The Life of King Edward VII
boyhood memory for faces and names most carefully; from the days of his
youth he was thoroughly conversant with many foreign languages; from his
coming of age he was in constant touch with the best of British and
European leaders. He had not reached maturity before experiencing the
difficulties of a tour of Canada and the United States in days when
there was no royal road mapped out by precedent for the management of
the tour and at a time when Orange and Green were in frequent conflict
in the British-American provinces and feelings of international
kindliness were not quite so strong in the United States as they were at
the close of his reign. In 1876 he had toured India amidst gorgeous
ceremonial and amid an infinite variety of racial and religious
occasions, or incidents, which only rare tact could successfully meet.
How much exercise there was of this Royal statecraft behind the scenes
during his nine years of sovereignty only the distant future can reveal
and then but partially. His Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs,
Lord Salisbury, Lord Lansdowne and Sir Edward Grey, were all men of
exceptional capacity and rare experience.
It is probable, in view of the broad statecraft and high standing of
these Ministers and the uniformity of policy which they pursued, that
advice was frequently given by the King and consultations continuously
held. They were only too glad, as was Lord Rosebery during the late
Queen's reign, to benefit personally by his knowledge and experience;
they were only too happy that the Nation and other nations should
benefit by his tactful conduct of delicate negotiations with monarchs
and rulers abroad. The alliance with Japan may or may not stand to his
credit; the probabilities are that it does, in part at least. It
safeguarded British interests in the East, checkmated the, at that time,
dangerous ambitions of Russia, put up a barrier against certain efforts
of Germany. The French _entente cordiale_ and subsequent treaties gave
British interests in the Mediterranean and Northern Africa an ally
against German plans and settled the Newfoundland troubles while
solidifying Britain's position in Egypt. Italy was partially separated
from its German alliance; Spain was brought close to Britain by the
young King's marriage with the Princess Ena; Russia was swung into the
circle of a friendship which not even the Japanese alliance has broken;
Norway made King Edward's son-in-law its King. If Germany did not become
one of this circle of friendly nations it was not due to any lack of
diplomacy, or effort, or desire on the part of the British Sovereign; it
was because of national ambitions and an aggressive personal leadership
by the Kaiser which had other ends in view. Nominally, at any rate, the
friendly relations existed, and it is safe to say that there was no
greater admirer of King Edward's character and statecraft in Europe than
the Emperor William.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] Personal statements made to the writer of these pages.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Death of King Edward
There had been rumours flying around London early in 1910 as to the
King's health, but it would seem that only a limited circle understood
that, while there was no serious disease involved, there was a general
weakness of the system which rendered great care necessary and made it
easy to see danger in any otherwise trifling illness. Occasional
cablegrams to this Continent were largely disregarded and looked upon as
more or less sensational and little was thought of the attack of
bronchitis at Biarritz in March. There seems small reason to doubt that
the political situation hastened the end though it did not actually
cause the sad event. The conditions of weakness were there; the worry of
a great and urgent responsibility was added to the King's normal work
and subjects of thought. Though the constitutional crisis was probably
not as serious as the press and politicians made out, it must
undoubtedly have had its effect upon a ruler conscientiously devoted to
his duty. On May 5th, it was announced that the King was again ill with
bronchitis and that his condition caused "some anxiety;" a few hours
afterwards it was officially stated that "grave anxiety" was felt; on
May 6th, near midnight, there came the sorrowful announcement of his
physicians that the King had passed away in the presence of Queen
Alexandra, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal [Duchess
of Fife], Princess Victoria and the Princess Louise [Duchess of Argyll].
So unexpected was any serious or immediate issue of His Majesty's
condition that the Queen was still on the Continent when he was taken
ill and the King himself was transacting state business in an arm-chair
the day before he died. A pathetic incident of the latter date was the
bearing of the well-known purple and gold colours to victory at Kempton
Park Races by "The Witch of the Air." When the news came it was hard to
believe. People throughout the Empire were entirely unprepared. In
Britain, Canada, Australia, etc., public functions and social
arrangements were at once cancelled; black and purple drapings rapidly
covered the important buildings--and many that were even more important
as representing individual and spontaneous feeling--of the British
world; mourning was seen everywhere in the United Kingdom and to a
lesser extent in the other countries; papers appeared universally draped
in black. In Canada, H. E. the Governor-General cabled to Lord Crewe an
official expression of regret--one which was real as well as official:
"The announcement of the death of King Edward VII, which has just
reached Canada, has created universal sorrow. His Majesty's Canadian
Ministers desire that you will convey to His Majesty, King George, and
the members of the Royal family, an assurance that the people of Canada
share in the great grief that has visited them. In discharge of the
duties of his exalted station His late Majesty not only won the respect
and devotion of all British subjects, but by his efforts on behalf of
international harmony and good-will he became universally esteemed as a
great Peacemaker. Nowhere was this gracious attribute of Royal character
more deeply appreciated than in His Majesty's Dominion of Canada."
Every kind of loyal tribute was paid to the late King by the Press and
in the pulpit of all the countries concerned, while from the United
States came expressions of admiration and respect very little short of
those dictated by the natural loyalty and knowledge of his own subjects.
In Canada the Premiers of the Provinces were amongst the first to
express their feelings. At Quebec Sir Lomer Gouin, supported by the
Opposition Leader, moved the adjournment of the Legislature on May 6th:
"Those who love in a Chief of State the greatest qualities, peace,
goodness, nobility and _entente cordiale_, all feel his loss. It is for
that reason that we cannot do otherwise than suspend our sittings, and I
am convinced that all the Members of this House will endorse this
proposal for adjournment."
In Toronto Sir James Whitney, the Provincial Premier, declared that "it
would be difficult to express the feeling of love, respect, and
admiration entertained by British peoples for their late sovereign, who
in his comparatively short reign, has so borne himself and has so done
his part, that the whole human race has participated in the benefit
resulting from the wisdom shown by him. Probably no wiser monarch ever
reigned over a nation." To the New Brunswick press the local Premier,
Hon. Douglas Hazen, said: "King Edward's reign was a comparatively short
one, but the verdict of history will undoubtedly be that he was one of
the wisest and greatest rulers that ever sat upon a throne. He took a
most keen and active interest in all his country's institutions,
endeavouring at all times to promote the well-being of his subjects and
to show his appreciation of the British Dominions beyond the Seas." The
Hon. A. K. Maclean, Acting-Premier of Nova Scotia, stated that "to his
pacific tendencies and his powerful mediation is due the existence of
friendly relations between Great Britain and other nations and the
removal of many long-standing differences and historic prejudices." The
Conservative leader at Ottawa, Mr. R. L. Borden, gave eloquent
expression to his feelings:
"The tidings of sorrow which have just been flashed across the
ocean come to the people of Canada with startling suddenness.
Words of foreboding had hardly reached us before the last message
came; 'God's finger touched him and he slept.' To the people of the
overseas Dominions the Crown personifies the dignity and majesty of
the whole Empire; and through the Throne each great Dominion is
linked to the others and to the Motherland. Thus the Sovereign's
death must always thrill the Empire. But to-day's untimely tidings
bring to the people of Canada the sense of a still deeper and more
personal bereavement. They gloried in their King's title of
Peacemaker, and they believed him to be the greatest living force
for right within the Empire. In him died the greatest statesman and
diplomat of Europe."
The Hon. R. Lemieux, Postmaster-General and a Liberal leader in Quebec,
added this succinct description: "As a peacemaker and as a
constitutional king he had no equal in the history of modern times." He
expressed the hope that "in the common sorrow of his subjects at the
death of an exemplary Sovereign the ties making for unity and common
interest throughout the Empire may be strengthened and his influence for
good find continued fruition." The Hon. G. P. Graham, Minister of
Railways, also touched on the Empire thought: "His part in the growth
and increasing solidarity of the Empire in matters of defense, of trade,
of common effort for the common interest, must bulk large in history.
Since his assumption of the throne there has been a steady growth in
Canada's loyalty to the Sovereign based on esteem for his personal
character, confidence in his judgment and statesmanship, and pride in
his commanding position among the world's sovereigns." From Mr. Richard
McBride, Premier of far-away British Columbia, came the declaration that
King Edward was infinitely tactful and always patient, the first
gentleman and best beloved monarch of his time; that he was "an
unusually gifted ruler who performed unostentatiously and with inspired
ability his part in the making of British history." To Archbishop
Bruchesi of Montreal he was "a great and good King;" to the Rev. Dr.
Carman, Canada's Methodist leader, he was "royally born and ruled
royally over a free, loyal and loving people;" to Archbishop McEvay
(Roman Catholic) of Toronto he was a ruler "trusted and loved by all his
subjects;" to President R. A. Falconer, of Toronto University, there was
a special appeal in his "experience, sympathy and broad humanity."
There is no need to largely quote the tributes of Britain, Australia or
South Africa. Their people thought and felt and acted as Canada's did.
Great Britain felt the loss, of course, in a more strictly personal
sense than the Dominions beyond the Seas. The reverent crowds with bared
heads, and every sign of severe personal grief, standing outside
Buckingham Palace grounds could hardly be exactly duplicated abroad,
though the scenes in countless churches, as memorial sermons were
delivered and memorial services held amidst tokens of obvious and
sincere sorrow, came very near to it. In particular, was the open-air
service in Toronto facing the Parliament Buildings and attended by
silent masses of people, with respectful and sympathetic addresses, with
drapings and evidences of mourning on every hand, with the solemn