THE ROYAL PROCESSION: THE ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY PASSING ST. GEORGE’S CIRCUS, BOROUGH.
From a Photograph] [by Russell & Sons.
THE ROYAL PROCESSION: THE QUEEN’S COLONIAL ESCORT, CONSISTING OF REPRESENTATIVES OF EACH OF THE COLONIAL CAVALRY DETACHMENTS, PASSING WESTMINSTER BRIDGE.
The photograph is taken from the Clock Tower of the House of Commons. Owing to the winding of the river, the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral can be seen on the extreme left, over the warehouses on the Surrey side.
More than human must she have been had she been able to pass without emotion through those millions of loving men and women shouting themselves hoarse in the exuberance of their loyalty. Sixty years a Queen, with such a celebration to mark the sixtieth year! Not when Solomon reigned in all his glory—not when the Roman conqueror rode in triumph along the Appian Way to receive the plaudits of Imperial Rome—not when Napoleon the Great snatched the Emperor’s diadem from the Pope and placed it on his own brows—had a single human being been the centre of so much earthly splendour before.
Some mention should be made of the presents given to the Queen by her royal kinsmen and her household. The Princes and Princesses more nearly related to the head of the House of Hanover had prepared a pleasant surprise in the shape of a copy of Mr. Holmes’s authorised “Life of the Queen,” bound in covers of purest gold. |Presents to the Queen.| Two hundred ounces of gold were used, and the only ornaments consisted of the Imperial monogram surmounted by a Crown, and having at its base a scroll bearing the legend, “1837: June 20: 1897.” These were composed of 352 diamonds, with rubies and emeralds set in red enamel. On the back cover were engraved facsimiles of the signatures of the various royal subscribers. A magnificent brooch of diamonds and pearls was presented to Her Majesty by the Princess of Wales, her children, the Duchess of York, and the Duke of Fife. From her household the Queen received a bracelet of beautiful workmanship composed of round medallions set in brilliants, with large rubies and sapphires at intervals. On the medallions were engraved the rose, shamrock, and thistle, the lotus-flower representing the Colonies. The Queen was highly pleased with this token of the affection of her household, and wore it at all the State dinners. The design was the work of H.R.H. Princess Henry of Battenberg.
From a Photograph] [by Russell & Sons.
THE ROYAL PROCESSION: THE BANDS OF THE 1ST LIFE GUARDS AND DRAGOON GUARDS PASSING THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.