Meantime, on June 27th, 1889, the marriage of the Princess Louise had taken place. Her engagement to the Earl of Fife was somewhat of a surprise to a social world which does not like to be surprised. Though the Princess was twenty-two and the groom forty they had known each other for years and Lord Fife had been a frequent and welcome guest at Sandringham, while the Prince and Princess of Wales had long been on terms of intimacy with his parents. His was the only bachelor's house at which the Princess of Wales had ever been entertained. It could not, of course, be supposed that this first marriage in his family—the children of which might be very close to the Throne—was quite as lofty a match as the Royal father might wish, yet when he found that the matter was settled so far as the couple were personally concerned, he accepted the situation and asked the Queen's consent to the engagement. The wedding was duly celebrated at Buckingham Palace in the presence of the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, the King of the Helenes, the Crown Prince of Denmark, and the Grand Duke of Hesse. Lord Fife, who was personally very wealthy, was created Duke of Fife and Marquess of Macduff, and his wife shared in the subsequent special grant given to the Heir Apparent for the proper maintenance of his children. Afterwards, on the birth of the first child of the Duke and Duchess it was decided that she should not assume Royal rank but be known by the courtesy title due to her father's place in the Peerage. This child—Lady Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise Duff—was born on May 17th, 1891, and on April 3rd, 1893, the Lady Maud Alexandra Victoria Georgia Bertha Duff was born. Meanwhile an interesting event had occurred on March 10, 1888, in the celebration of the Silver Wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Illuminations in London and a ball at Buckingham Palace marked the event.
Prince George of Wales was now Heir Presumptive to the Throne and upon him were devolved the more or less arduous duties of that position. Following his brother's death he gave up active service in the Navy and on May 24th, 1892, was created Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killarney. The importance of his marriage was now obvious and a year and a quarter after the death of the Duke of Clarence the engagement of his brother to the Princess May of Teck was officially announced. The wedding took place on July 6th, 1893, and there could be no doubt by that time of the popularity of the young couple and of the national pleasure at their union. The decorations in London eclipsed those of the Queen's ubilee and the crowds were equally great. The ceremony was performed at the Chapel Royal, St. James's, instead of at St. George's, Windsor, where the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Princesses Helena and Louise and the Dukes of Albany and Connaught had been wedded. Amongst the great gathering present at the ceremony were Her Majesty and the Royal family as a whole, the Duke and Duchess of Teck, Lord Salisbury, Lord Rosebery, Mr. Morley, Mr. Bryce, Mr. Chamberlain, Sir W. V. Harcourt, Lord Ripon, Lord Spencer, Lord Herschell, Mr. Balfour, Mr. Goschen, the Dukes of Argyll, Norfolk and Devonshire, Mr. Gladstone, the Hon. T. F. Bayard, American Minister, several Indian Princes and many others. The Times of July 7th had the following comment upon the event:
"Few Royal weddings of our time aroused such unusual enthusiasm as the union of the Duke of York with the bride of his choice—an English Princess, born and bred in an English home, endeared to all hearts by the now softened memory of a tragic sorrow and richly endowed with all the qualities which inspire the brightest hopes for the future. Fewer still have ever been celebrated with happier omens, or in more auspicious circumstances than that of yesterday. The pomp of a brilliant Court, the acclaim, at once tumultuous and orderly, of the mightiest of cities, spontaneously making holiday and decking itself in its brightest and bravest, the simultaneous rejoicing of a whole people, the sympathy, unbought and yet priceless, of a world-wide Empire, the radiant splendour of an English summer day—all these combined to make the ceremony of yesterday an occasion as memorable as that of the Jubilee itself."
Minoru (Herbert Jones up), Mr. Richard Marsh (Trainer to the late King), Lord Marcus Beresford (Manager of the late King's thoroughbreds), King Edward.
KING EDWARD AND HIS FAMOUS RACE HORSE MINORU, WHICH WON THE DERBY IN 1909.
King Edward was not only a great King, but a great sportsman as well. He had a typically British love of outdoor pastimes as an active participator and not a mere looker-on. At various times he was associated with nearly every form of British sport. Yachting and shooting were two of his favorites, but it was his close connection with the turf which most appealed to the general public. Probably no other breeder of thoroughbreds ever had such a trio of equine giants as Florizel II, Persimmon and Diamond Jubilee. And in one year, 1909, he won over £29,000. When his horse Minoru won the Derby in 1909, the people in their enthusiasm surged all over the course after the race, but the King went down amongst them, and himself led his horse in to the paddock.
FAMILIAR SNAPSHOTS OF KING EDWARD AS HIS SUBJECTS BEST KNEW HIM.
KING EDWARD'S MOST INTIMATE FRIENDS.
1. Lieutenant-Colonel George L. Holford, C.I.E., C.V.O., Equerry-in-Waiting to the late King. 2. Lord Burnham, K.C.V.O., principal proprietor of the "Daily Telegraph." 3. Count Albert D. Mensdorff-Pouilly, the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador. 4. Lord Suffield, P.C., G.C.V.O., K.C.B., Lord-in-Waiting to the late King. 5. Mr. Alfred C. de Rothschild, C.V.O., Austro-Hungarian Consul-General. 6. Mr. Arthur Sassoon, M.V.O., a member of a famous Anglo-Indian family. 7. The Marquis de Soveral, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., the Portuguese Minister. 8. Lord Allington, K.C.V.O., a great Dorsetshire landowner. 9. Sir Ernest Cassel, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., the well-known financier and philanthropist. 10. Lord Farquhar, G.C.V.O., Extra Lord-in-Waiting to the late King, and formerly Master of the Household.
