Arrangements for the Coronation
The preparations for the Coronation of the King were of a character
which eclipsed anything in the history of the world. It was
unquestionably his aim and intention to make the event an illustration
of the power of the British Empire, the loyalty of its people and the
unity of its complex races. The pride of the King in his great position,
the knowledge which he had acquired of the Empire in his innumerable
travels, the statecraft which he had inherited and developed, were all
factors in the determination to make this occasion memorable. Connected
with the splendour of the event, as planned, was the personal
relationship and friendship of most of the Sovereigns of Europe with and
for His Majesty and, associated with every detail of its anticipated
success, was the enthusiastic loyalty of Indian Princes and great
self-governing British dominions beyond the seas. Finally, the end of
the South African War came as if to add the one thing wanting to the
entire success of the most magnificent Coronation in all history.
Preparations went on apace from the beginning of Spring, 1902. The mere
material evidences of the coming event transformed busy and commercial
London into a forest of boards and poles and platforms. Westminster
Abbey was changed inside and out and a special entrance was made for the
King and Queen Alexandra to enter through, and so made as to harmonize
with the general architecture and character of the building.
A thousand great beacon lights were built over the United Kingdom so
that from shore to shore the news of the crowning of the King might be
flashed in flames of light to the people. In London and other centres
every kind of device for electrical display and illumination was
prepared and, toward the middle of June, flags and bunting in myriad
forms began to show themselves. In other parts of the Empire almost
every city and town and village arranged for some kind of demonstration.
Banquets and garden parties and band concerts and processions and
military reviews and all the varied means by which the English-speaking
person expresses his feelings were in full tide of preparation as the
time of the Coronation grew near. India had its own unique and Oriental
modes of expressing loyalty and the feeling there was enhanced by the
news that the new Prince of Wales was going to repeat the state visit of
his father, the King, in December of this year and see the people of
practically the only part of the British realms which he had not yet
visited. South Africa was to celebrate peace and loyalty at the same
time and the great centres of Australia were not behind the rest of the
Empire despite the existing gloom of draughts and sheep famine.
The guests invited to attend the great function might be divided into
two classes--those who came to a common centre for the celebration of
their Sovereign's crowning, for the presentation of a picture of
Imperial unity, and for the discussion of questions incident to the
wide-spread dominions of the King; and those who came from foreign
nations as a tribute to the position of Great Britain in the world and
as a token of their friendship for its people as well as their respect
for its ruler. In the first list the first place may be given to India
because of the element of gorgeousness and Oriental pomp which its
representatives were to bring to the function. Calcutta was to be
represented by Maharajah Kumar Tagore; Bombay by Sir Jamsetjee
Jeejeebhoy, the scion of a series of great merchants; Madras by Rajah
Sir Savalai Ramaswami Mudaliyar; Bengal and the Presidencies of Bombay
and Madras by distinguished gentlemen of long names and varied titles;
the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh by the Hon. N. M. D. F. Ali Khan,
who had served in both the Provincial and Supreme Councils, and by Rajah
Pertab Singh; the Punjab sent two representatives of whom Sir Harnman
Singh Ahluwalia belonged to the Viceroy's Legislative Council and
represented indirectly the native Christians; the Central Provinces,
Assam, Burmah and the new North-West Frontier Province also appointed
representatives. Other guests from India included the Sultan Muhammad
Agha Khan of the Khoga Community.
The special Royal guests from the Colonies were General Sir Francis W.
Grenfell, representing Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus; Sir Joseph West
Ridgeway, representing Fiji and various Eastern Colonies and
Protectorates; Sir Walter J. Sendall, for the West Indies, Bermudas,
British Honduras and the Falkland Islands; Sir William MacGregor,
representing the West African Colonies and Protectorates; the Right Hon.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister, representing the Dominion of
Canada; the Right Hon. Edmund Barton, Prime Minister, representing the
Commonwealth of Australia; the Right Hon. Richard J. Sedden, Prime
Minister, representing New Zealand; the Right Hon. Sir J. Gordon Sprigg,
Prime Minister, representing Cape Colony; Sir Albert H. Hime, Prime
Minister, representing Natal; and Sir Robert Bond, Prime Minister,
representing Newfoundland. Other British guests were His Highness the
Sultan of Perak and Lewanika, Chief of the Barotzes, in Africa. There
were many invitations accepted outside of the list of special names
mentioned who were privileged as the King's guests and as such were to
be put up in state at the Hotel Cecil and be provided with Royal
carriages and servants and escorts. Governors of various minor Colonies
and dependencies; Native Princes of India apart from the official
representatives of its Cities and Provinces; Premiers of Australian
States and Canadian Provinces; were all invited to be present and many
of them came to grace the occasion. Amongst those from Canada who
accepted the invitation and were in London, with the others already
referred to, as the day for the ceremony approached, were the Hon. G. W.
Ross, Premier of Ontario, the Hon. H. T. Duffy, representing the Premier
of Quebec, the Hon. R. P. Roblin, Premier of Manitoba, the Hon. James
Dunsmuir Premier of British Columbia, the Hon. L. J. Tweedie, Premier of
New Brunswick and the Hon. G. H. Murray, Premier of Nova Scotia.
Every foreign country or state of importance had its official
representative appointed and they poured into London and were received
with varying degrees of state and ceremony as the eventful day
approached. Prominent amongst them were the Hon. Whitelaw Reid, special
Ambassador from the United States and, in an unofficial capacity,
Senator Chauncey M. Depew. From Russia came the Grand Duke Michael, Heir
Presumptive to the Throne; from Italy His Royal Highness the Duke
d'Aosta; from Greece the Crown Prince and Heir to the Throne; from
Bulgaria, the reigning Prince Ferdinand I.; from Belgium, Prince Albert
of Flanders; from Germany, Prince Henry of Prussia; from Denmark the
Crown Prince Frederick, Heir to the Throne; from Roumania the Crown
Prince; from Austria the Arch-duke Francis Ferdinand, Heir Presumptive;
from France, Admiral Gervais, special Ambassador; from Rome, Mgr. Merry
del Val; from Abyssinia, Ras Makonnen, the victorious general and
special envoy of the Emperor Menelik; from Bavaria, Prince Leopold; from
Sweden and Norway the Crown Prince; from Portugal, the Crown Prince.
Other foreign representatives were Duke Albert of Wuertemberg, Prince
Waldemar of Denmark, General Dubois of France, Field Marshal Count Von
Waldersee and Admiral Von Koeter of Germany, Prince George, Prince
Nicholas and Prince Andrew of Greece, the Grand Duke of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince Danilo of Montenegro, the Duke of
Saxe-Coburg and Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg, Prince George of
Saxony, the Prince of the Asturias from Spain, Prince Chen of China,
Prince Mohamed Ali of Egypt, Prince Akihito Komatsu of Japan, Prince Yo
Chai-Kak of Korea, Baron de Stein of Liberia, the Prince of Monaco, the
Crown Prince of Siam and special Ministers from Luxemburg, the
Netherlands, Turkey, Honduras, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Persia,
Servia and Uruguay.
Soldiers of the King from all parts of the Empire were present in
England for the occasion. The Indian troops, quartered at Hampton Court,
numbered nine hundred strong and represented every phase of the military
and native life of Hindostan. Sikhs, Dogras, Jats, Pathans, Mohammedans
from the Punjaub, the Deccan and Madras, Mahrattas, Rajpoots, Garwhal's,
Gurkhas, Afridis, Tamils, Moplahs, Hazaras and Beloochis, were each
represented in uniforms of their local regiments. Scarlet, yellow, blue,
grey, green and red, were some of the colours to be seen. At the
Alexandra Palace were soldiers from a great variety of countries. Canada
sent six hundred and fifty-six men, representative of all its regiments,
under command of Lieut.-Colonel H. M. Pellatt and Lieut.-Colonel R. E.
W. Turner V.C., D.S.O.; Australia sent one hundred and forty men under
Colonel St. Clair Cameron C.B.; New Zealand seventy-nine men under
Colonel Porter; Cape Colony one hundred and fifty under Major-General
Sir Edward Y. Brabant; Natal, ninety-nine under Lieut.-Colonel E. M.
Greene; Rhodesia twenty-six, Ceylon fifty-four, Malta forty-six, and
Cyprus fourteen men. Native contingents included variously coloured and
clad soldiers from the Gold Coast of Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone,
Lagos, British Central Africa, British East Africa, Uganda, Somaliland,
Straits Settlements, Bermuda, British Borneo, the West Indies, Fiji,
Hong-Kong and Wei-hai-Wei. The Colonial troops, with their interesting
war record, their varied and striking uniforms, their varieties of race
and colour and country, their differences of physique and appearance,
were not the least remarkable of the Empire contributions to a great
function. The Duke of Connaught was in command of all the Forces for the
occasion and with him were associated Lord Roberts, Lord Wolseley, Sir
Francis Grenfell, Sir William Butler, Major-General W. H. Mackinnon, Sir
Edward Brabant and other officers connected with the late war. Colonel
and Maharajah Sir Pertab Singh represented India on this Staff and
Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Hunter was in immediate command of the
Colonial Contingents.
Various Foreign regiments were to be represented including the 1st
Prussian Dragoons of Germany, the 12th Hussars of Austria, the Guard
Hussars of Denmark and the forces of Russia and Portugal. All the great
British regiments were to be included, either in the procession as
cavalry, or along the route as infantry. Preparations for the great
Naval Review were elaborate. The Channel, Home and Cruiser squadrons
were to be in attendance with Admiral Sir Charles Hotham as
Commander-in-Chief. Besides a number of Foreign warships, which were
specially sent to participate in the function, the British battle-ships
numbered twenty-one, the cruisers twenty-six, the torpedo gun-boats
seventeen, the torpedo boat destroyers twenty-eight and the sea-going
training vessels ten. Amongst the Foreign contributors to the Review
were Germany, the United States, Russia, Sweden and Norway, Denmark,
Greece, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Chili,
Austro-Hungary and the Argentine.
All the complex arrangement of the details in connection with these and
other elements of the Coronation festivities were in the hands of an
Executive Committee appointed on June 28th, 1901, at a meeting of the
King and his Privy Council and attended by most of the members of the
Cabinet, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Dukes of Norfolk,
Portland and Fife, the Earls of Rosebery, Selborne and Carrington, Earl
Roberts, Earl Spencer, Lord Alverstone, Sir W. V. Harcourt, and Sir
Henry Campbell-Bannerman. Amongst the members of this Executive of
fifteen were the Duke of Norfolk (chairman) Lord Esher, the Bishop of
Winchester, Lord Farquhar, Mr. Schomberg K. McDonnell, Colonel Sir
Edward Bradford, Sir Francis Knollys, Sir Edward W. Hamilton, Colonel
Sir E. W. D. Ward, Major-General Sir Arthur Ellis and Rear-Admiral W. H.
Fawkes. Later on Sir Montagu Ommanney, Sir William Lee-Warner, Sir
Kenelm Digby, Lieut.-General Kelly-Kenny, and others, were added. Their
work was, of course, closely overlooked by the King who was in constant
communication with the Duke of Norfolk and Sir Francis Knollys. The
following programme of leading events was finally announced as approved
by His Majesty:
June 23 State Dinner at Buckingham Palace.
June 24 The King and Queen to receive Foreign Envoys and
Deputations. State Dinner at Buckingham Palace.
June 25 Royal Reception of Colonial Premiers. Dinner by Prince of
Wales to Princes and Envoys at St. James's Palace.
June 26 The Coronation.
June 27 Procession through London, Luncheon at Buckingham Palace.
Dinner at Landsdowne House to King and Queen. Lady Lansdowne's
Reception.
June 28 The Naval Review.
June 29 Ambassadors and Ministers give Dinners to their respective
Princes.
June 30 The King and Queen proceed from Portsmouth to London. Gala
Opera.
July 1 Royal Garden Party at Windsor Castle.
July 2 Dinner at Londonderry House to the King and Queen.
July 3 The King and Queen to attend a Special Service at St. Paul's
Cathedral and a Luncheon at the Guildhall given by Lord Mayor and
Corporation.
July 4 Reception at the India Office in honour of the Indian
Princes to be attended by the King and Queen.
July 5 The King's Coronation Dinner to the Poor.
Many other functions developed around these central ones until the weeks
before and after the event were to be crowded with every sort of
festivity and celebration--partly in honour of the occasion, partly as
evidences of hospitality to Colonial, Indian and Foreign visitors. At
Portsmouth arrangements were made for a banquet in the Drill-hall, on
June 26th, to one thousand men from the Foreign war-ships, with five
hundred British seamen and marines as hosts. On the following day there
were to be athletic sports for the sailors and a garden party by the
Mayor and Mayoress for the officers of the fleets and distinguished
visitors. Following the Review, on June 28th, arrangements were made for
a garden party at Whale Island, for an Admiralty ball in the Town-Hall,
for a luncheon to the officers, a Civic entertainment to the men and a
ball given by the Mayor and Mayoress. In London a Coronation bazaar, in
aid of the Sick Children's Hospital, was announced with various stalls
in charge of Princess Henry of Pless, the Duchess of Westminster, Lady
Tweedmouth, Mrs. Harmsworth, the Countess of Bective, Mrs. Choate, the
Duchess of Somerset and Countess Carrington. The King's Dinner to the
Poor of London was planned upon an enormous scale and His Majesty stated
that he would spend L30,000 in thus entertaining half-a-million of his
poorer subjects. Sir Thomas Lipton, who had been in charge of a smaller
affair at the Diamond Jubilee, was given control of the details. Similar
preparations, upon a minor scale of course, were going on all over the
Empire and in New York a Coronation Ode was issued by Mr. Bliss
Carman--a Canadian by birth--which did the subject noble justice and
commenced with the following verse:
"There are joy-bells over England, there are flags in London town;
There is bunting on the Channel where the fleets go up and down;
There are bon-fires alight
In the pageant of the night;
There are bands that blare for splendour and guns that speak for might;
For another King of England is coming to the Crown."
Meanwhile, a Colonial Conference had also been arranged to take place
during these weeks of celebration and the delegates were to be special
Royal guests for the Coronation--Sir Francis W. Grenfell, Sir Wilfrid
Laurier, Mr. Seddon, Mr. Barton, Sir W. J. Sendall, Sir William
MacGregor, Sir Gordon Sprigg, Sir Albert Hime, Sir Robert Bond, and Sir
West Ridgeway--together with Mr. Chamberlain and the Earl of Onslow,
Under-Secretary of the Colonies. The official programme, published a few
days before the date set for the Coronation, gave the details of the
Royal procession on that and the following days. On June 26th, in
passing from Buckingham Abbey, there were to be eight carriages
containing the Royal visitors and members of the Royal family, the
Prince and Princess of Wales and then the state coach with the King and
Queen--having the Duke of Connaught riding to its right and a
considerable staff and brilliant escort of Life Guards behind.
The procession of the following day was to be essentially an Imperial
pageant and was to pass over a popular city route. The Colonial portion
came first on the programme, headed by Lieut.-General Sir A. Hunter, and
with detachments of Canadian artillery and cavalry and Australian
cavalry preceding a carriage containing Sir Wilfrid and Lady Laurier and
Mr. and Mrs. Barton. Then followed carriages with Sir R. Bond and Mr.
and Mrs. Seddon, Sir Gordon and Miss Sprigg, Sir Albert and Miss Hime,
Sir W. Ridgeway and Sir F. Grenfell, Sir W. Sendall, and Sir W.
MacGregor, the Sultan of Perak and King Lewanika--each preceded or
followed by detachments of New Zealand, Cape, Natal, Ceylon, Trinidad,
Cyprus and other Colonial cavalry, in accordance with the country
represented. Then was to come the Indian portion of the procession
including varied detachments of Native cavalry, and with carriages
containing the Maharajahs of Jaipur, Kolapore and Bikanur. Following
these was to be a long line of British artillery and Aids-de-Camp to the
King, representing the Volunteers, Yeomanry, Militia and Regular forces
and the Marines. The Head-Quarters staff came next, then Field Marshals
in the Army, Foreign naval and military attaches, deputations of Foreign
officers, then Indian Aides-de-Camp to the King--the Maharajahs of
Gwalior, Gooch and Idur--and several members of the Royal family on
horseback. Then came thirteen carriages containing Royal visitors,
special Ambassadors and members of the Royal family, followed by special
escorts of Colonial and Indian troops and Royal Horse Guards. The King
and Queen were to come next, in a splendid state coach drawn by eight
horses, with the Duke of Connaught riding on one side of them and the
Prince of Wales on the other.
[Illustration: THE RIGHT HON. SIR HENRI E. TASCHEREAU, P.C.
Chief Justice of Canada, 1902-1906]
[Illustration: THE HON. WILLIAM STEVENS FIELDING, D.C.L., M.P.
Finance Minister of Canada during King Edward's Reign]
[Illustration: THE HON. RODOLPHE LEMIEUX. K.C., M.P.
Postmaster-General and Minister of Labour in Canada during King
Edward's Reign]
[Illustration: THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF MINTO, P.C., G.C.M.G.
The King's Representative in India, 1905-10]
[Illustration: THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF ABERDEEN, K.T., G.C.M.G.
The King's Representative in Ireland, 1905-10]
THE KING'S PRELIMINARY WORK AND ILLNESS
Some of the incidents connected with the Coronation as preliminaries
were carried out by the King with apparent energy and in the midst of
what were known to be very heavy labours. On May 30th His Majesty
presented colours to the Irish Guards, received the Maharajah Sir Pertab
Singh, held an investiture of the Garter in great state, visited
Westminster Abbey to see the Coronation preparations, and gave a large
dinner party. During the next three days he presented medals to the St.
John Ambulance Brigade and held a Levee and investiture of the Bath. On
June 4th he gave audiences to various Ministers, proceeded with the
Queen to the Derby, gave a dinner to the Jockey Club and then joined the
Queen at the Duchess of Devonshire's dance. On June 6th the King
received the Indian Princes at Buckingham Palace and afterwards, with
Queen Alexandra, held a stately Court function. Two days later the King
and Royal family attended a service of thanksgiving for peace at St.
Paul's Cathedral. Other incidents followed and on June 14th His Majesty,
accompanied by Queen Alexandra, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the
Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Princess Victoria and Princess Margaret,
of Connaught, visited Aldershot to inspect the forty thousand troops
which had been slowly gathering there for weeks. A stormy and wet day
changed to brightness as the Royal party arrived and the town was found
to be prettily decorated and filled with enthusiastic people. A great
Tattoo was held in the evening with massed bands and myriad
torch-lights, but with not very pleasant weather.
On the following day it was announced in the _Times_ that the King could
not attend church owing to a slight attack of lumbago caused by a chill
contracted the night before. Queen Alexandra attended the service,
however, and in the afternoon visited several charitable institutions.
Monday the 16th saw His Majesty still too much indisposed to take his
part in reviewing the troops and this function was fulfilled by the
Queen, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Wales. In the afternoon
the King and Queen returned to Windsor and in the evening His Majesty
was able to be present at a dinner party in the Castle. On the following
day the _Times_ expressed editorial pleasure at the King's apparent
recovery but urged caution and suggested that, despite the
disappointment of the people, it might be better if Ascot were not
visited by him on that day and the next but a substantial rest taken
instead. The same idea seemed to occur to the Royal physicians because
not only was the visit to Ascot cancelled but also a long-expected visit
to Eton which had been arranged for June 21st.
Other functions were postponed or cancelled and it was announced that
His Majesty was resting quietly and preparing himself for the essential
and heavy functions of the Coronation week. Such was the apparent
position of affairs in connection with this great event as massed
myriads of people roamed the streets of London and the other and varied
millions of the British Empire threw themselves into the final stages of
preparation. Such was the position on June 21st when the Toronto
_Globe_, in a very fitting editorial, embodied the popular feeling of
Canada. It declared that on the following Thursday the historic Abbey of
Westminster and the streets of London would see "the greatest ceremonial
which our times have known"; that no King "ever ascended a throne with
the more universal consent of the governed than does Edward VII."; and
that the British people had never been fickle in their feelings toward
him who was once Prince of Wales and was now King. "Their affection for
him has never faltered and they will feel gratified on Thursday that the
concluding ceremony of Coronation has fixed him firmly on the most
glorious of earthly thrones".