The Life of King Edward VII
eloquent retrospect--a picture of the events of the past few days and
weeks. Almost from his seat on a great throne their Sovereign had passed
to a hushed sick-room; during a crowded week the people had passed from
bouyant expectancy to crushing disappointment, from loyal admiration of
a splendid occasion to personal sympathy with a stricken King. At the
Chapel Royal the Bishop of London preached and drew a lesson of humility
from the tragic event, while in St. Paul's Cathedral the Bishop of
Stepney preached to an audience which included various Indian Chiefs and
King Lewanika of Barotze. Mgr. Merry del Val, the Papal Envoy to the
Coronation, addressed a gathering at the Brompton Oratory attended by
Sir Wilfrid and Lady Laurier and Mr. Justice Girouard of Canada, Sir
Nicholas O'Conor, British Ambassador at Constantinople, Lord Edmund
Talbot, Lord Walter Kerr, first Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Howard
Glossop and Lord Clifford of Chudleigh. The Reverend Bernard Vaughan, at
the Warwick Street Roman Catholic Church, dwelt upon the great loyalty
of his people to the Throne and declared that much might and should be
done by Roman Catholics "to build up and consolidate an Empire where
every man could breathe the air of freedom, claim his share of justice
and practice his religion in peace."
Amongst the special incidents of the day were prayers for King Edward in
all the principal towns of Greece as well as in the churches of Athens
and prayers and sermons upon the subject in many of the churches of New
York. On July 3rd Cape Town was brilliantly illuminated as an expression
of pleasure at the King's recovery. Four days later the Prince and
Princess of Wales visited Grey's Hospital and His Royal Highness in
speaking to the institution, for which the King had done so much when
Heir Apparent, referred to the occasion as the first on which he had
been able to attempt an expression of the unbounded gratitude which they
all felt for "the merciful recovery of my dear father, the King." He
spoke of the important work undertaken by the Hospital and then
proceeded: "I wish to take this first opportunity to say how His
Majesty the King, the Queen, and whole of our family have been cheered
and supported during a time of severe trial by the deep sympathy which
has been displayed towards them from every part of the Empire. And I
should like to say that we who have watched at the sick bed of the King
fully realize how much, humanly speaking, is due to the eminent surgical
and medical skill, as well as to the patient and highly-trained nursing
which it has been His Majesty's good-fortune to enjoy".
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Coronation
In the middle of July it was announced that the Royal patient had
recovered sufficiently to be able to fix a date once more for the
Coronation ceremony and that, with the advice of his physicians, August
9th had been decided upon. Many of the events surrounding and connected
with the central function originally proposed for June 26th had already
taken place by special wish or consent of the King. Deeply regretting
the disappointment of his people and keenly thoughtful, as he always had
been, for the feelings and anticipations of others, His Majesty had
specially ordered the carrying out of two incidents of the Coronation
festivities upon the date arranged--the Dinner to the London poor and
the publication of the Coronation honours. In both cases much
disappointment would have followed delay though it would necessarily
have been different in degree and effect. On June 26th, as already
decided upon and expected, the Honour List was made public and the names
of those whom the King desired to especially compliment were announced.
The promotion of the Earl of Hopetoun to be Marquess of Linlithgow, was
well deserved by his services as Governor-General of Australia and the
creation of Lord Milner as a Viscount by his work in South Africa. A
number might almost be called personal honours. Sir Francis Knollys, the
veteran and efficient Private Secretary became Lord Knollys; Lord
Rothschild and Sir Ernest Cassel, old friends of the King when Prince of
Wales, were made members of the Privy Council; Lord Colville of
Culross, Chamberlain to the Queen Alexandra since 1873, was made a
Viscount; Sir Francis Laking and Sir Frederick Treves, the well-known
surgeons, and Sir Thomas Lipton, the King's yachting companion upon more
than one occasion, were created baronets; the Earl of Clarendon, Lord
Chamberlain to the King, and General the Right Hon. Sir Dighton Probyn,
so long the faithful official of his Household, were given the G.C.B.;
Viscount Esher was made a K.C.B. General H. R. H. the Duke of Connaught,
brother of the King and Commanding the Forces in Ireland, was made a
Field Marshal, and H. R. H. the Prince of Wales, was created a General.
CORONATION HONOURS AND INCIDENTS
In the more general list every rank and profession was represented--the
Army and the Navy in honours conferred upon a large number of officers;
Art in the creation of Sir Edward Poytner as baronet, and the knighting
of Sir F. C. Burnand and Sir Ernest Waterlow; Literature in the
knighting of Sir Conan Doyle, Sir Gilbert Parker and Sir Leslie Stephen;
Medicine and Surgery in the same honour conferred upon Sir Halliday
Croom, Sir Thomas Fraser, Sir H. G. Howse and Sir William Church;
Science in the person of Sir Arthur Rucker; Music in that of Sir Charles
Villiers Stanford; Architecture in that of Sir William Emerson; the
Stage in that of Sir Charles Wyndham, The Colonies were amply honoured.
Australia saw knighthoods bestowed upon Sir E. A. Stone, Sir J. L.
Stirling, Sir Henry McLaurin, Sir A. J. Peacock, Sir Arthur Rutledge,
Sir John See, Sir A. Thorpe-Douglas, Sir N. E. Lewis. In New Zealand,
Captain Sir W. Russell-Russell and Sir J. L. Campbell received their
knighthoods. Sir John Gordon Sprigg of Cape Colony, received a G.C.M.G.,
as did Sir Edmund Barton of Australia. In Canada, Sir D. H. McMillan,
Sir F. W. Borden and Sir William Mulock received the K.C.M.G. The King
also announced the establishment of a new Order of Merit, restricted in
numbers and for the purpose of special Royal recognition of
distinguished and exceptional merit in the Army and Navy services, and
in Art, Science and Literature. The first list of members included Lord
Roberts, Lord Wolseley, Lord Kitchener, Lord Rayleigh, Lord Lister, Lord
Kelvin, Admiral Sir Henry Keppel, Mr. John Morley, Mr. W. E. H. Lecky,
Admiral Sir E. H. Seymour, Sir William Huggins and Mr. George Frederick
Watts.
A very important event connected with the Coronation--though not exactly
a part of it--and which proceeded in spite of the King's illness, at his
earnest desire, was the Colonial Conference composed of General Lord
Grenfell, Sir J. W. Ridgeway, Sir W. J. Sendall and Sir William McGregor
representing the lesser Colonies, Protectorates and Military posts and
the Premiers of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Natal, Cape Colony and
Newfoundland. It was called by Mr. Chamberlain, largely as a result of
so many Colonial leaders being in London at this time, and partly
because of negotiations between Australia and Canada looking to a
discussion during the Coronation period of such questions as trade
relations between the Commonwealth and the Dominion, the establishment
of a fast mail service, the organization of a better steamship service
between Canada and Australia, the establishment of a line of steamers
from Australia to Canada _via_ South Africa, and the position of the
Pacific Cable scheme. The Conference met a few days after the King's
illness was announced and proceeded to discuss these and other questions
in secret session during the next few weeks.
A great many of the functions surrounding and forming part of the
Coronation festivities took place during the period immediately
following the Coronation day, which was to have been, and these
increased in number and brilliancy as the days of actual danger passed
away. On June 26th it was determined not to disappoint the twelve
hundred children from Orphanages and Homes who had been looking forward
for many weeks to an entertainment promised them by the Prince and
Princess of Wales in Marlborough House grounds. They were according
received on that day and another twelve hundred on the succeeding day,
and enjoyed their feasts and games to the uttermost. On July 1st, amid
perfect weather, immense and enthusiastic crowds and in the presence of
Queen Alexandra and the Prince and Princess of Wales, a parade of
Colonial troops took place at the Horse Guards. The route was lined by
Regular troops and the Colonial force of about two thousand men was
headed by General Sir Henry Trotter and the Canadian Contingent. The
Duke of Connaught commanded the whole and was supported by a brilliant
staff.
The Queen came first on the review ground accompanied by many members of
the Royal family, and soon afterwards there appeared a glittering
cavalcade headed by the Prince of Wales in general's uniform. With him
were Lord Roberts, Commander-in-Chief, the Duke d'Aosta, the Crown
Princes of Denmark, Greece, Sweden and Roumania, the Grand Duke of
Hesse, Prince Nicholas and Prince Andrew of Greece, the Duke of
Saxe-Coburg, Prince Akihitu Komatsu of Japan, Prince Christian and
Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein and two Indian Princes. After the
inspection the Prince of Wales personally conferred the Distinguished
Service Order, the Victoria Cross, the Companionship of the Bath and the
Distinguished Conduct Medal upon a number of Colonial officers and men
who had won them in the South African War. The parade followed and men
from Canada and Australia, New Zealand, Cape Colony and Natal, Ceylon,
Cyprus and many other parts of the British world filed past the Queen
and the Heir Apparent--special cheers greeting the gallant Sir Edward
Brabant of Cape Colony. Well might the _Times_ in its description
express the keen regret of all at the absence of the King, and then add:
"Perhaps never in the whole history of the world has there been such a
display of Empire power as was witnessed yesterday. Here we had men of
every colour, creed, denomination and descent, all answering to the same
word of command, all performing the same manoeuvre, all animated with
the single object of paying homage to the head of the greatest Empire
the world has ever seen."
Meanwhile, on June 30th, some fifteen hundred Colonial officers and men
and one thousand Indian troops had embarked on special transports to see
the great fleet at Spithead and to obtain an insight into that mighty
naval power of England which the Coronation review was to have brought
before the world once more. In the evening a multitude of bon-fires
around the Kingdom, intended to celebrate the Coronation, were fired to
mark the King's having passed the danger-point in his illness, and they
afforded a most weird and striking effect. On the evening of July 1st a
number of important festivities took place. At the Inner Temple the
Colonial Premiers and distinguished visitors were banquetted. Amongst
the guests were the Lord Chancellor, Mr. Chamberlain, Lord Cross, Lord
Davy, Lord Macnaghten, Lord Lindley, Lord Knutsford, Lord Robertson, and
Sir Edmund Barton of Australia, Sir John Forrest of Australia, Sir
Robert Bond of Newfoundland, Sir Albert Hime of Natal, Sir West
Ridgeway, General Sir Francis Grenfell, Sir W. J. Sendall, Sir John
Carrington, Sir William MacGregor, Sir Julian Salomons, Mr. Justice
Girouard of Canada, the Hon. Arthur Peters and Hon. F. W. G. Haultain.
The Premiers of Australia, Newfoundland and Natal spoke and paid loyal
tributes to the King and the Empire. In his speech Mr. Chamberlain
referred to Sir Albert Hime's statement that the Colonies would be glad