CHAPTER XVIII

LATER YEARS--A SERIOUS ACCIDENT TO THE KING--GRADUAL RECOVERY--THE ATTEMPT ON THE KING’S LIFE

The year 1898, destined to bring His Majesty a serious accident and a tedious convalescence, opened uneventfully. On New Year’s Day the King accepted the post of Patron of the Fourth International Congress of Zoology, which had arranged to meet at Cambridge in August. In January, too, the Brixton branch of the Social Democratic Federation sent to the King a proposal that the Government should organise a system of State maintenance of the underfed London school children. In reply, Sir F. Knollys wrote:--

“His Royal Highness directs me to assure you that he feels the greatest sympathy for the large number of underfed and half-starved children living in London, and although he is afraid he does not feel himself at liberty to support your particular proposal, it will give him much pleasure to send a donation to the London Schools Dinner Association, which he understands is doing very good work in the required direction.”

In March the King went to Cannes, and saw President Faure in Paris on his way thither. On 10th March His Majesty laid the first stone of a new jetty at Cannes in the midst of a brilliant assemblage. He said, speaking to the Mayor:--

“You know what pleasure it gives me to spend a few weeks in your beautiful country, where I always meet with a hospitable reception.… In laying the first stone of the new jetty, in accordance with your kind wish, I desire to tell you especially how touched I was at your having thought of giving it my name. I trust that the very wise and unanimous impulse given by you to yachting at Cannes will not fail of its effect. You can safely rely upon my support, for I am sincerely glad to see this friendly competition between our two countries developed, and, as you have so well said, I hope with you that this ceremony may be a fresh pledge of cordial relations between France and Great Britain.”

To M. Leroux, Prefect of the Alpes Maritimes, His Majesty said:--

“I am touched by the sentiments which, in the name of the Government of the Republic, you have just expressed. I sincerely hope that France may long enjoy the benefits of the Government which you represent, and that the cordial relations between France and Great Britain may continue for the good of humanity. I am, indeed, happy to be able to lend my co-operation to this hospitable country, for which I wish the greatest prosperity.”

On 25th April His Majesty opened the Royal Photographic Society’s International Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. The Society was founded in 1853 under the auspices of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort. The King naturally took special interest in the exhibit of his Hospital Fund for London, which included photographs of the “Roll of Ministering Children.” This roll comprised so many portraits of the King’s descendants that His Majesty drily observed that he seemed to be surrounded by grandchildren.

This spring His Majesty was much occupied with the preparations for the Paris Exhibition of 1900. He was Chairman of both the executive and the finance committee of the Royal Commission which was appointed to see that Great Britain was adequately represented.

On 18th May the King reviewed the Lancashire Hussars at Birkdale, it being the jubilee of this yeomanry regiment, and also visited Southport and Wigan. On 20th May he reviewed the Royal Bucks Hussars in Howe Park.

The death of Mr. Gladstone caused much sorrow both to His Majesty and to Queen Alexandra, who had frequently demonstrated the regard in which they held the veteran statesman and his devoted wife. At the funeral of Mr. Gladstone in the Abbey on 28th May 1898 the King was the chief pall-bearer with his son, the Duke of Cornwall and York, and at the close of the service, with the other pall-bearers, they kissed the hand of Mrs. Gladstone. Queen Alexandra and the Duchess of Cornwall and York were present at the service.

Soon afterwards their Majesties lost another old friend, and curiously enough a devoted follower of Mr. Gladstone, namely, the first Lord Playfair, so long known as Sir Lyon Playfair, who had taught the King science in His Majesty’s student days at Edinburgh.

On 31st May the _London Gazette_ published the following, which was naturally of much interest to the King:--

“The Queen has been pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal, to declare that the children of the eldest son of any Prince of Wales shall have, and at all times hold and enjoy, the style, title, and attribute of ‘Royal Highness.’”

On 8th June Queen Alexandra presented prizes in the Albert Hall to the boys of the Royal Masonic Institution at Woodgreen. His Majesty, in acknowledging a vote of thanks to her, said:--

“Though the Princess has set a good example, as the wife of a Freemason, in not attempting to discover the secrets of our craft, I think she has taken a philanthropic interest in all that concerns our works.”

Three days later the King opened the Reading University Extension Hospital and inspected the Royal Berkshire Hospital, afterwards going on a visit to his old friends Lord and Lady Wantage at Lockinge. On 18th June the King distributed the prizes at Wellington College, and on 21st June, accompanied by the Queen, he laid the foundation stone of the new buildings of the North London or University College Hospital.

A week later the King paid a visit to Lord and Lady Warwick, and much enjoyed driving in motor cars, then a comparatively novel form of conveyance. During the visit Lady Warwick drove the King to Barford to call upon Mr. Joseph Arch, M.P., in his cottage. His Majesty had a high opinion of Mr. Arch, who had risen by his own exertions from a very humble origin, and at that time represented the electoral division of Norfolk in which Sandringham is situated.

On 7th July the King, with the Duke of Sparta, who was on a visit to this country, attended the presentation of colours by Queen Victoria to the 3rd Coldstream Guards at Aldershot.

The King met with a serious accident on 18th July while at Waddesdon Manor, Bucks, on a visit to Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild. His Majesty slipped in descending a staircase and sustained a fracture of the knee-cap, but was able to travel to Marlborough House the same afternoon. Not much progress was made, however, and on the 19th Sir William MacCormac and Sir Francis Laking decided to call in the famous surgeon, Sir Thomas Smith, who had undoubtedly prolonged the Duchess of Teck’s life. It is interesting to note that the Röntgen rays were employed to ascertain the extent of the injury, probably the first occasion of their being used for a Royal patient. Rest was compulsory, and though it must have been irksome in the extreme to one of the King’s active habits, yet nothing could exceed the cheerfulness displayed by the patient.

On the 21st Lord Lister, the “father” of antiseptic surgery, was called in, and with characteristic consideration, in view of the anxiety exhibited by the whole Empire, the King authorised the publication of a detailed statement regarding the accident.

From this it appeared that he missed his footing while coming down the spiral staircase at Waddesdon Manor, and in the sudden severe effort made to save himself from falling sustained a fracture of the left patella. “About one-fifth of the bone, somewhat crescentic in shape, was torn away, along with the tendinous insertion of the quadriceps extensor, and the gap between the fragments amounted to a little more than two inches.” Sir W. MacCormac and Sir Francis Laking concluded their statement by the remark that the illustrious patient “is bearing the enforced restraint with exemplary patience and good temper.” Of course what every one feared was some permanent lameness or weakness of the limb, but this, as will be seen from what follows, was fortunately averted.

Queen Alexandra was unremitting in her attentions to the invalid, and was with difficulty prevailed upon to leave his room for necessary air and exercise. On the 23rd Mr. Alfred Fripp, Surgeon-in-ordinary, who was away on his honeymoon at the time the accident occurred, joined the other medical attendants, who in consultation decided that the patient might attend the Cowes Regatta on board the Royal yacht _Osborne_. It was hoped that the change of scene would facilitate recovery, and the decision was also naturally gratifying to Queen Victoria, who was then in residence at Osborne, and wished to be near her son.

On Sunday, the 24th, the patient was connected by electrophone with St. Michael’s, Chester Square, and heard his honorary chaplain, Canon Fleming, refer to the accident and the national anxiety it had caused. In the evening the invalid heard a sacred concert, also through the electrophone.

The Sultan was greatly concerned at the news of the accident, and even offered to send the well-known Turkish surgeon, Djemal Pasha, to attend on the patient.

It was characteristic of the King’s kindly consideration that before leaving London for Cowes he sent a gold scarf-pin, set with emeralds, and a letter of thanks to Dr. Shaw, the local practitioner who had attended him at Waddesdon immediately after the accident.

On 30th July the King, accompanied by the Queen, Princess Victoria, and Prince Nicholas and Princess Marie of Greece, left London for Cowes. Sir F. Laking and Mr. Fripp were in medical attendance, and the transport to Paddington, and thence by the Queen’s train to Portsmouth Jetty, was accomplished with complete comfort and safety. The patient was carried by bluejackets in his invalid’s chair on board the _Osborne_, and it is needless to say that the “handy men” did their work to perfection, with masculine strength allied to womanly tenderness. On the 31st Queen Victoria visited the patient and found him in excellent spirits and making good progress.

The Queen of Denmark fell seriously ill at this time, and as King Edward was going on so well, Queen Alexandra left on 3rd August for Copenhagen, attended by Miss Knollys and Sir Francis Laking. Princess Victoria remained with her father.

On the 6th it was announced that no further bulletins would be issued, as the King’s progress was so satisfactory. Queen Victoria paid him frequent visits, and on the 12th Lord Rosebery was his guest. The _Osborne_ often went for short cruises, sometimes as far as the Needles, and the King was much gratified to have his son and daughter-in-law with him, as well as his grandchildren, the little Princes Edward and Albert.

At length on the 23rd the _Osborne_ left for a longer cruise in the Channel, the programme including visits to Plymouth and Torquay. Mr. Fripp was in medical charge. This did the patient great good, and at some of the places at which the yacht touched he was able to obtain carriage exercise, four of the _Osborne’s_ bluejackets having been drilled as a carrying party. His Majesty thoroughly realised that complete recovery must not only be a matter of time, but must also depend on strict obedience to the doctors’ orders, and, as the event proved, he showed himself a model patient in every way. Queen Victoria’s anxiety about her son abated, and she was able to leave for Balmoral on 31st August. The patient particularly enjoyed the opportunity of entertaining his friends on board the yacht, including the Portuguese Minister and Mr. Christopher Sykes. He paid a long visit to Mount Edgcumbe, landing and driving in the park.

On 2nd September the _Osborne_ returned to Cowes, and on the following day the patient was allowed to stand up for the first time and to walk very carefully a distance of three feet.

The health of the Queen of Denmark continued to give great anxiety to His Majesty, and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, with little Prince Edward, left England for Copenhagen to be present at the celebration of the aged Queen’s birthday, which seemed only too likely to be the last that she would ever spend on earth.

On the 8th the King was able to visit Osborne--of course in an invalid chair. On the 12th it was announced that a considerable degree of mobility had been obtained in the knee joint, and on the 14th the patient, accompanied by Princess Victoria, left for Balmoral.

At this time, in spite of the tiresome restraints imposed on him by his accident, the King did another of those graceful little actions which have helped so much to strengthen his hold over the affections of his subjects all over the world. Some time before this His Majesty had assisted Sir James Woodhead, then Mayor of Cape Town, to procure a mace for the city, made of oak from the timbers of Nelson’s flagship, the _Victory_. Unfortunately, the piece of wood sent out proved to be so much decayed as to be practically useless. Another application was made to the King, who again interested himself in the kindest manner in the matter, with the result that a fairly sound piece of wood was despatched, and the grateful council of Cape Town passed a unanimous resolution of thanks to their Royal benefactor. It is not a very important incident, but it illustrates His Majesty’s willingness not only to take trouble, but to go on taking trouble.

The King derived the greatest benefit from the splendid air of Deeside, and about the middle of September Mr. Fripp, his Surgeon-in-ordinary, was able to return to London. While His Majesty was in Scotland Lord Crawford celebrated the quincentenary of his earldom, and the King sent him the following kindly telegram:--

“Allow me to offer you my sincerest congratulations on the 500th anniversary of the creating of your title.--ALBERT EDWARD.”

On 23rd September the King left Balmoral to stay with the Duke and Duchess of Fife at Mar Lodge, and on the 27th the recovery of His Majesty was, so to speak, officially marked by the announcement in the _London Gazette_ that Queen Victoria had appointed Sir William MacCormac and Sir Francis Laking to be Knight-Commanders, and Mr. Fripp and Fleet-Surgeon Delmege to be Members of the Royal Victorian Order, “in recognition of their services in connection with the recent accident met with by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.”

All this time the condition of the venerable Queen of Denmark had been fluctuating, now an improvement and now a relapse being reported. At last the end came on 29th September, and the Balmoral _Court Circular_, in recording the mournful event, announced:--

“The Queen’s beloved daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, was in constant attendance on her mother, to whom she was devotedly attached.”

The utmost sympathy was shown by all classes with King Edward and Queen Alexandra in this terrible bereavement. The King was represented at the funeral by his son, and the Duke of Cambridge represented Queen Victoria. Queen Alexandra of course remained at Copenhagen for the last sad rites.

On 16th October the King returned to London, the only trace of his accident being a very slight limp, which was soon got rid of, and on the 28th His Majesty received Lord Kitchener, who had come home with all the laurels of Omdurman. On 1st November Queen Alexandra and her son returned from Copenhagen, and their Majesties soon afterwards paid a short visit to Sandringham. Before the end of November the _Lancet_ was able to assure the public that the King’s recovery was complete, and His Majesty showed his gratitude to Sir William MacCormac by his presence when, in the following February, the eminent surgeon delivered the Hunterian Oration at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

On 6th February 1899 another sad bereavement befell the King in the death of Prince Alfred, the only son of his brother, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

The King soon returned to his active public life. On 2nd March His Majesty presided at a meeting held at Marlborough House to establish the League of Mercy, the purpose of which was to promote more systematic contributions to his Hospital Fund for London. On 8th July the King reviewed some 26,000 Metropolitan Volunteers on the Horse Guards Parade. Queen Alexandra watched the review, and her son and the Duke of Connaught marched past at the head of the corps of which they are honorary colonels. On 20th July the King and Queen opened the new buildings of the Alexandra Hospital for Children with Hip Disease in Bloomsbury, and on the following day their Majesties entertained 1200 hospital nurses at Marlborough House at a garden party in connection with the Royal National Pension Fund for Nurses. On 22nd July the King, who was accompanied by his son and daughter-in-law, was an interested spectator of the International University Sports, when the representatives of Oxford and Cambridge beat the champions of Harvard and Yale by five events to four. In September His Majesty presented new colours to the 1st Gordon Highlanders at Ballater.

The autumn of 1899 was signalised by the visit which was paid to this country by the German Emperor and Empress, who were accompanied by two of their sons, Prince Augustus William and Prince Oscar. Their Imperial Majesties were royally entertained at Windsor by Queen Victoria, to whom they had come to pay their respects, a great State banquet being the chief among the festivities. King Edward naturally took a prominent part in the reception of the German Emperor, who particularly enjoyed some capital shooting on his uncle’s estate at Sandringham. At the time of His Imperial Majesty’s visit, the British arms in South Africa were not meeting with conspicuous success, and various political motives were freely attributed to the Kaiser, but the mass of the British people were content to take the event for what it seemed to be--namely, a tribute of respect to the venerated British Sovereign on the part of her grandson. Queen Victoria took the opportunity to appoint the Kaiser an honorary G.C.V.O., and to confer various grades of the same decoration on the members of His Imperial Majesty’s suite, which included more than one eminent German statesman.

The year 1900 was perhaps the most eventful in King Edward’s life, for it saw the first attempt that had ever been made to kill him. Queen Victoria’s memorable visit to Ireland began on the very same day on which this dastardly attempt was perpetrated. Her Majesty landed at Kingstown on the morning of Wednesday, 4th April, and made her State entry into Dublin. Meanwhile King Edward and Queen Alexandra left England for Copenhagen. As the train by which they were travelling to Denmark was leaving the Nord Station at Brussels in the evening, a youth named Sipido jumped on the footboard of the Royal carriage and fired two shots from a revolver into the saloon. Fortunately they completely missed the King, who behaved with the utmost coolness, and as quickly as possible telegraphed a reassuring message to his Royal mother.

Sipido, who was of course instantly arrested, declared that he had intended “to kill the Prince because His Royal Highness had caused thousands of men to be slaughtered in South Africa.” There is no doubt that the youth’s mind had become infuriated, partly by Anarchist doctrines, partly by reading the abominable libels which for some time had been circulated in the disreputable Continental journals regarding the conduct of the war in South Africa. Unfortunately it has to be recorded that not disreputable journals alone were guilty. For instance, the issue of the _Kladderadatsch_, the German _Punch_, published just before the attack on the King, contained a paragraph of the grossest and most insulting character, completing a series of abominably scurrilous attacks on His Majesty.

Widespread indignation was aroused, not only in the British Empire, but also throughout the Continent, and the King and Queen were the recipients of many thousands of telegrams of sympathy and congratulation on His Majesty’s happy escape. The King expressed a wish to have the bullet, and after the trial it was sent to him. It is significant of His Majesty’s kindly thought that he sent to M. Crocius, the stationmaster who seized Sipido, a valuable scarf-pin as an acknowledgment. M. Crocius also received the Royal Victorian Order and a letter of thanks from Queen Victoria.

The King and Queen returned to London from Denmark on 20th April, and their arrival was made the occasion of a really remarkable popular demonstration. A few days later the Press was requested to publish the following graceful acknowledgment from His Majesty:--

“MARLBOROUGH HOUSE, PALL MALL, S.W.

“I have been deeply touched by the numerous expressions of sympathy and goodwill addressed to me on the occasion of the providential escape of the Princess of Wales and myself from the danger we have lately passed through.

“From every quarter of the globe, from the Queen’s subjects throughout the world, as well as from the representatives and inhabitants of foreign countries, have these manifestations of sympathy proceeded, and on my return to this country I received a welcome so spontaneous and hearty that I felt I was the recipient of a most gratifying tribute of genuine goodwill.

“Such proofs of kind and generous feeling are naturally most highly prized by me, and will for ever be cherished in my memory.

“ALBERT EDWARD.”

The subsequent history of Sipido throws a curious light on Belgian notions of justice. He was placed on trial before the Brabant Assize Court on 2nd July, and admitted his guilt, acknowledging that the attempt was not meant as a joke. Although the jury on the 5th brought in a verdict of “guilty,” the Court acquitted the prisoner on the ground that he was “irresponsible,” but ordered him to be placed at the disposal of the Government till he attained the age of twenty-one. The Belgian Government, however, did not prevent him from fleeing to Paris, where he had relatives. Mr. Balfour stated in the House of Commons that the British Government had informed the Belgian Government that they considered the result of the proceedings to be a grave and most unfortunate miscarriage of justice. In excuse for not detaining Sipido, the Belgian Government pleaded that the youth could not be arrested during the three days’ interval to which he was entitled for deciding whether he should lodge an appeal. But this deceived no one, for it was not an illegal arrest which was desired, but ordinary police surveillance.

Sipido did appeal against the sentence of the Assize Court, but the Brussels Court of Cassation rejected the appeal towards the end of September. The Belgian Government ultimately obtained the extradition of the youth from the French Government, and he arrived in Brussels in charge of the police on 27th October.

The death of his brother, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Duke of Edinburgh), in the summer of 1900, was a bitter grief to the King, who was present with the German Emperor at the funeral. The succession to the principality had been the subject of a family arrangement on the death of the heir, Prince Alfred, in 1899. The King himself had of course long ago renounced his rights, and the next heir, the Duke of Connaught, on behalf of himself and his son, Prince Arthur, did the same, with certain reservations. The duchy therefore passed to the young Duke of Albany, only son of the late Prince Leopold, who was then a boy in Mr. Benson’s house at Eton.

On New Year’s Day 1901 the King was much gratified by the promotion of his son and heir to be Rear-Admiral, the more so as the Duke had fairly earned this advancement as judged by the ordinary standards of promotion in the Navy. The position to which His Royal Highness was raised by the death of his elder brother of course rendered it impossible for him thenceforward to be so closely associated with the sea service as, for example, his uncle, the Duke of Edinburgh, had been, and the step in rank was no doubt conferred in anticipation of the Duke’s approaching visit to Australia to inaugurate the Federal Parliament. The promotion was followed, a day or two afterwards, by the appointment of the Duke to be Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Marine Forces.

Dr. Creighton, Bishop of London, died on 14th January, and the King, who was so soon to need the deepest sympathy himself, wrote a long and touching letter of sympathy to the bereaved widow.