“And there was a little, quiet, flushed old lady. All in black,[K] a silver streak under the black bonnet, a simple white sunshade, sitting quite still, with the corners of her mouth drawn tight, as if she were trying not to cry. But that old lady was the Queen, and you knew it. You didn’t want to look at the glittering uniforms now, nor yet at the bright gowns and the young faces in the carriages, nor yet at the stately princes—though by now all these were ranged in a half circle round her. You couldn’t look at anybody but the Queen. So very quiet, so very grave, so very punctual, so unmistakably and every inch a lady and a Queen. Almost pathetic, if you will, that small black figure in the middle of these shining cavaliers, this great army, this roaring multitude; but also very glorious. When the other kings of the world drive abroad, the escort rides close in at the wheels of the carriage; the Queen drove through her people quite plain and open, with just one soldier at the kerbstone between her and them.”
From a Photograph] [by A. H. Brunell.
THE CROWD WAITING FOR THE QUEEN AT LUDGATE CIRCUS.
Her Majesty was visibly moved at the sight of the immense concourse of people at this point; little Princess Eva of Battenberg on the contrary waved her hand in delighted acknowledgment of their cheers. In the foreground is the Lord Mayor, who headed the Procession from Temple Bar to the Mansion House.
But we must go back a little. At the Griffin, which marks the spot where Temple Bar once stood, the Lord Mayor (the Right Hon. Sir George Faudel-Phillips) had arrived about 10.15, bearing the City Sword of State. While waiting for the Queen the Lord Mayor was entertained, in accordance with ancient custom, at Childs’ Bank.
“Just before mid-day,” says a writer in the Times of June 23, “a loud roar of cheering announced the approach of the Queen, and soon the State carriages drew up at the Griffin, where the Lord Mayor and his deputation, on foot, bareheaded, were awaiting Her Majesty. |The Queen’s Reception at the City Boundary.| The interesting ceremony of the presentation of the sword did not occupy a minute. This handsome sword, in its pearl-covered scabbard, which has been presented by successive Lord Mayors at this very spot to many Sovereigns, from Queen Elizabeth’s time to the present day, was handed to the Lord Mayor by the City Sword-bearer with a low obeisance. Sir George Faudel-Phillips held the hilt towards Her Majesty, who merely touched it, and ordered him to lead the way into the city. The Lord Mayor with considerable alacrity hurried to the spot south of the Griffin where he had left his horse, mounted it, and rode off eastward bareheaded, holding the sword aloft.”
From a Photograph] [by E. P. Robson, Old Broad Street.
HER MAJESTY’S RECEPTION AT THE CITY BOUNDARY.