Marie Belloc Lowndes

“ We pray also for that infant of the Royal race whom in Thy good providence Thou hast given us for our future King. We beseech Thee so to mould his heart and fashion his spirit that he may be a blessing and not an evil to the land of his birth. May he grow in favour with man by leaving to its own force and direction the energy of a free people. May he grow in favour with God by holding the faith in Christ fervently and feelingly, without feebleness, without fanaticism, without folly. ”

“ The King during the reception was seated on a silver throne, and everything was done to invest the affair with the greatest pomp and circumstance. His suite all stood round him in full uniform; behind the throne was a portrait of Queen Victoria; and although the King was not supposed to hold durbars, the ceremony being simply styled a private visit or reception, it was in every way as impressive and remarkable as if it had carried full official significance.
An immense number of native Princes and Rajahs paid their respects in person to their future Sovereign. ”

“ Now that the last Scene has closed in the noble and ever glorious life of My beloved Mother, The Queen, I am anxious to endeavour to convey to the whole Empire the extent of the deep gratitude I feel for the heart-stirring and affectionate tributes which are everywhere borne to Her Memory. I wish also to express My warm recognition of those universal expressions of what I know to be genuine and loyal sympathy with Me and with the Royal Family in our overwhelming sorrow. ”

“ I am delighted, brethren, to have this opportunity of proclaiming what I am satisfied you will agree with me in—that we have, as Masons, no politics; that the great object of our Order is to strengthen the bonds of fraternal affection, and to make us live in pure and Christian love with all men; that though a secret, we are not a political body; and that our Masonic principles and hopes are essential parts of our attachment to the Constitution and loyalty to the Crown. ”

“ Every Englishman knows that the two great watchwords of the craft are Loyalty and Charity. These are their watchwords, and as long as Freemasons do not, as Freemasons, mix themselves up in politics, so long I am sure this high and noble Order will flourish, and will maintain the integrity of our great Empire. I thank you once more, brethren, for your cordial reception of me to-day, and I thank you for having come such immense distances to welcome me on this occasion. ”

“ Words are too weak for the Queen to say how very deeply touched and gratified she has been by the immense enthusiasm and affection exhibited towards her dear son and herself, from the highest down to the lowest, in the long progress through the capital, and she would earnestly wish to convey her warmest and most heartfelt thanks to the whole nation for this great demonstration of loyalty. ”

“ All over the British Empire King Edward was proclaimed amid rejoicings which were tempered only by a vivid sense of the common bereavement under which His Majesty and his subjects were alike suffering.
The marvellous and unprecedented outburst of sorrow for her late Majesty, which showed that not only the British Empire but the whole of the civilised world shared in King Edward’s grief, undoubtedly brought His Majesty some consolation, which was increased by the decision of the German Emperor, who had been joined by his eldest son, the Crown Prince, to remain for the funeral. ”

“ The meals at the Palace were all served on gold and silver plate studded with gems; a band of eighty-four musicians played during dinner; every morning arrived gorgeous presents from the Sultan, including exquisite flowers and trays laden with fruits and sweets; while, at a clap of the hand, black-coated chibouquejees brought in pipes with amber mouth-pieces of fabulous value, encrusted in diamonds and rubies. There was a complete Turkish bath establishment in the Palace, and the slightest wish expressed by the Royal guests was considered an order. ”

“ The Prince is noted for his powers of entertainment and exertion to make every one enjoy themselves. When a ‘house-party’ is expected he superintends the arrangements and remembers their particular tastes and pursuits. A gouty squire who once grumbled at having to go, was completely mollified at finding a room prepared for him on the ground floor, the Prince thinking he would prefer it. The effect of a visit to Sandringham upon a certain order of Radicals, who are treated with the greatest deference, is perfectly astounding. ”

“ Queen Victoria passed peacefully away, at half-past six in the evening of 22nd January, surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
Then every one turned in their grief to His Majesty King Edward VII. Hardly for a moment could he be simply the devoted son weeping by the death-bed of his beloved and venerated mother. He was now the ruler of a great Empire, and bravely did His Majesty meet what must have seemed the almost impertinent intrusion of State business and State ceremonial. ”

“ No one who saw the Jubilee procession will ever forget the people’s welcome to the Duchess of Teck—great in the West End, but greatest of all in the poorer parts of London, and second only to the reception accorded to Queen Victoria herself. ”

“ The accession of a Prince so universally beloved to the throne of his ancestors amid the deeply-felt joy of a great and free people is an inspiring spectacle. Perhaps, however, it is not fully realised how much King Edward, in the years of his public life as Prince of Wales, shared in the duties of the British Crown. ”

“ I know—we all know—how good and holy a thing Freemasonry is, how excellent are its principles, and how perfect the doctrine it sets forth; but forgive me if I remind you that some of our friends outside are not as well acquainted with its merits as we are ourselves, and that a most mistaken idea prevails in some minds that, because we are a secret society, we meet for political purposes, or have a political bias in what we do. ”

“ The Prince should early be taught that thrones and social order have a stable foundation in the moral and intellectual faculties of man; that by addressing his public exertions to the cultivation of these powers in his people, and by taking their dictates as the constant guides of his own conduct, he will promote the solidity of his empire and the prosperity of his subjects. In one word, he should be taught that God, in the constitution of the mind and in the arrangement of creation, has already legislated for men, both as individuals and as nations ”

“ On arriving in Kingstown Harbour Queen Alexandra was presented, as Queen Victoria had been in 1849, with a white dove, emblematic of the affection and goodwill which she was supposed to be bringing to the distressful country. King Edward, with his usual tact, declared it to be his wish that no troops should be present in the streets of Dublin. Entire reliance was accordingly placed on the loyalty and hospitable spirit of the people, and, in spite of many doleful prognostications to the contrary, the Royal visit was successful from every point of view. ”

“ For Americans the King has shown a strong liking, but it is absurd to assert that his favour has been confined to those American men and women whose social position has been entirely purchased by their wealth. He has frequently gone out of his way to show special courtesy to distinguished American visitors, whether rich or poor; and the diplomatic representative of the United States in London has always found a specially cordial welcome at Marlborough House. ”

“ A significant proof of the young Prince’s amiability and unpretending modesty was to be found in the large number of personal friends whom he attached to himself, both at Cambridge and among his comrades of the 10th Hussars, by ties of sincere esteem. Moreover, it was generally known that between the Duke of Clarence and his mother there existed the strongest possible link of filial and maternal love, and so the Prince came to share in a measure the high place which Queen Alexandra has always held in the hearts of the British people. ”

“ Except when he was travelling, the King rarely had a free afternoon, for even on the rare occasions when he had not to visit some public institution, to lay a foundation-stone, or to declare a building open, and so on, there were endless social duties to which no one could attend but himself, such as weddings, race meetings, reviews, and receptions. Certain public functions were almost always attended by both the King and the Queen—for example, the Horse Show at Islington, the Royal Military Tournament, and the trooping of the colour. ”

“ Our polity has been called a crowned Republic—a phrase which, in spite of its exaggeration, expresses tersely the fact that the constitutional Sovereign of this realm has constantly to reconcile duties which seem far apart, and even sometimes inconsistent. King Edward succeeds to a Monarchy possessing great theoretical powers, which, however, have been by the slow growth of custom practically restricted to the exercise of an indirect, advisory influence on State affairs, though, as Mr. Balfour said in the House of Commons, this influence shows a tendency to increase rather than to diminish. ”

“ The announcement roused the greatest enthusiasm, for deep as had been the public sympathy with Her Majesty, a widowed Court could not but cast a very real gloom, not only over society, but over all those directly and indirectly interested in the sumptuary trades and the wide distribution of wealth. It was universally felt that the marriage of the Heir-Apparent would inaugurate a new era of prosperity, and scarce a dissenting voice was raised to oppose the Grant voted by the House of Commons for the Royal couple. ”

“ It has often been asserted that King Edward is fonder of the Emerald Isle than is any other member of his family; he certainly numbers several Irishmen among his closest friends. Although he thoroughly enjoyed his visit, this one week in 1868 was one of the most tiring ever spent by the King. Like his younger son, twenty-nine years later, the King was installed with great pomp as a Knight of the Order of St. Patrick, on which occasion he used the sword worn by King George IV. The King also unveiled with much ceremony a statue of Edmund Burke. ”

“ Fortunately most of the 3000 guests were important people, and therefore too old to dance. They represented, in both senses of the word, the solid element in New York society, for, as they crowded round the Prince, the floor gave way, and it is a wonder that no serious accident took place. This splendid entertainment, which took place in the old Academy of Music, is still remembered by many elderly Americans. The Prince showed his tact and good taste by frequently changing his partner. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Prince Albert will also ever be remembered with gratitude by the British people for the unremitting care which he devoted to the education of all his children, and especially to that of his eldest son. Of course the seed must be sown in good ground, and we know that the ground was good; the effect of that early education is seen in the admirable tact with which King Edward filled a most difficult and delicate position for many years. ”

“ The change simply emphasised the fact that the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines are the loyal and devoted servants of the King, and it is another instance of that gracious tact for which Edward VII. is renowned.
Debarred by the tradition of his House from himself entering our first line of defence, the King nevertheless—as indeed he says in his gracious Message—chose the Navy for the early education of both his sons. In other ways he has never failed to demonstrate in every possible way his love of the sea, of which indeed he has had a pretty wide experience. ”

“ All this time Queen Victoria was living in the strictest retirement, and the great shadow of the Prince Consort’s death had thrown scarcely less gloom over the life of his eldest son. King Edward mourned deeply for his father, and it is significant that he never lost an opportunity of testifying in his public speeches to the high purpose and noble aims which had distinguished Prince Albert’s life. ”

“ The Freemasons of Great Britain presented Queen Alexandra with a very splendid diamond butterfly. The members of the Body-Guard were represented by a silver statue of a member of the corps, arrayed in the uniform originally designed by the Prince Consort. The Comte de Paris sent a large agate punch-bowl, studded with precious stones. Among the public gifts which afforded the King and Queen most pleasure was the Colonial Silver Wedding gift—a silver candelabrum adapted for electric light, and a fine twenty-one day movement clock to match. ”

“ His Majesty laughed, and once more producing his cigar-case said, “You had better have another one, this time to smoke.”
The King was at one time very fond of taking a hansom in the streets of London, just like an ordinary person, and it is said that he always paid the driver half a sovereign whether the distance was long or short. His Majesty is patron of the Cabdrivers’ Benevolent Association, and he takes a marked interest in these hard-worked and deserving servants of the public, seldom missing the annual meeting, at which, indeed, some of his best speeches have been delivered. ”

“ A Prince of Wales has rarely been called as a witness in a case, although, of course, in the theory of English law, all men are equal, and the privileges, if any, which would attach to him would not attach to him in his capacity as Prince of Wales or Heir-Apparent to the Throne, but simply in his capacity as a peer of the United Kingdom. ”

“ It was at Cambridge that certain sterling qualities possessed by Prince Albert Victor first became manifest to any considerable circle, and through them to the public at large. His life at the University was simple and well ordered. He had not—nor was it desirable that he should have—the specialised intellect which wins University prizes and scholarships, but he displayed in a marked degree that peculiarly Royal quality of recognising intellect in others. ”