Edward VII of the United Kingdom

“ A new generation has come on the stage since those days, and there are comparatively few who remember the number and variety of occasions upon which Royalty was worthily represented by the Prince of Wales, and the important and arduous duties voluntarily and cheerfully undertaken by him.
Before carrying out this design, it was advisable to ascertain if there might be any objection on the part of the Prince of Wales. There might, for instance, be a purpose of official publication of these speeches. ”

“ But throughout the whole of the twenty-five years, there has been a succession of speeches, on all manner of occasions, of many of which there is no adequate record or remembrance. It is only due to the Prince to recall the various services thus rendered by him, especially during those earlier years when the loss of the Prince Consort was most deeply felt, and when the Queen, whose Jubilee has been so splendidly celebrated, was living in retirement. ”

“ It is the variety of subjects that will strike most readers, Let it be noted, moreover, that the speeches now reproduced are only those addressed to meetings where reporters for the press were present. There have been innumerable meetings besides, meetings of Commissions, of Boards, of Councils, of Committees, at none of which has the Prince ever been an inactive or silent member, but rather the guiding and moving spirit. ”

“ The speeches themselves will surprise no one. The Prince has had education and culture such as few of any station obtain; directed at first by such a father as the Prince Consort, and by tutors who carried out the design of both his parents. Accomplished in Art, and interested in Science, in Antiquities, and most branches of learning; with some University training at Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh, and with his mind enlarged by foreign travel, we might expect the fruits of such training to appear in his public addresses. ”

“ If his future career is equal to the hopes and promise of his early life, and the performances of the last twenty-five years, he will leave a name illustrious and memorable in the history of the British Empire. ”

“ The light, active, blue-eyed, fair-haired little boy —“Bertie” to his family, “Princey” to his teachers—was liable to get into scrapes, like any other healthy child: but he thought (as a scrap of a childish letter shows) ”

“ THE PRINCE CONSORT,
THE "NOBLE FATHER OF OUR KINGS TO BE,"
ALBERT THE WISE AND GOOD.
PREFACE.
The year 1888, that of the Silver Wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales, is also the 25th anniversary of the year when the Prince first began to appear in public life. It is, therefore, a fit time to present some record of events in which His Royal Highness has taken part, and of services rendered by him to the nation, during the past quarter of a century. ”

“ Speeches at Royal Academy Banquets 355
Royal Banquets at the Trinity House 377
The Royal College of Music 391
⁠National Training School for Music 391
⁠Founding the Royal College of Music 394
⁠The Colonies and the College of Music 403
⁠Inauguration of the Royal College of Music 408
Index 417
This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”