In England and in the capital it was felt that some good work should be inaugurated which might form a lasting memorial of a memorable time, and at the right moment the Prince of Wales broached a scheme for freeing the great London hospitals from debt, and providing these voluntary institutions with a more sufficient income—a proposal that at once received support from all sections of the people.
THE ROYAL PROCESSION
PRINCES AND NOTABLES ASSEMBLING IN THE COURT OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE
There was yet another scheme which owed its origin to the kindly thought of a member of the Royal Family, one that awoke responsive feelings in every heart, for it was the poor of London whom the gracious Princess of Wales considered above all others. She wrote, on 29th April 1897, from Marlborough House, to the Chief Magistrate of the City, urging that “in the midst of the many schemes and preparations for the commemoration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, when everybody comes forward on behalf of some good cause,” it seemed to her “one class had been overlooked, namely, the poorest of the poor in the slums of London.” The Princess pleaded that the poor beggars and outcasts “should be provided with a dinner or substantial meal” during the week of the 22nd of June, and headed the subscription list with £100.
As the historic 22nd of June drew nearer, London put on the gayest and brightest attire. From every house-top and window floated the Union Jack, or fluttered flags and bunting, while on the line of route mapped out for the triumphal progress of the Sovereign decorations had been arranged on a scale of beauty and magnificence never equalled in the history of the capital. Wherever timber could be safely fashioned into temporary seats, there stands had been erected,—some of immense size holding as many as five thousand persons, others of towering height, some on roofs of Government offices, and some resting against sides of church steeples, or built on the few vacant spots to be found amid the bricks and mortar of an overcrowded city. For days the streets were thronged with eager sightseers from all parts of England, from Europe and America. Foreign Princes, distinguished Ambassadors, and special Envoys arrived at the invitation of the Sovereign and the Government; there is feasting and jubilation, and London for once at any rate is the gayest of gay cities.
THE ROYAL PROCESSION—THE QUEEN’S CARRIAGE WITH THE CELEBRATED TEAM OF EIGHT CREAMS
Sunday 20th June 1897, the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Queen’s Accession to the Throne, was observed as a day of general Thanksgiving throughout the country. In the morning Her Majesty, attended by many of her children, went to St. George’s, Windsor, to return thanks in the historic chapel of the Castle for all the blessings and glories of her reign. In London the members of the House of Peers were present in their robes of scarlet and ermine in Westminster Abbey; Her Majesty’s “faithful Commons” went to the Church of St. Margaret’s, near neighbour to the Abbey; and the Judges attended St. Paul’s Cathedral, at which the Prince and Princess of Wales were also worshippers.
