The Life of King Edward VII
In his reply the Prince expressed an "ardent and sincere wish" to follow
in the footsteps of his predecessors and the belief that, so long as
Freemasons did not mix themselves up in politics, "this high and noble
Order will flourish and will maintain the integrity of our great
Empire." After deputations had been received from the Grand Lodges of
Scotland, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark the new Grand Master appointed
Lord Carnarvon to be Pro-Grand-Master, Lord Skelmersdale to be Deputy
Grand Master and the Marquess of Hamilton and the Lord Mayor of London
to two other chief offices. In the evening a grand banquet was held at
which he presided and made several tactful speeches. The Duke of
Connaught, the Duke of Manchester, the late Earl of Rosslyn and the
representatives of various Grand Lodges also spoke. On July 1st, 1886,
His Royal Highness was installed as Grand Master of the Mark Master
Masons in the presence of more than one thousand Grand, Past and
Provincial Officers from India and the Colonies as well as from the
United Kingdom. The Earl of Kintore presided in the early stages of the
function and was afterwards appointed Pro-Grand Master, with Lord
Egerton of Tatton as Deputy Grand Master and the Duke of Connaught as
Senior Grand Warden.
During the Queen's Jubilee, on June 13th, 1887, it was decided to
present an address to Her Majesty as Patron of the Order and of various
Masonic charities. The formal action was taken at an immense gathering
in the Royal Albert Hall, on the date mentioned, when some seven
thousand officers and members, representatives of the Lodges of the
Empire met and passed a Resolution to that effect. His Royal Highness
the Grand Master, who was accompanied by Prince Albert Victor and the
Duke of Connaught, presided and was able to announce, after this part of
the business had been disposed of and the National Anthem sung with
enthusiasm, that L6000 had that day been paid in by members and was to
be entirely devoted to Masonic charities for the children and the aged.
Two years later, on July 6, 1888, and in the same place, the Prince of
Wales presided over the centennial banquet of the Royal Masonic
Institute for Girls. With him were the King of Sweden and Norway, Prince
Albert Victor, the Earls of Carnarvon, Lathom and Zetland, Lord Egerton
of Tatton, Lord Leigh and many other eminent Masons. One of the speeches
of the Chairman was devoted to a history of the institution they were
trying to help and to a request for funds to erect additional buildings
and better accommodations. The response afterwards announced to the
appeal, made before and at this dinner, was L50,472 of which London
contributed L22,454 and the Provinces, India and the Colonies the
balance.
THE PATRON OF ART
Another subject in which the Prince always took a great and active
interest was that of Art--especially as embodied in the work of the
Royal Academy. His first appearance in this connection was at the annual
banquet on May 4th, 1863, and it has been noted that at the various
subsequent occasions of this kind at which he spoke, despite the
sameness of the toasts and subjects, there was always fresh material in
his remarks. At the banquet on May 5th, 1866, Sir Francis Grant presided
for the first time as President and amongst the speakers besides His
Royal Highness were his brother Prince Alfred, the Duke of Cambridge,
the Archbishop of Canterbury, Earl Russell and the Earl of Derby. In
1867 and in 1870 he also spoke and on the latter occasion the speakers
included Mr. J. Lothrop Motley, the American Minister, and Charles
Dickens. At the banquet in 1871 the Prince spoke and at that of 1874 he
drew special attention to the picture, "Calling the Roll," which
afterwards made Miss Elizabeth Thompson so famous, and to a statue by J.
E. Boehm which was the beginning of that sculptor's rise to distinction.
The Prince of Wales was again present in May, 1875 and then, owing to
other pressing engagements, missed four years. At the annual banquet on
May 3rd, 1879, which he attended, Sir Frederick Leighton was President
of the Academy and the Prince made kindly allusion to the memory of his
late predecessor. Amongst the other speakers were Lord Beaconsfield, Mr.
W. H. Smith and Lord Chief Justice Cockburn. At the banquet in 1880, Sir
F. Leighton paid his Royal guest an unusual compliment: "Sir, of the
graces by which Your Royal Highness has won and firmly retains the
affectionate attachment of Englishmen none has operated more strongly
than the width of your sympathies; for there is no honourable sphere in
which Englishmen move, no path of life in which they tread, wherein Your
Royal Highness has not, at some time, by graceful word or deed, evinced
an enlightened interest." In 1881, the central subject of toast and
speech was Sir Frederick Roberts, who had come fresh from the fields of
Cabul and Candahar; but the Prince of Wales did not forget an illusion
to the death of "that great statesman" the Earl of Beaconsfield. In 1885
His Royal Highness was accompanied for the first time by Prince Albert
Victor and in 1888 he was able to refer to the fact of this occasion
being not only the year of his silver wedding but the year which marked
a quarter of a century since his first appearance amongst them.
The Corporation of Trinity House, which in the time of Henry VIII. had
been a guild for the encouragement of the art and science of navigation
and had latterly come into the work of building lighthouses and
protecting ships along the coasts of England, was always an object of
interest and support to the Prince of Wales. In 1865 he declined the
post of Master--which had been held by men like Lord Liverpool, the Duke
of Wellington, the Prince Consort and Lord Palmerston--in favour of his
brother the Sailor Prince. He attended the next annual banquet, however,
together with the King of the Belgians, and two years later was
installed as one of the "Younger Brethren" of Trinity House. The Duke of
Richmond and Lord Napier of Magdala were amongst the other speakers. The
banquet of July 4th, 1869 was especially interesting from the eminent
men of all parties whom it brought together. The Prince of Wales
presided, in the absence of the Duke of Edinburgh, and the speakers
included Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Bright, Mr. Disraeli, Sir Stafford Northcote
and Sir John Burgoyne. He again attended and addressed the banquet of
Trinity House on June 24, 1871, and presided at that of June 27, 1874.
His speech upon the latter occasion contained various important facts
and opinions upon the improvement of navigation facilities. At the
dinner in 1877 the Prince again presided and in the proposing his health
the late Earl of Derby said: "His Royal Highness has not only now, but
for many years past done all that is in the power of man to do, by
genial courtesies towards men of every class and by his indefatigable
assiduity in the performance of every social duty, to secure at once
that public respect which is due to his exalted position and that social
sympathy and personal popularity which no position, however exalted, can
of itself be sufficient to secure." The most interesting event of this
occasion was the presence and very brief soldierly speech of General U.
S. Grant.
The encouragement of Musical education and the promotion of a public
taste for music was one of the subjects in which the Prince of Wales
took a deep and practical interest. He believed in the humanizing and
civilizing effects of music and felt that amongst a people who had made
a home for Haendel and who had in older days loved glees and madrigals
and choral compositions there was room, in a more hum-drum age, for the
encouragement of popular taste in this direction. The Royal Academy of
Music, founded in 1822, had done some good but limited service and, in
1875, he placed himself at the head of a movement to further the love
and practice of music amongst the people. A meeting was held at
Marlborough House on June 15th for the immediate purpose of establishing
free scholarships in connection with the proposed National Training
Schools for Music, near the Royal Albert Hall, and there were present
the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Christian, the Duke of Teck, the
Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Lord Mayor of London and many
Provincial Mayors, and a numerous company distinguished by public
reputation or position. The result of this action was most successful,
and in 1878, the Prince endeavoured to complete it by bringing the
Academy and the Training Schools into union.
ENCOURAGES MUSICAL EDUCATION
Failing in this, however, he presided on February 28th 1882 at a meeting
in St. James's Palace held for the purpose of founding a "Royal College
of Music" and attended by one of the most representative gatherings
which His Royal Highness had ever brought together. His speech was an
able and elaborate statement of the importance of a national cultivation
of music and the necessity for its promotion in the United Kingdom. "Why
is it," he asked, "that England has no music recognized as national? It
has able composers but nothing indicative of the national life or
national feeling. The reason is not far to seek. There is no centre of
music to which English musicians may resort with confidence and thence
derive instruction, counsel and inspiration." The plan was then clearly
outlined and enthusiastically accepted--Lord Rosebery, Mr. Gladstone
and Sir Stafford Northcote being amongst those who spoke and supported
the project presented by the Royal chairman. A little later, on March
23rd, the Prince invited a number of gentlemen connected with the
Colonial part of the Empire to meet him at Marlborough House in order to
discuss how best the benefits of the College might be extended and
applied to the more distant British countries.
On May 7th, 1883, the Royal College of Music was formally inaugurated
after an effort amongst its supporters which had included the holding of
forty-four public meetings throughout the country. With the Prince of
Wales were present the Princess, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the
Princess Christian and the Trustees, amongst whom were the Duke of
Westminster, Sir Richard Wallace, M.P., Sir George Grove and Sir John
Rose. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Mr. Gladstone and many others were
also present. The Royal founder of the institution spoke at unusual
length, referred to the teaching and examining powers of the College,
asked for aid in establishing scholarships and extending its usefulness
and dilated upon the importance of the objects aimed at. "I trust that
the College will become the recognized centre and head of the musical
world in this country. Music is, in the best sense, the most popular of
all arts. If that government be the best which provides for the
happiness of the greatest number, that art must be the best which at the
least expense pleases the greatest number." The project proved most
successful and the Royal College of Music became one of the recognized
institutions of the Empire.
VISIT TO IRELAND IN 1885
The Royal visit to Ireland in 1885 was an important incident in the
public life of the Prince of Wales. It was seventeen years since he and