The death of Mr. Gladstone caused much sorrow both to His Majesty and to Queen Alexandra, who had frequently demonstrated the regard in which they held the veteran statesman and his devoted wife. At the funeral of Mr. Gladstone in the Abbey on 28th May 1898 the King was the chief pall-bearer with his son, the Duke of Cornwall and York, and at the close of the service, with the other pall-bearers, they kissed the hand of Mrs. Gladstone. Queen Alexandra and the Duchess of Cornwall and York were present at the service.
Soon afterwards their Majesties lost another old friend, and curiously enough a devoted follower of Mr. Gladstone, namely, the first Lord Playfair, so long known as Sir Lyon Playfair, who had taught the King science in His Majesty’s student days at Edinburgh.
On 31st May the London Gazette published the following, which was naturally of much interest to the King:—
“The Queen has been pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal, to declare that the children of the eldest son of any Prince of Wales shall have, and at all times hold and enjoy, the style, title, and attribute of ‘Royal Highness.’”
On 8th June Queen Alexandra presented prizes in the Albert Hall to the boys of the Royal Masonic Institution at Woodgreen. His Majesty, in acknowledging a vote of thanks to her, said:—
“Though the Princess has set a good example, as the wife of a Freemason, in not attempting to discover the secrets of our craft, I think she has taken a philanthropic interest in all that concerns our works.”
Three days later the King opened the Reading University Extension Hospital and inspected the Royal Berkshire Hospital, afterwards going on a visit to his old friends Lord and Lady Wantage at Lockinge. On 18th June the King distributed the prizes at Wellington College, and on 21st June, accompanied by the Queen, he laid the foundation stone of the new buildings of the North London or University College Hospital.
A week later the King paid a visit to Lord and Lady Warwick, and much enjoyed driving in motor cars, then a comparatively novel form of conveyance. During the visit Lady Warwick drove the King to Barford to call upon Mr. Joseph Arch, M.P., in his cottage. His Majesty had a high opinion of Mr. Arch, who had risen by his own exertions from a very humble origin, and at that time represented the electoral division of Norfolk in which Sandringham is situated.
The Duke of Connaught