The King did not escape the penalty of irresponsible gossip. He undoubtedly displayed a great liking for Ireland, and for the Irish people, but it would be absurd to call him on that account a Home Ruler. Similarly, it is an interesting fact that both His Majesty and Queen Alexandra distinguished Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone by some special tokens of friendship, but it is not justifiable on that account to assert that their Majesties are Liberals. The truth is that throughout his career His Majesty has succeeded, while deeply interesting himself in politics, in steering steadily clear of party politics.
It would be wearisome to enumerate all the statesmen and politicians on whom His Majesty has conferred various marks of his favour. Mention may, however, be made of Mr. Cecil Rhodes, for whom he entertains a strong admiration which he has never cared to conceal. Indeed, he removed his own name from the Travellers’ Club when Mr. Rhodes was blackballed—a course which he has never seen fit to take in any other instance.
The political emancipation of the Jews in England evidently had the King’s warm sympathy. It now seems a long time ago since his presence at the marriage of Mr. Leopold de Rothschild caused much satisfaction and some sensation in Jewish circles, for no British prince had visited a synagogue since 1809, when three of the Royal dukes were present at a Jewish service. The Rothschild family have long been among His Majesty’s personal friends, both in England and on the Continent, and among his intimates was the late Baron Hirsch, with whom he stayed in Austria, notwithstanding the intense anti-Semitic prejudices of the Austrian Court. The King has thoroughly studied the question of the Russian Jews, and has interested himself on their behalf in such a way as should earn for him the gratitude of every Jew in Europe and America. Nevertheless His Majesty’s liking for the Chosen People has been sometimes misinterpreted, and ascribed to not very creditable motives. People were at one time fond of saying that the King was up to the neck in debt, but, when the question was directly asked, Sir Francis Knollys replied that the King had no debts worth speaking of, and that he could pay any moment every farthing he owed; also, that there was not a word of truth in the oft-repeated tales of the mortgage on Sandringham, and that the whole story was a fabrication and was on a par with similar tales representing the King as being assisted by financiers of more or less doubtful honesty.
In the sphere of foreign relations His Majesty’s indirect influence has undoubtedly been considerable, though, of course, the time has gone by when dynastic considerations used to dictate the policy of empires. It is well known that his nephew, the Tsar, entertains for him a strong personal regard; while of the feelings which subsist between His Majesty and the Kaiser, the son of his favourite sister, the country has had the most significant illustrations. There can be no doubt, too, about the feelings of esteem which are entertained for His Majesty by the French nation as a whole. Furthermore, the King has always shown his desire to become personally acquainted with the principal statesmen of Europe; and it is probable that few of the men who now control international relations have not at one time or another fallen under the influence of His Majesty’s gracious and winning personality. The sum of all this must count for a good deal in facilitating the conduct of our foreign relations.
For Americans the King has shown a strong liking, but it is absurd to assert that his favour has been confined to those American men and women whose social position has been entirely purchased by their wealth. He has frequently gone out of his way to show special courtesy to distinguished American visitors, whether rich or poor; and the diplomatic representative of the United States in London has always found a specially cordial welcome at Marlborough House. This was particularly the case with James Russell Lowell and with T. F. Bayard. Indeed, it will be remembered that on Mr. Bayard’s giving up the post of American Ambassador, the King broke his rule and accepted Mr. Bayard’s invitation to dinner, thereby paying a signal compliment to the whole American people. The King’s telegram to the New York World, during the war-scare which followed President Cleveland’s Venezuelan Message, will be remembered as having done much to calm the public anxiety in both countries.
American women who have married Englishmen can rely on receiving from the King and Queen Alexandra the most tactful consideration and courtesy. This was conspicuously shown in the cases of Lady Harcourt, the daughter of Motley, the great American historian; of Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain; and of the young Duchess of Marlborough.
It is no slight testimony to His Majesty’s political insight that at a time when the Colonies were not fashionable, and when they were actually regarded as a source of weakness rather than of strength to the Mother Country, he did all that he could—so far as the traditional restrictions of his position would allow—to foster a different view of Britain’s relations with her daughter-States. Since those days he exerted himself to promote the success of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition; and his interest in the Empire was yet more strikingly demonstrated in the foundation of the Imperial Institute. His Majesty’s gracious Message to his People Beyond the Seas further illustrates his interest in his Colonial dominions, but assuredly the crowning testimony is his consent to part with his son and his daughter-in-law for many months that they might inaugurate the Australian Federal Parliament and visit the other important States of the Empire.
His Majesty’s interest in India, too, is strong, and his knowledge of Indian affairs is very wide. Every new book of any importance which is published on any Indian subject is added to His Majesty’s library, which is by this time extremely rich in works relating to the vast Eastern territories over which he is now Emperor. His Majesty’s visit to these great kingdoms and provinces, to which he made graceful allusion in his Message “to the Princes and Peoples of India,” was paid at the express wish of his mother, who saw with characteristic foresight how valuable it would be in promoting peace and conciliation among the various creeds and races of Hindustan.