In the case of a distinguished person whose public life has a claim to
be regarded with national and social interest, his fiftieth birthday
must be considered a jubilee; and Monday, Nov. 9, in the present year,
completing that number of anniversaries for the eldest son of her
Majesty the Queen, the heir apparent to the crown of the United
Kingdom, is manifestly an occasion demanding such congratulations as
must arise from sentiments of loyalty to the monarchical constitution
and of respect for the reigning family. His Royal Highness, it is
understood, has preferred to have it treated simply as a private and
domestic affair, entertaining a party of his personal friends, and not
inviting any formal addresses from the representatives of municipal
corporations or other public bodies. Nevertheless, it may be permitted
to journalists, taking note of this period in the life of so important
a contemporary personage, to express their continued good wishes for
his health and happiness, and to indulge in a few retrospective
observations on his past career.
Born on Nov. 9, 1841, second of the offspring of Queen Victoria by her
marriage with the late Prince Consort, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales,
inherited the greatest blessing of humanity, that of having good
parents and wise guardians of his childhood and youth. His instruction
at home was, no doubt, wider in range of studies than that of ordinary
English boys, including an acquaintance with several European
languages and with modern history, needful to qualify him for the
duties of a prince. He was further educated at Christ Church, Oxford,
and at Trinity College, Cambridge; was enrolled a law student of the
Middle Temple and held a commission in the army.
His earliest appearance in a leading part on any public occasion was
in 1858 or 1859, we think at the laying of the foundation stone of the
Lambeth School of Art at Vauxhall; but after the lamented death of his
father, in December, 1861, the Prince of Wales naturally became the
most eminent and desirable performer of all ceremonies in which
beneficent or useful undertakings were to be recognized by royal
approval. This work has occupied a very large share of his time during
thirty years; and we can all testify that it has been discharged with
such frank good will, cordiality, and unaffected graciousness, with
such patient attention, diligence, and punctuality, as to deserve the
gratitude of large numbers of her Majesty's subjects in almost every
part of the kingdom. No prince of any country in any age has ever
personally exerted himself more constantly and faithfully, in
rendering services of this kind to the community, than the Prince of
Wales. The multiplicity and variety of his engagements, on behalf of
local and special objects of utility, would make a surprising list,
and they must have involved a sacrifice of ease and leisure, and
endurance of self-imposed restraint, a submission to tedious
repetitions of similar acts and scenes, and to continual requests and
importunities, which few men of high rank would like to undergo.
[Illustration: THE PRINCE OF WALES AND FAMILY--FROM THE PHOTOGRAPH OF
MESSRS. BYRNE, RICHMOND.]
The marriage of his Royal Highness to Princess Alexandra of Denmark,
on March 10, 1863, was one of the happiest events within the memory of
this generation. It tended visibly, of course, to raise and confirm
his position as leader of English society, and as the active dispenser
of that encouragement which royalty can bestow on commendable public
objects. Charity, education, science, art, music, industry,
agriculture, and local improvements are in no small measure advanced
by this patronage. The Prince of Wales may not be so learned in some
of these matters as his accomplished father, but he has taken as much
trouble to assist the endless labors of the immediate agents, in doing
which he has shown good judgment and discretion, and a considerable
degree of business talent--notably, in the British preparations for
the Paris Exhibition of 1867, the Indian and Colonial Exhibition of
1886 in London, and the organization of the Imperial Institute. The
last-named institution and the Royal College of Music will be
permanent memorials of the directing energy of the Prince of Wales.
These are but a few examples or slight indications of the work he has
actually done for us all. It is unnecessary to mention the incidental
salutary influences of his visits to Canada and to India, which have
left an abiding favorable impression of English royalty in those
provinces of the empire. Nor can it be requisite to observe the manner
in which the prince's country estate and mansion at Sandringham, with
his care of agricultural improvement, of stock breeding, studs, and
other rural concerns, has set an example to landowners, the value of
which is already felt. We refrain upon this occasion from speaking of
the Princess of Wales, or of the sons and daughters, whose lives, we
trust, will be always good and happy. It is on the personal merits and
services of the head of their illustrious house, with reference only
to public interests, that we have thought it needful to dwell, in view
of the fiftieth birthday of his Royal Highness; and very heartily to
wish him, in homely English phrase, "Many happy returns of the
day!"--_Illustrated London News._
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