Speaking on January 24th at the City Temple, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Parker, Chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, spoke of the King's great opportunities and personal powers. "As Prince of Wales he has played a difficult part with strict sagacity and unfailing good-nature. He is a man of great compass of mind. Let us welcome him with our warmest appreciation." From across the Atlantic came the voice of the Prime Minister of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in his eloquent speech in Parliament on February 8th: "We have believed from the first that he who was a wise Prince will be a wise King, and that the policy which has made the British Empire so great under his predecessor will also be his policy." From the still more distant Melbourne, Australia, came the kindly and loyal words of the Argus on February 1st: "In the eyes of his subjects, near and far, he is clothed with the kindliness, the tact, the sympathy with social progress, the practical intelligence, the political impartiality, and the keen sense of duty he displayed during the many years in which he helped his mother in the discharge of the Royal tasks. His people know that he possesses the amiability, the dignity, the clear vision and the industry which befit the occupant of a most exacting as well as exalted position." From all over the world came testimonies of similar feeling, and within British dominions the opinions and tributes everywhere partook of one quality—that of trust and confidence in the new Sovereign.
During this first week of his reign the work which devolved upon the King was tremendous. The signing and consideration of necessary documents which had been delayed during the illness of the Queen was alone a serious task. The slight sickness of the Duke of Cornwall and York detached him from the help which he might have given in many ways, and the presence of the German Emperor increased the burden of discussion and of questions to be dealt with. The King also took charge of the large and complicated arrangements connected with the funeral ceremonies and supervised the immense variety of details with his usual business-like ability and energy. This great function, which eclipsed the Jubilee in solemn splendour and exceeded any demonstration in history in its unquestioned weight of public sorrow, commenced on Friday, February 1st, when the remains of the Queen were removed from Osborne to the Royal yacht Alberta.
The coffin was carried by Highlanders and blue-jackets, followed by the King, the German Emperor, the Duke of Connaught, the German Crown Prince, Prince Henry of Prussia, Prince Christian, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Arthur of Connaught, Prince Charles of Denmark, Prince Louis of Battenberg, and then Queen Alexandra and the Princesses. The Alberta passed across the Solent to Portsmouth, through a long and continuous avenue of saluting warships, and was followed by another vessel with the Royal mourners on board. The members of the Lords and Commons were on vessels placed amongst the warships. On Saturday the body of the late Sovereign was brought from Portsmouth to the metropolis and borne with solemn state to Paddington station through millions of black-garbed, silent and mournful people, and between lines, along the entire route, of thirty-three thousand Regular troops and volunteers. It was followed by the King, the German Emperor and the Duke of Connaught, riding abreast, the Kings of Portugal and Greece, forty Princes representing every Royal House in Europe, seventeen representatives of the Colonies, a long array of Ambassadors and foreign representatives, the Queen, the Princesses, the King of the Belgians, the Duke of Cambridge, Lord Roberts, Lord Wolseley. The coffin was taken by train to Windsor where, in St. George's Chapel, the funeral service was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester. The actual interment took place on Monday afternoon in the Royal Mausoleum of Frogmore, where the remains of the great Queen were laid in death beside those of the husband whose memory she had so long cherished in life.
These prolonged obsequies—the most splendid and impressive in history—passed off with a smoothness of procedure which, under the circumstances of sorrow and crowding duties, indicated more than ordinary powers of concentration and management in the new King, as well as a most marvellous sentiment and sympathy amongst the people. Throughout the Empire, as that solemn procession passed along the purple-draped streets of London, funeral services were being held and sermons of sorrow preached in an uncounted multitude of churches darkened with all the habiliments of mourning. As the Standard well put it on February 5th: "The nation is conscious of its debt to the King, whose tactful perception and devoted labour gave it so splendid an opportunity of showing its reverence for the Sovereign who has just passed away. The King on his side has found strength and comfort in those eloquent demonstrations of the sympathy of his subjects which have reached him, in innumerable ways, from all parts of his dominions." Immediately after the last ceremonies had been performed the King issued a series of Messages which, for tact and courtesy and kindliness, have rarely been excelled—even by the experienced eloquence of his Royal mother. They were all dated February 4th and the first was addressed "To my People." It commenced by saying: "Now that the last scene has closed in the noble and ever-glorious life of my beloved mother, the Queen, I am anxious to endeavour to convey to the whole Empire the extent of the deep gratitude I feel for the heart-stirring and affectionate tributes which are everywhere borne to her memory." His Majesty proceeded to speak of the recent magnificent display by sea and land and the inspiration of courage and hope which the public sympathy had been to him during the recent trying days. "Encouraged by the confidence of that love and trust which the nation ever reposed in its late and fondly-mourned Sovereign, I shall earnestly strive to walk in her footsteps, devoting myself to the utmost of my powers to maintaining and promoting the highest interests of my people and to the diligent and zealous fulfilment of the great and sacred responsibilities which, through the will of God, I am now called to undertake."
A second Message was addressed "To my People beyond the Seas." After referring to the countless dispatches which had been received from his "Dominions over the Seas" and the universal grief felt throughout the Empire, the King spoke of the "heartfelt interest" always evinced by the late Sovereign in the welfare of Greater Britain, in the extension of self-government, in the loyalty of the people to her Throne and person, in the gallantry of those who had fought and died for the Empire in South Africa. He concluded as follows: "I have already declared that it will be my constant endeavour to follow the great example which has been bequeathed to me. In these endeavours, I shall have a constant trust in the devotion and sympathy of the people and of their several representative assemblies throughout my vast Colonial dominions. With such loyal support, I will, with God's blessing, solemnly work for the common welfare and security of the great Empire over which I have now been called to reign."
The next and last of these historic documents was a letter to the Princes and peoples of India in which His Majesty informed them that through the lamented death of his mother he had inherited a Throne "which has descended to me through a long and ancient lineage" and then proceeded: "I now desire to send my greeting to the ruling Chiefs of the Native States and to the inhabitants of my Indian dominions, to insure them of my sincere good will and affection and of my heartfelt wishes for their welfare." He spoke of his illustrious predecessor as having first taken upon herself the direct administration of Indian affairs and assumed the title of Empress in token of her closer association with the government of that country; referred to the loyalty of its people and the services rendered by its Princes in the South African war and by its native soldiers in other countries; and concluded in the following expressive words: "It was by her wish and with her sanction that I visited India and made myself acquainted with the ruling Chiefs, the people and the cities of that ancient and famous Empire. I shall never forget the deep impressions which I then received and I shall endeavour to follow the great Queen-Empress, to work for the general well-being of my Indian subjects of all ranks and to merit, as she did, their unfailing loyalty and affection."
Following these incidents came the return home of the German Emperor, a letter of thanks from the King to Earl Roberts for his management of the military part of the funeral arrangements, and a most enthusiastic reception to His Majesty and Queen Alexandra during a rapid passage through London to Marlborough House on February 27th. From this time on, during weeks of crowded work and the assumption of new responsibilities and functions, the King received many addresses of mingled condolence and congratulation. One of the first was from the Royal Agricultural Society of England which the King had done so much to aid as Heir Apparent. The President, Earl Cawdor, in speaking to the Council on February 6th, referred to "the keen personal interest which the King had ever taken in all that related to the welfare of the agricultural interests of the country at large, and especially of the Royal Agricultural Society. They had made many and many calls upon his time and thought." Canterbury Convocation referred to the pending visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The County of Derby the Royal Society, the Benevolent Society of St. Patrick—all sorts of organizations, political, financial, commercial, religious, scientific, official, artistic, benevolent and literary—expressed their admiration for the late Queen and their loyalty to the new Sovereign.
A GROUP AT SANDRINGHAM PALACE
The favourite residence of King Edward while he was Prince of Wales. The King is at right of the centre, and the Duke of Cornwall and York, now King George V. at the left side of the picture
