CHAPTER XVII

THE HOUSING OF THE WORKING CLASSES--MARRIAGE OF PRINCE GEORGE--THE DIAMOND JUBILEE--DEATH OF THE DUCHESS OF TECK

The year 1893 brought to the King a very fortunate distraction, which prevented his mind from dwelling too much on his still recent bereavement in a way that could not have been accomplished by the customary round of ceremonial visits and functions. This distraction was his appointment as a member of the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Poor. The King was genuinely delighted with this opportunity. He threw himself with the greatest zeal into the work, and not only attended all the sittings, which took place in one of the House of Lords’ Committee Rooms, but visited, _incognito_, some of the very poorest quarters of London. It is well known that he was exceedingly anxious to serve on the Labour Commission, but Ministers have always been unwilling that the Heir-Apparent should take an active part in matters connected, even indirectly, with politics, and he has had, therefore, constantly to play the part of the Sovereign’s deputy without the responsibilities and interests naturally attaching to the position.

It is no exaggeration to say that there are few men now living who possess better general qualifications for the difficult work of serving on Royal Commissions than the King. He is familiar with an almost bewildering variety of subjects, and possesses a wonderful faculty for almost instinctively grasping the important features and the really essential points of any matter under discussion. He is a model chairman of a committee, and, though he cannot ever display the slightest trace of personal or party feeling, it is well known that he follows with intense interest all the political and social movements of the day, and it is no secret that he is thoroughly an Imperialist.

The King’s work on the Housing of the Poor Commission was particularly congenial to him, for he has always shown an unaffected interest in the working classes. He has long been an annual subscriber to the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union, and is a generous donor to the Working Men’s College. Still more recently, in his reply to the loyal address of condolence presented to him by the London County Council on the death of Queen Victoria, His Majesty made a significant allusion to his interest in the problem of the housing of the working classes. In 1889, some years before the King joined the Housing of the Poor Commission, he took the trouble to go to Lambeth on business seemingly of nothing but local interest--namely, to receive a deputation of working men on the subject of providing a park for the district. His host was the late Primate, Dr. Benson, who thus describes the scene in his diary:--

“Went up to receive Prince of Wales and twelve Representative Working Men at Lambeth. The latter to read him an address on the purchase of ‘The Lawn,’ South Lambeth, for a Public Park, and its great importance to them and their children. Their chairman read a natural, honest speech; nothing could be better than the tone and line of the Prince’s answer. They were delighted by his strong shake of the hand. ‘Not the tips of his fingers,’ they said; ‘working men have feelings, and they would not like that.’ And, ‘It isn’t everybody that education refines as it has him,’ said a blacksmith. ‘When he’s king I shall be able to say that I’ve shook hands with the Crown,’ said an engine-driver. Octavia Hill, and James Knowles, and my wife were the only people admitted besides his Equerry, and Donaldson, and Phillips. It will do good, and he spoke so well.”

This incident is only mentioned as one out of many that could be cited in proof, if proof were needed, of His Majesty’s keen interest in everything that concerns the welfare of the working classes. On another occasion the King was accidentally informed that an exhibition, promoted by the working men in South London, was somewhat languishing for lack of sufficient notice, and unofficially His Majesty arranged to visit the exhibition. He went through it carefully, buying and paying for such articles as took his fancy, and the moment the fact became known, the promoters had no reason to complain of neglect on the part of the general public, who were eager to see what had interested so good a judge of exhibitions as King Edward.

Throughout the year 1893 the King was busily employed in other ways also. In March he paid a formal visit to the Public Record Office to inspect some of the priceless national manuscripts deposited there, and in May he had the satisfaction of seeing that great enterprise which he had himself originated, the Imperial Institute, inaugurated in State by his Royal Mother. It was at the Institute that Mr. Gladstone was hissed by some unmannerly persons, to the great annoyance of the King, who never concealed the strong respect and esteem in which he held both Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone.

It is interesting also to record that in March of this year the Queen, who was accompanied by her son, was received by the Pope in private audience. The interview lasted about an hour.

The official announcement was made, appropriately enough in May, of the betrothal of the King’s son, then Duke of York, to Princess May of Teck. It is recorded in the late Duchess of Teck’s _Life_ that Prince George proposed to Princess May on 3rd May 1893, at Sheen Lodge, which for some time had been occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Fife. Both the bride and her mother agreed that the trousseau should be entirely of home workmanship. “I am determined,” said the Duchess of Teck, “that all the silk shall come from England, all the flannel from Wales, all the tweeds from Scotland, and every yard of lace and poplin from Ireland.” The wedding gown was woven at Spitalfields, and was of silver and white brocade, the design being of roses, shamrock, and thistles. The bridal veil--the same which had been worn by the bride’s mother on her wedding day in 1866--was of the finest Honiton lace, designed in a sequence of cornucopiæ filled with roses, thistles, and shamrock.

The time of the short engagement was filled with preparations of all kinds, and from a letter written by Mrs. Dalrymple, and quoted in the Duchess of Teck’s _Life_, we obtain a good idea of how the days passed by at White Lodge:--

“I remember the happy afternoon I spent at White Lodge a few days before the marriage. We were a large and merry party, including the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and some time was spent in looking at the numerous presents. Tea was served on the lawn under the copper beech, and the dear Princess sat at the head of the table making tea for all; on one side of her was a pile of telegrams received, while on the other, scattered about amongst the cups, were packets of telegraph forms. Messages were constantly being delivered, and the Princess and the Duke as quickly wrote out the replies; no word of complaint was uttered at these incessant interruptions. Her Royal Highness’s amiable readiness to accede to the many appeals for a place from which to see the bridal procession was wonderful. Princess Mary begged me to visit her the day after the marriage, and her eyes filled with tears as she spoke of parting from ‘her precious child.’ Much, however, as I wished to accept the suggestion, I did not do so, but implored the Princess to take the rest that I knew she so urgently needed.”

The qualities both of head and of heart possessed by Prince George’s bride were, at any rate partially, realised by the nation. An incident that occurred at St. Moritz in 1894 is not so well known. The Duchess of Teck and her daughter were on a visit there when a fire broke out which entirely destroyed several shops and houses, and threatened destruction to the lower village. Both the Princess and her mother took active steps to rescue the goods from burning, carrying out the things in their arms. They were the first to go among the sufferers by the fire offering words of consolation, and started a subscription in their aid.

After a very short engagement, the marriage took place in the Chapel-Royal, St. James’s, on 6th July, in the presence of all the Royal family, as well as the present Emperor of Russia and the King and Queen of Denmark. King Edward naturally took a prominent part in supervising all the arrangements, and was much gratified by the outburst of popular enthusiasm which greeted his son’s union with the daughter of the universally-beloved Duchess of Teck.

It is interesting to note how frequently, ever since the marriage, the King has associated his heir with himself in the performance of his public duties, while the constant companionship of father and son is a striking testimony to their complete sympathy with one another.

The following year was notable for two Royal marriages in the King’s immediate circle, and for a bereavement which touched both His Majesty and the Queen in their closest family affections. The King went to Coburg in April to be present at the wedding of his niece, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and his nephew, the Grand Duke of Hesse, the only son of the lamented Princess Alice. The occasion brought together a remarkable number of prominent members of Royal Houses, including Queen Victoria and the German Emperor, and was rendered additionally memorable by the fact that the engagement of the present Tsar of Russia to the bridegroom’s sister was then publicly announced.

The King, who was on this occasion accompanied by Queen Alexandra, went to St. Petersburg in August for the wedding of the Grand Duchess Xenia, which was celebrated with all the lavish magnificence of Russian Court ceremonies.

Although the Tsar was not then in his usual robust health, there was nothing to indicate how soon the King and Queen were to be recalled to Russia on a far different mission. To their lasting sorrow, the summons to the Tsar’s death-bed at Livadia arrived too late for them to be present at the last. Their Majesties left London on 31st October, immediately on receipt of an urgent message from the Tsaritsa, and had proceeded as far as Vienna when the news was broken to them that all was over. They, however, continued their melancholy journey, which was much delayed by bad weather, in order that they might be with the widowed Empress and her son through the terrible strain of the return to St. Petersburg, and the ordeal of the funeral ceremonies.

The King’s fifty-third birthday was spent at Livadia, and for the first time since his birth the anniversary celebrations in London and at Sandringham did not take place.

When the funeral _cortège_ reached St. Petersburg, Prince George joined his parents, and together they attended the elaborate obsequies of the Emperor, and the very quiet wedding of the young Tsar and Princess Alix of Hesse, which followed a few days later. The King remained in Russia for the Queen’s birthday, and left with his son the following day, while Her Majesty stayed behind to support her sister, the Empress Alexander.

The relations between England and Russia after the King’s return became noticeably more cordial, and there is no doubt that this was owing in a large measure to His Majesty’s personal exertions, and the sympathy which he and his son displayed with the Russian people in their great sorrow.

During this year of 1894 the King exhibited his usual complaisance in attending various local ceremonies. Among these may be mentioned the opening of the Tower Bridge by the King and Queen, on behalf of Queen Victoria, in June; while in July their Majesties attended the Welsh Eisteddfod at Carnarvon, where they were received with great enthusiasm. A special session was held, at which the King was initiated as “Iorweth Dywysog” (Edward the Prince), Queen Alexandra as “Hoffder Prydain” (Britain’s Delight), and the Princess Victoria as “Buddug” (the modern Welsh form of Boadicea).

The King was always willing to emphasise his connection with the Principality from which he then took his title, and when the long-desired University of Wales became an accomplished fact, he readily consented to be its first Chancellor. His Majesty was installed in this office at Aberystwyth in June 1896, and his first act as Chancellor was to confer an honorary degree on Queen Alexandra. At the luncheon which followed, the King’s health was proposed by Mr. Gladstone.

In the following month, the marriage of Princess Maud to Prince Charles of Denmark took place in the chapel of Buckingham Palace in the presence of Queen Victoria and the Royal families of the two countries.

Archbishop Benson officiated at the wedding, and he gives the following charming description of the ceremony in his diary:--

“Married the Princess Maud to Prince Charles of Denmark. The brightest of the Princesses, and almost as young as when I confirmed her. He is a tall, gallant-looking sailor. Hope he will make her happy. The Chapel and old conservatory ineffectually disguised by church furniture--all well arranged, and the banquet also. The whole very royally done. The group of great peers of the Queen’s Household afterwards was striking, as were the greater peers also in Chapel, and Mr. Gladstone decidedly ageing and paling, though they say he is well. The Queen was the wonderful sight--so vigorous. In the Bow Room afterwards, where fifty Royalties signed the book, she called me to her, and I knelt and kissed her hand, and she talked very spiritedly a few minutes. As soon as it was over an Indian servant wheeled in her chair to take her out; she instantly waved it back. ‘Behind the door,’ she said, and walked all across the room with her stick most gallantly.”

The month of May was naturally a very busy one for the King and Queen. On the 22nd their Majesties, representing Queen Victoria, opened the new Blackwall tunnel in State, the East End of London giving them a right Royal reception. On this occasion His Majesty was presented with one of the heaviest gold medals ever struck in England, weighing 12 ounces, and bearing on the reverse a representation of the tunnel in perspective. On the 26th His Majesty opened the new Medical School of Guy’s Hospital; on the 27th the King and Queen, with their son and two of their daughters, opened the Royal Military Tournament; on the 28th, at the request of Queen Victoria, the King and Queen, accompanied by Princess Victoria, laid the first stone of the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital in the City Road; on the 29th the King and Queen, with their son and two of their daughters, went down to Canterbury to open the restored Chapter-house of the Cathedral, and in the evening the King dined with the past and present officers of the Norfolk Artillery Militia, of which he is honorary colonel. On the 31st the King held a _levée_ at St. James’s Palace, and in the evening dined with the 1st Guards Club.

This is a short summary, which does not pretend to be by any means exhaustive of His Majesty’s engagements for a very few days, but it brings out perhaps more vividly than a detailed list could possibly do the whole-hearted manner in which the King threw himself into the great tide of national rejoicing which reached its flood in that memorable June of 1897.

King Edward, for a variety of reasons, took a much greater part in the Diamond Jubilee festivities of 1897 than he did in those of ten years before. All the arrangements were submitted for his approval as well as Queen Victoria’s, and it was largely owing to his conspicuous organising ability that everything went off with such triumphant success. Both the King and Queen Alexandra associated themselves in a special manner with the occasion, the former by his Hospital Fund for London, and the latter by her thoughtful scheme of providing one good dinner for the very poorest. The Hospital Fund greatly benefited by the sale of a special stamp, the design of which was selected by the King himself.

King Edward, who had been made an honorary Admiral of the Fleet at the Golden Jubilee of 1887, represented his mother at the magnificent naval review at Spithead, which was generally agreed to be, in its way, the finest spectacle of all that the Jubilee festivities afforded. Many foreign warships were sent by other countries as tokens of international courtesy. Towards the officers of these vessels the King displayed all his wonted cordiality; and in the arrangements for their entertainment his efforts were heartily seconded by Viscount Goschen, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and the other naval authorities. The spectacle of so vast a concourse of British vessels was rendered doubly impressive by the knowledge that it had been assembled without weakening in the slightest degree the squadrons on the numerous British naval stations all over the world. There was much point in the remark said to have been made by the United States Special Ambassador to the First Lord: “I guess, sir, this makes for peace!”

On the eventful morning of the 22nd June, when the Jubilee honours were announced, it was found that Queen Victoria, while conferring some mark of her favour on each of her sons, had created a new and special dignity for the Heir-Apparent. The announcement was made in the following terms:--

“The Queen has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, to appoint Field-Marshal His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, K.G., G.C.B., to be Great Master and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.”

That this distinction was very gratifying to the King was significantly shown in the following month, when he gave a great banquet at St. James’s Palace to the Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in celebration of his appointment. It was an absolutely unique gathering of men who had rendered distinguished service to the State, in statesmanship, in diplomacy, in the profession of arms, in the navy, and in the departments of civil administration.

Since his accession, His Majesty has appointed his brother, the Duke of Connaught, to succeed him as Great Master of the Order of the Bath.

By command of Queen Victoria, the King held a State reception and investiture at St. James’s Palace on 21st July, when he received on behalf of Her Majesty a large number of Diamond Jubilee addresses and invested the newly-created Companions of the Orders of the Bath, the Star of India, St. Michael and St. George, and the Indian Empire, and on the same day His Majesty also opened the new Tate Gallery at Millbank.

It was in this month that His Majesty was elected to the fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London at a comitia of the College--an honour which he valued highly. As a non-medical fellow the King had had only three predecessors, the Marquis of Dorchester in 1658, the Duke of Manchester in 1717, and the Duke of Richmond in 1729. The Royal diploma was, it is understood, specially composed for the occasion, and did not give the new fellow complete freedom to practise in his new profession! Later on, His Majesty was destined to experience in his own person the marvellous benefits which modern surgery has placed at the service of suffering humanity.

The rest of the Diamond Jubilee year was spent in comparative quietude by the King and Queen Alexandra, although His Majesty took an active part in the exceptionally brilliant season. He attended, among other great functions, the Fancy Dress Ball given by the Duchess of Devonshire, wearing on this occasion the splendid costume of the Grand Master of the Knights-Hospitallers of Malta.

King Edward and Queen Alexandra left Marlborough House on 10th August for Bayreuth, and His Majesty arrived at Marienbad on the 18th, travelling _incognito_ as Lord Renfrew. Her Majesty went to Bernstorff to visit her parents, and was joined there early in September by the King. His Majesty afterwards visited the Empress Frederick at Cronberg, and returned to Marlborough House on 25th September, while Her Majesty prolonged her stay in Denmark till October.

On 16th October the King stood as sponsor at the christening of the infant son and heir of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough--an interesting occasion, for His Majesty had been godfather to the Duke himself some twenty-five years before.

This summer was also rendered memorable for the visit paid by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to Ireland. Their Royal Highnesses spent a fortnight there, stopping with the Lord-Lieutenant, Earl Cadogan, in Dublin; afterwards visiting some of the great houses of the Irish nobility, and seeing a great deal of the lovely scenery for which Ireland is famous, including Killarney, from which the Duke takes the title of Baron.

In Dublin the Duke of Cornwall and York and the ever-popular Lord Roberts were installed with great pomp and ceremony as Knights of the Order of St. Patrick. The Duke wore the same sword which his father had used when he was installed some three-and-twenty years before.

His Royal Highness on the termination of the visit wrote the following letter to Lord Cadogan, the Lord-Lieutenant:--

“MOUNT STEWART, NEWTOWNARDS, CO. DOWN, _8th September 1897_.

“DEAR LORD CADOGAN--I cannot leave Ireland without expressing to you, on behalf of the Duchess of York and myself, our very sincere appreciation of the warm and enthusiastic welcome which has been accorded to us during our visit by all classes and in all parts of the country.

“Nothing could have exceeded the kindness and hospitality which have been shown to us, and the agreeable impressions which we have derived from our visit can never be effaced from our memory. I regret that the limited time at our disposal rendered it impossible for us to see many districts in a country which contains so much that is beautiful and interesting. I hope, however, that we may have further opportunities of improving our acquaintance with the people of Ireland and with the country of which they are so justly proud.--Believe me, very sincerely yours,

“GEORGE.”

Their Royal Highnesses came home by way of Scotland, visiting Glasgow, where they performed several ceremonial functions, and staying with Lord Rosebery at Dalmeny for two nights. They then went to Ness Castle and on to Guisachan for fishing and deer-stalking as the guests of Lord and Lady Tweedmouth, and ultimately visited Queen Victoria at Balmoral.

This Royal visit to Ireland exhibited in a striking manner the extent to which party passions had been allayed in the distressful country. The Duke and Duchess had everywhere a respectful and frequently an enthusiastic reception; and in almost every address received by their Royal Highnesses the desirability of establishing a Royal residence in Ireland was pointedly referred to. The profound effect of the visit was seen a month or two later, when, on the death of the lamented Duchess of Teck, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Dublin telegraphed their condolences, both officially and privately, not to the Duke of Teck, as might have been expected, but to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. On this mournful occasion, also, the Corporation of “rebel” Cork passed a resolution of sympathy.

The death of the Duchess of Teck on 27th October was a terrible blow to the King and Queen Alexandra. In the previous April the Duchess had undergone a severe operation with the magnificent courage characteristic of her, and as soon as she was able to receive visitors the very first who came was King Edward. Her Royal Highness seemed quite to have conquered her malady. She went up to London from White Lodge in June, and bore her part in many of the Diamond Jubilee rejoicings. 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 Duchess attended the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, and at the Duchess of Devonshire’s ball she appeared as the Electress Sophia. Visits to Northumberland and Westmoreland followed, but towards the end of October, when Her Royal Highness had returned to White Lodge, the illness returned. The surgeons again operated successfully, but the patient could not rally from the shock.

There had been practically no warning, so that the news came with equal suddenness both to the Royal Family and the nation. King Edward and Queen Alexandra immediately hurried up from Sandringham, and afterwards, at the deeply impressive funeral in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, His Majesty represented his Royal mother.

This bereavement was the more terrible from its utter unexpectedness, and, as has been so singularly often the case in our Royal Family, it happened in the autumn. Princess Mary, who stood in the relation of second cousin to King Edward, was, although belonging technically to the same generation as Queen Victoria, but a few years older than His Majesty, and the most affectionate and close relations had always existed between them, a fact shown on many occasions throughout their joint lives, and nowhere more strikingly than in the great satisfaction expressed by both the King and Queen Alexandra at the marriage of their only surviving son to the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Teck.

Earlier in the autumn an attempt was made to use the King’s great personal prestige and popularity in order to bring to a close the struggle between masters and men in the engineering trade. The writer received the following reply:--

“MARLBOROUGH HOUSE, PALL MALL, S.W., _8th October 1897_.

“DEAR SIR--I am directed by the Prince of Wales to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th inst., and to inform you, in reply, that, while he deeply deplores the disastrous state of affairs in the engineering industry, he feels that it would not be right or proper for him to attempt in any way to interfere or to mix himself up in them. His Royal Highness regrets that he is unable to act on your suggestion.--I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

“FRANCIS KNOLLYS.”

Towards the end of November the King visited Durham, and in his reply to the inevitable address gave some interesting reminiscences of the late Bishop of the diocese. He said:--

“Dr. Lightfoot, who was transferred from his theological studies in the University of Cambridge to undertake the administration of a large and important diocese, evinced a powerful personality of character through the brilliancy of his intellect, his profound learning, his earnest piety, and a capacity for organisation so remarkable as almost to appear intuitive.… I may mention that I myself was personally acquainted with Bishop Lightfoot when I was an undergraduate at Cambridge, and I wish to add my own testimony to the admiration and regard with which he inspired all who, like myself, had the advantage of knowing him.”

On 21st December Queen Alexandra received a grateful address from the chairmen of the sixty local committees who were entrusted with the management of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee dinner fund for the poor of London, and so ended this eventful year.