The Illness of the King
If the almost fatal sickness of the Prince of Wales in 1871 was
historic, from the sympathy it evoked and the influence it wielded, that
of the King in June 1902 was infinitely more memorable. At the latter
period the attention of the whole civilized world was focussed upon the
figure of the Sovereign who was about to be crowned amid scenes of
unprecedented splendour; the press of the Empire and the United States
was filled with the record of his movements; the representatives of the
Courts of Europe had arrived or were arriving; the Prime Ministers of a
dozen countries and the Governors of many other countries of his
far-flung realm were in London; dense crowds were swarming through the
streets of the gaily-decorated metropolis; the approaching day was being
looked forward to by many millions of people in many lands as an
evidence, in its successful splendour, of the power and prosperity of
the Empire. Three days before the 26th of June the King and Queen
Alexandra had arrived in London from Windsor and the Coronation
festivities proper had commenced. His Majesty had looked well and had
smiled and bowed freely to the welcoming multitudes along the line of
route. Rumors of his having caught cold had prevailed, it is true, and
in certain sensational quarters there had been statements as to serious
illness and even allegations of paralysis.
But the evidence of that drive through the cheering streets of London
was deemed conclusive and during that afternoon and the next morning
the crowds increased and the excitement grew until sober-minded
observers who had seen the celebrations of the Queen's Jubilee and the
Diamond Jubilee and knew something of the millions then gathered
together were dismayed at the prospect of the massed multitudes of
Coronation day. It was at 12.45 P.M. on June 24th, when the streets were
packed with moving, happy, holiday crowds and the decorations were
nearing completion and their full effect and force becoming apparent to
the on-lookers, that an official bulletin was posted at the Mansion
House which seemed to reach every one in London at the same instant--so
rapidly was the news spread. News that almost on the steps of the
throne, within a day of the mightiest festival ever designed by human
government and helped by a willing people, the King had been stricken
down! It appeared incredible. The people of England and of the Empire
were almost as dumb-founded as the masses on the streets of the
Metropolis. But there was no way of getting beyond the simple words of
the bulletin signed by Lord Lister, Sir Thomas Smith, Sir Francis
Laking, Sir Thomas Barlow and Sir Frederick Treves: "The King is
suffering from perityphlitis. His condition on Saturday was so
satisfactory that it was hoped that with care His Majesty would be able
to go through the ceremony. On Monday evening a recrudescence became
manifest rendering a surgical operation necessary to-day."
The trouble approximated to the disease known in the United States and
Canada as appendicitis and was of a character which made certainty as to
recovery quite impossible and left the widest scope for fears and
discussion and speculation. It was analysed by Dr. Cyrus Edson, a
well-known New York physician, as follows: "Perityphlitis is
inflammation, including the formation of an abscess of the tissues
around the vermiform appendix and hence it is very hard to distinguish
from appendicitis. Usually an operation is necessary to ascertain
whether the appendix or the surrounding tissue is diseased." The King's
physicians gave the public all the information they wisely could. The
operation was performed by Sir Frederick Treves, the most eminent living
surgeon in this connection, shortly after the first bulletin was issued
and at six o'clock it was announced that "His Majesty continues to make
satisfactory progress and has been much relieved by the operation." Five
hours later the physicians stated that the King's condition was "as good
as could be expected after so serious an operation." It would be some
days, however, they added, before it would be possible to say he was out
of danger. The doctors remained at Buckingham Palace all that night and
but little news crept out from the silence surrounding the great pile of
buildings to that stirring outer world which had grown so suddenly and
strangely quiet.
Following the startling announcement of the King's illness came the
necessary statement that the Coronation ceremony was indefinitely
postponed and the further intimation that the King himself had asked
that celebrations in the Provinces outside London might be continued. In
London, he had specified his wish, before the operation took place, that
the dinner which was to be given to half-a-million of poor people should
not be postponed and His Majesty had expressed keen sorrow, not at what
he had already suffered himself or was likely to suffer, but at the
disappointment which his people would everywhere feel. Gradually it came
out that for over a week he had been ill; that the pain had been very
great at times; that the physicians had acceded to his determination to
go on with the ceremonies and the Coronation until longer delay in
operation would have made the result fatal; that the King's one anxiety
had been not to disappoint the millions who would be in London and the
millions who would look on from abroad during the long-looked for event.
The story of the illness as it developed was made known by the _Lancet_
on June 27th. It seems that on Friday June 13th His Majesty had gone
through a particularly arduous day and next morning was attended by Sir
Francis Laking who found him suffering from considerable abdominal
discomfort. In the afternoon he felt better and went to Aldershot where
the unfortunately wet and cold weather at the Tattoo caused a distinct
revival of the trouble in the early morning accompanied by severe pain.
Sir F. Laking was sent for and in turn telegraphed Sir Thomas Barlow. On
the 15th, the Royal patient had a chilly fit but on Monday returned to
Windsor and bore the journey well. Two days later he was seen by Sir
Frederick Treves who found symptoms of perityphlitis. These, however,
gradually disappeared and on Saturday, the 21st, His Majesty was
believed to be on the road to rapid recovery and to be able to go
through the Coronation ceremonies.
"Sunday was uneventful. On Monday the King travelled from Windsor to
London. Next day the necessity for an operation became clear." The
_Lancet_ gave no reason for this sudden change in condition and it may
have been the excitement and strain of the drive through cheering masses
of the London populace. "At ten o'clock Tuesday morning (24th) the
urgency of an operation was explained to His Majesty. Recognizing that
his ardent hope that the Coronation arrangements might not be upset must
be disappointed he cheerfully resigned himself to the inevitable. Before
the actual decision upon an operation was arrived at Sir Frederick
Treves took the advice of two other sergeant-surgeons to the King, Lord
Lister and Sir Thomas Smith. They, as well as Sir Thomas Barlow and Sir
Francis Laking, came to the unanimous conclusion that no course but an
operation was possible in all the circumstances. To delay would, in
fact, be to allow His Majesty to risk his life." Such appears to have
been the plain statement of this serious incident. Following the
operation the course of the disease was steadily towards recovery and
without serious complications of any kind. Danger at first there was and
neither physicians, nor family, nor the public could feel anything like
assurance of recovery.
PROGRESS TOWARDS RECOVERY
The London _Times_ went out of its way to warn the people against
over-confidence in the result, and the bulletins were cautious in the
extreme. On June 25th the King was said to have been very restless and
without sleep during the early part of the night. He was, however, free
from pain, and his five physicians declared that, under all the
circumstances, he might be described as "progressing satisfactorily." On
June 26th they reported His Majesty's condition as satisfactory, his
strength as having been well maintained, and the wound as doing well.
The reports of June 27th showed a normal temperature, no disquieting
symptoms and, finally, a substantial improvement. On the next day the
five physicians issued the following bulletin: "We are happy to be able
to state that we consider His Majesty out of immediate danger. His
general condition is satisfactory. The operation wound, however, still
needs constant attention and such concern as attaches to His Majesty's
case is connected with the wound. Under the most favourable condition
His Majesty's recovery must of necessity be protracted." The bulletins
thenceforward were regular in their statements of slow and steady
improvement. On July 2d it was announced that the wound was beginning to
heal; then only daily reports were issued; and finally, on July 13th,
the Royal patient was taken by private train from Buckingham Palace to
his yacht at Portsmouth and, during the next few weeks, while it was
anchored or quietly cruising off Cowes, the King was steadily growing
stronger and better.
The bare details of an illness such as this can give no idea of the
burden of apprehension which it entailed upon millions of people, the
financial losses which it meant to thousands of merchants and others in
all parts of the world, the dislocation of a political, social, and
general character which it involved in London, the consternation which
it naturally caused in every centre in the Empire. The first effect of
the King's illness was to create a new tie of sympathy between himself
and his subjects. Human suffering borne so patiently during that week of
concealed sickness and with such earnest determination to go through
what must have come to appear the frightful ordeal of the Coronation
appealed strongly to people everywhere in the Empire, while the
externally dramatic passage from preparations for the greatest of
national festivities down into the valley of the shadow of death came
home to the hearts of every one with peculiar force. This was
particularly apparent in Westminster Abbey where the last rehearsal of
the great Coronation choir, in the presence of the Bishop of London and
under the musical direction of Sir Frederick Bridge, was proceeding at
noon on June 24th. Suddenly, Lord Esher entered and told the sad news to
the Bishop, who, in a few words, turned the service of national
rejoicing into one of solemn intercession. Everywhere there were similar
services and similar sudden changes. Coronation day, despite the King's
kindly wish that demonstrations and functions outside of London should
proceed, was turned into a season of special service and prayer in Great
Britain and in the many other countries of the Empire.
A pathetic service was held in St. Paul's Cathedral on the evening of
the announced illness, and the Bishop of Stepney spoke in most
impressive terms. "As the days have passed, our thoughts and, I trust,
our prayers have been centred in the King as he has moved to his
Coronation watched by millions of eyes. Only yesterday we welcomed him
to London with heartfelt joy. All around us is the glamour of
preparation for a splendid festival. The very air is vivid with the glow
of popular enthusiasm. From all parts of the earth our brethren have
come to rivet anew the links which bind them to our ancient Monarchy.
And now come the tidings that this King is laid low with sickness and
that the great day has been postponed. We are bewildered. We cannot
realize, except in imagination, the dislocation of the life of a whole
Empire." Meanwhile, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York had asked
their clergy to hold intercessory services on June 26th, and Cardinal
Vaughan, for his Church, had given similar orders. "The finger of God,"
he wrote to his clergy, "has appeared in the midst of our national
rejoicing and on the eve of what promised to be one of the most splendid
pageants in English history. This is in order to call the thoughts of
all men to Himself. The King's life is in danger. Danger being imminent,
let us have immediate recourse to the Divine mercy and by public prayer
seek His Majesty's recovery." The Chief Rabbi held special Jewish
supplications and the Chairman of the Congregational Union of England
and Wales telegraphed to Sir Francis Knollys their hope that it might
please God to spare the King's valuable life so "that he may rule for
many years over his devoted people."
Telegrams of inquiry and sympathy poured into the Palace, the
Departments of the Government, and the Guildhall, for days after the
eventful incident of the operation. On the day that should have
witnessed the stately splendour of the Coronation, St. Paul's Cathedral
was the scene of a solemn service of intercession for the recovery of
the King. The Bishops of London and Stepney, the Archdeacon of London
and Canons Holland and Newbolt were the officiating clergy and with them
were the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and a dozen other Bishops.
The Lord Mayor of London was present officially and the Duke of
Cambridge and Duke of Teck. So were the special missions of France,
Spain, Germany, Mexico and other countries, the Hon. Whitelaw Reid and
Mr. Choate, the American Ambassador. Lord Selborne, Lord Cadogan and Mr.
Ritchie represented the Cabinet while the Premiers of Canada, Australia,
Cape Colony, Natal, New Zealand, Western Australia, and South Australia,
with the Sultan of Perak, the Rajah of Bobbili, Sir Jamesetjee
Jejeebhoy, and others represented the Colonial and Indian Empire. A
large number of the leaders in the public, social and general life of
the country were also there. At the same time a similarly impressive
service was held in Margaret's, Westminster, the official church of the
House of Commons, attended by the Lord Chancellor and Speaker, the Duke
and Duchess of Devonshire, Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman, Lord and Lady
Londonderry, and many members of both Houses of Parliament. A multitude
of other churches held intercessory services at home and abroad on this
day--notably, perhaps, one arranged by the National Council of Free
Churches and held in the City Temple. Orders were given by the heads of
all kinds of denominations in all kinds of countries to pray for the
King on the succeeding Sunday and, in most of the great Colonies of the
Crown, that day was specially set apart for the purpose.
EXPRESSIONS OF SYMPATHY
Meanwhile, the messages continued to pour in from Governments as well as
individuals or institutions. General Sir Neville Lyttelton for the Army
in South Africa, Lord Hopetoun for the Government and people of
Australia, Sir Edmund Barton, the Premier of Australia, the Legislature
of New South Wales, the Governors of the other Australian States and New
Zealand, the Governors of Fiji, Gambia, Cape Colony, Mauritius, Bermuda,
Newfoundland, and Gibraltar, the Administrators of Sierra Leone,
Seychelles, Ceylon, Hong-Kong and Wei-hai-Wei, the Governor of the
Straits Settlements and the Premier of Natal sent despatches of
sympathy and regret. In the United States much kindly feeling was
expressed. Papers such as the New York _Commercial-Advertizer_,
_Tribune_ and _Post_ were more than kindly and generous in their
regrets; others were merely sensational. The President hastened to cable
an expression of the nation's sentiments and, at Harvard University on
June 25th, said: "Let me speak for all Americans when I say that we
watch with the deepest concern and interest the sick-bed of the English
King and that all Americans, in tendering their hearty sympathy to the
people of Great Britain will now remember keenly the outburst of genuine
grief with which all England last fall greeted the calamity which befell
us in the death of President McKinley." Prayers were also offered up for
His Majesty in the Senate and House of Representatives. Germany was
largely silent in its press but outspoken and warmly sympathetic in the
person of its Emperor. Austria was more than friendly and at Rome a
Resolution passed unanimously through both Houses expressing earnest
wishes for "the prompt recovery of the head of the State which has long
been Italy's best friend." The French press was moderately sympathetic
and dwelt upon King Edward's love of peace, while the leading Russian
newspapers paid tribute to the same elements in his character and laid
stress upon his high qualities as a man and a Sovereign.
On the Sunday following the serious stage in the King's illness the
metropolis was the scene of many special services. At Marlborough House
Chapel, Queen Alexandra, the Prince and Princess of Wales and other
members of the Royal family were present in the morning, together with a
crowded gathering of members of the Court and old friends of His
Majesty. Bishop Randall Davidson of Winchester preached a sermon of
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".