Only one event was more impressive than that great occasion; it was the funeral of the good Queen, on February 3, 1901. She passed away on January 22, after a reign of sixty-three years, the longest of any English sovereign. At her own request, the funeral was a military one. The royal catafalque was placed on board the Alberta, which passed between long lines of warships whose flags were half-masted, and whose crews lined the decks with their arms at “attention.” Upon land, the coffin was placed on a khaki-colored gun carriage, and was followed through the streets of London by a solemn procession headed by the Queen’s son, the new monarch, Edward VII, and her grandson, Emperor William of Germany. Minute guns and the tolling of bells announced the progress of the funeral train.
Within the grounds of Frogmore House, adjoining Windsor Castle, the Queen had erected a mausoleum for the Prince Consort; and there by his side she was laid to rest. The epitaph written by the Queen herself reads:—
“Victoria—Albert.
Here at last I shall
Rest with thee:
With thee in Christ
Shall rise again.”
Transcriber’s Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired. Some letters did not print in the original and have been added such as “wh ch” that became “which” and “pr tend” that became “pretend.”