The festivities of the following Christmas were overshadowed by the death at Sandringham from inflammation of the lungs of Colonel Grey, who had been for some time a valued member of the Household. It was with reference to this sad loss that Princess Alice wrote to Queen Victoria:—“Dear Bertie’s true and constant heart suffers on such occasions, for he can be constant in friendship, and all who serve him, serve him with warm attachment.”
In 1875 the death of Canon Kingsley came as a great blow to their Majesties, who were both fondly attached to the famous writer.
The King’s Indian Tour, 1875
CHAPTER XII
THE KING’S TOUR IN INDIA
Lord Canning, the great Viceroy of India, once told the Prince Consort how desirable he thought it that the Prince of Wales should, when grown up, visit Queen Victoria’s Eastern Empire, and later on, those who had the privilege of the young Prince’s friendship were well aware that an Indian tour had become one of his most ardent wishes.
But the project of the Heir-Apparent’s visit to India only really took shape early in 1875, and on 20th March it was publicly announced that the Prince contemplated this journey, the Marquis of Salisbury, who was then Secretary of State for India, making an official announcement to the Council of India of the intended event. The Council passed a resolution that the expenditure actually incurred in India should be charged on the revenues of that country.
Curiously enough, a great deal of hostile feeling was aroused by the announcement of this Royal tour. On 17th July a great meeting was held in Hyde Park to protest against the grant of money which was then being sanctioned by Parliament to defray the expenses of the journey. Many people went so far as to declare that they would have acquiesced in the passing of the vote had the Heir-Apparent’s visit to his mother’s Eastern dominions been a “State visit” instead of a mere “pleasure trip.” And yet it need hardly be pointed out that, greatly as King Edward looked forward to his tour, the journey was likely to prove anything but a mere “pleasure trip” to India’s Royal visitor. He and those about him well knew that from the moment he landed at Bombay till the day he left India he would not only constantly remain en évidence, but he also expected to conciliate the many different races with which he was going to be brought in contact when passing through the various Indian States.