After the oath of allegiance had been taken by those present, the proclamation announcing the accession of the new Monarch was signed by the Duke of York—now also Duke of Cornwall,—the Duke of Connaught, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Christian, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Mayor of London, and the other Privy Councillors present. The Houses of Parliament met shortly afterwards and the members took the oath of allegiance, while all around the Empire the same ceremony was being gone through in varied tongues and many forms and strangely differing surroundings. There was wide-spread interest in His Majesty's choice of a name, and the designation of Edward VII. was almost universally approved—the exceptions being in certain Scotch contentions that the numeral could not properly apply to Scotland as a part of Great Britain. The name itself reads well in English history. Edward the Confessor, though not included in the Norman chronology, was a Saxon ruler of high attainments, admirable character and wise laws. Edward I, was not only a successful soldier and the conqueror of wild and warlike Wales, but a statesman who did much to establish unity and peace amongst his people. Edward II. was remarkable chiefly for the thrashing which the Scots gave him at Bannockburn while Edward III. was the hero of Crecy, the winner of half of France, and a brave and able ruler. Edward IV. was a masterful, hard and not over-scrupulous monarch, and Edward V. was one of the unfortunate boys who were murdered in the Tower of London. Edward VI. was a mild-natured and honest youth who did not live long enough to impress himself upon a strenuous period, or upon interests with which his character little fitted him to deal. The last of the name had reigned, therefore, before the Kingdom of England got out of its national and religious swaddling clothes; before the reign of Henry VIII. had freed it from connection with Rome, or that of Elizabeth had founded the maritime and commercial empire which, in time, was to create the mighty realm over which the new Edward now assumed sway.
INCIDENTS SURROUNDING THE ACCESSION
The Proclamation of the King in the cities of the United Kingdom and at the capitals of countries and provinces and islands all around the globe was a more or less stately and ceremonious function, and the Proclamation itself was couched in phraseology almost as old as the Monarchy. "We, therefore, do now with consent of tongue and heart, publish and proclaim that the high and mighty Prince, Albert Edward, is now, by the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord, Edward the Seventh." At the ceremony in London, Dublin, Liverpool, Derby and other cities, immense crowds assembled and "God save the King" was sung with unusual heartiness. Meanwhile, following his address to the Privy Council, the King had returned to Osborne with the Duke of Cornwall and York, and there he found the German Emperor awaiting him. The latter had come post-haste from Berlin and been in time to see the Queen before she passed away. He had now decided to stay until after the funeral and thus to tender every respect in his power to the memory of his august grandmother. Parliament had been called immediately upon the King's Proclamation, and it met hurriedly and briefly on January 24th to enable the members to take the oath of allegiance while, all around the Empire, similar proceedings were taking place in Courts and Legislatures and Government buildings.
On the following day Parliament met in brief Session and the Marquess of Salisbury in the House of Lords and Mr. A. J. Balfour in the Commons read a Royal message: "The King is fully assured that the House of Lords will share the deep sorrow which has befallen His Majesty and the nation by the lamented death of His Majesty's mother, the late Queen. Her devotion to the welfare of her country and her people and her wise and beneficent rule during the sixty-four years of her glorious reign will ever be held in affectionate memory by her loyal and devoted subjects throughout the dominions of the British Empire." In moving an address of mingled sympathy and congratulation, in reply, Lord Salisbury spoke with sincere and weighty words as to the qualities and power of the late Queen, her position as a constitutional ruler and her "steady and persistent influence on the action of her Ministers in the course of legislation and government." Upon the position of the new Sovereign the speaker was explicit: "He has before him the greatest example he could have to follow, he has been familiar with our political and social life for more than one generation, he enjoys a universal and enormous popularity, he is beloved in foreign countries and foreign Courts almost as much as he is at home, and he has profound knowledge of the working of our institutions and the conduct of our affairs."
The motion was seconded by Lord Kimberley as Liberal Leader in the House, and spoken to by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the Commons Mr. Balfour referred at length to the great reign and character of Queen Victoria and to the Sovereign's influence upon public affairs. "In my judgment the importance of the Crown in our Constitution is not a diminishing but an increasing factor." Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Opposition Leader, seconded the motion, dealt with the late Queen's personal character, referred to Queen Alexandra as having long reigned in the hearts of the people, and paid high tribute to King Edward: "For the greater part of his life it has fallen to him not only to discharge a large part of the ceremonial public duty which would naturally be performed by the head of the State; but also to take a leading part in almost every scheme established for the national benefit of the country. Religion and charity, public health, science and literature and art, education, commerce, agriculture—not one of these subjects appealed in vain to His Majesty, when Prince of Wales, for strong sympathy and even for personal effort and influence. We know how unselfish he has been in the assiduous discharge of all his public duties, we know with what tact and geniality he has been able to lend himself to the furtherance of these great objects."
The tactful and obviously sincere language of the King's address to his Council had, meanwhile, won the warmest and most loyal commendation in all parts of the Empire—the unanimity of approval being extraordinary in view of the diversity of peoples and interests involved. Other messages which followed from His Majesty were of the same statesmanlike character. To the Army, on January 25th, he issued a special message, as Sovereign and as constitutional head, thanking it for the splendid services rendered to the late Queen and describing her pride in its deeds and in being herself a soldier's daughter. "To secure your best interests will be one of the deepest objects of my heart and I know I can count upon that loyal devotion which you ever evinced toward your late Sovereign." On the following day the Navy received a message of thanks for the distinguished services rendered by it during the long and glorious reign of the late Queen and concluding with these words: "Watching over your interests and well-being I confidently rely upon that unfailing loyalty which is the proud inheritance of your noble Service."
An incident followed which once more showed the tactfulness of character so desirable and important in a Sovereign. The presence of William II. of Germany in England, at this particular period, was creating much discussion abroad and his evident friendship for the King, whom he had just made an Admiral of the German fleet and with whom he had been having prolonged conferences—in company on one occasion with Lord Lansdowne who had been hastily summoned to Osborne—increased this interest. On January 28th the situation was accentuated by the announcement that the German Emperor had been made a Field Marshal in the British Army and his son, the Crown Prince, a Knight of the Garter. In personally conferring the latter honour King Edward made a brief speech in which he expressed the hope that the kindly action of the Emperor in coming to London at this juncture and his own presentation of this ancient Order to the Prince might "further cement and strengthen the good feeling which exists between the two countries."
Between the time of the King's accession and the funeral of Queen Victoria, on February 1st, the press and public of the Empire were busy taking stock of the great loss sustained and measuring the character and possibilities of the new Sovereign. There was, in both connections, a curious and striking unanimity, as may be inferred from what has been already stated. A few expressions of authoritative opinion about the new King may, however, very properly be quoted here in addition to the references made in Parliament. The London Times, on the day following the Queen's death, spoke of the long training undergone by the Prince of Wales, of his wide experience and his acquaintance with the ceremonial functions of Royalty. "Endowed as he is with many of the most lovable and attractive qualities of his mother—with warm sympathies, with a kind heart, with a generous disposition, and with a quick appreciation of genuine worth—the nation is happy in the confidence that, in spirit as well as in form, it may count upon the maintenance of that conception of Royalty which is the only one which most of us have ever known. To these qualities the King adds perfect tact, wide knowledge of men and the business virtues of method, prompt decision, punctuality and great capacity for work."
KINDLY AND LOYAL WORDS