his kingly duty. He has a frank, generous, unspoiled nature, is quick in apprehension, deliberate in thought, careful in expression, controlled by a far-reaching consciousness of duty and is animated by a vivid sense of his exalted mission. He is a keen sportsman, an admirable father and husband, and a lovable man.”
King George has also been trained Imperially. He has trod the soil of his empire in every part of the globe and visited seas and lands which no other British sovereign ever saw; he has seen the courage and commercial skill and success of his more distant peoples, the pioneering activities and growing civilizations of new states and territories thousands of miles apart; he has obviously learned from them lessons of great import. It required considerable courage in 1902 to make that speech of ”Wake up, England,” to a people who do not readily take advice from their rulers and who notoriously dislike being hurried along the lines of their development. In other directions there is much to be hopeful for. His Majesty has chosen his friends well. They are said, in an intimate sense, to be few in number, but the fact of Lord Rosebery being one of them augurs well of the others. He has a strong sense of duty, his addresses indicate the principle of Imperialism in its best sense, his life has commanded the respect of his people. It may well be, and surely will be in his case, as with the late Queen, with Wellington and Nelson and King Edward himself, that
”Not once or twice in our fair Island's story The path of duty was the road to glory.”
To the political situation at his accession, therefore, King George brings a trained intelligence, detailed and intimate knowledge, a keen perception of the basic interests and feelings of his people. No one knows, no one can know, what are his political opinions. The probabilities are that his principles are not those of any so-called party. If they were closely a.n.a.lyzed in the light of environment, education, instincts, and natural predelictions the King's policy might, perhaps, be found to be something like this: (1) The maintenance of British power, including a strong Navy and a United Empire; (2) the maintenance of the Monarchy in all its essential rights and privileges and absolute independence of party. These two lines of ambition would really be, and are, one, as in his opinion and, indeed, in that of most thinking men who are not blinded by pa.s.sing party phantoms the interests of Great Britain, of the Empire, and the Monarchy, are identical.
In the political crisis of 1910 two questions are uppermost--a const.i.tutional change and a fiscal change. In order to defeat the latter proposals the Liberals in part have created the former situation. The King can act only upon the advice of his Ministry unless tacitly and by unusual agreement, as latterly was the case with King Edward, he acts as a conciliatory force. If the Government asks him to create 300 peers so as to compel the acceptance of legislation curbing and crippling, if not abolis.h.i.+ng, the Upper House, he can either a.s.sent or refuse. a.s.sent means the destruction of a portion of the Const.i.tution--and a portion very close to the Throne and which acts as a real buffer against the hasty action of an impetuous and sometimes imperious Commons. Refusal means that the Ministry must resign or go to the country on an issue in which it is quite possible the people will not support them.