CHAPTER XXIII

THE KING AND FREEMASONRY

_For the information contained in this chapter the author is indebted to an authority on the subject._

After the King’s accession His Majesty reluctantly decided that he could not hope to find time to fulfil the duties of the high offices in Masonry to which he had been called as Prince of Wales, namely Grand Master of English Freemasons and Grand Master of the Mark Degree. At the same time King Edward was unwilling to cut short his long official connection with Masonry. Accordingly, His Majesty graciously intimated, in a letter read at Grand Lodge on 15th February 1901, that, following the precedent of King George IV., he would, on his retirement from the office of Grand Master, take the title of “Protector of English Freemasons.” Similarly, at a Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons held four days later, it was announced that His Majesty would assume the title of “Patron of Freemasons of the Mark Degree.”

The King was succeeded in both his Grand Masterships by his brother, the Duke of Connaught, whose consent to serve gave great satisfaction to the brethren of the craft.

Undoubtedly Freemasonry has been one of the most absorbing interests of the King’s life. Yet very few foreign princes are Masons; and though the Duke of Kent was one, the Prince Consort always refused to associate himself with the craft. Of course it must be remembered that British Freemasonry is a very different thing from what the term is supposed to imply on the Continent, where it is associated in the public mind with atheism and even anarchism.

As far back as March 1870 the King presided at the anniversary festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys. This was not very long after his initiation, and in his speech he expressed his pride at being so heartily received by the company as a brother Mason, and his determination to follow in the footsteps of his grand-uncles, who were so long connected with the craft. The King continued:--

“Much has been said against Freemasonry by those who do not know what it is. People naturally say they do not approve of secret societies; but I maintain that the craft is free from the reproach of being either disloyal or irreligious.… I desire to remind you that when, about seventy years ago, it became necessary for the Government of that day to put down secret societies, my relative, the late Duke of Sussex, urged in his place in Parliament that Freemasons’ lodges ought to be exempt from such a law, and the force of his appeal was acknowledged. From that time Freemasonry has been devoid of politics, its only object being the pure and Christian one of charity.”

In May of the following year the King presided at the annual festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls, and announced that Queen Alexandra had consented to become the Patroness of the institution. His Majesty also expressed his thanks to the brethren for their sympathy with him on the death of his infant son in the preceding month.

It is interesting to record, in view of the King’s present title of Patron of Freemasons of the Mark Degree, that His Majesty, who was already Patron of the Order in Scotland, was installed as Patron of Free and Accepted Masons in Ireland on the occasion of his visit to that country in August 1871. The installation was attended with great ceremony, and in the course of his reply to the address of welcome presented to him the King said:--

“It was a source of considerable satisfaction to me when I was elected a member of the craft, and I think I may, without presumption, point to the different Masonic meetings which, since my initiation, I have fraternally attended. As a proof of the interest I take in all that relates to Freemasonry, I can assure you that it has afforded me great gratification to become the Patron of the Most Ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons in Ireland, and that an opportunity has been given to me by my visit to Ireland of being installed here to-day.”

The Grand Master then clothed the King with the collar, apron, and jewel as Patron. The brethren, according to ancient custom, saluted him as Patron of the Order in Ireland, the Grand Master himself giving the word, and His Majesty then said:--

“I have now to thank you heartily and cordially for your fraternal reception, and for the honour you have done me, and I beg to assure you of the pleasure I feel on having been invited to become the Patron of the Order of Freemasons in Ireland. It is a source of considerable satisfaction to me to know that my visit to this country has afforded this opportunity of meeting you, brethren, in Lodge, and so interchanging these frank and hearty greetings. It is true I have not been a Mason very long. I was initiated, as you perhaps know, in London, a few years ago, after which I visited the Grand Original Lodge of Denmark, and a short time afterwards I had the signal satisfaction of being elected a Past Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. Last year I had the honour of being elected Patron of the Order in Scotland; and, brethren, though last, not least, comes the special honour you have conferred on me. I thank you for it from the bottom of my heart. I may, I think, refer with some pride to the number of Masonic meetings I have attended in England since my initiation as a proof of my deep attachment to your Order.

“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. 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.”

No doubt the most impressive Masonic ceremony ever attended by the King was his installation as Grand Master of English Freemasons in the Royal Albert Hall on 28th April 1875, to which office he was elected on the resignation of the Marquis of Ripon. The scene was striking in the extreme. The platform usually occupied by the choir was transformed into a daïs, on which the throne was placed, the space around being large enough for four or five hundred Provincial Grand Masters, Past Grand Officers, and visitors of distinction. The throne was the one in which King George IV. was installed when he was Prince of Wales. It was covered with rich purple velvet, and the floor was laid with a magnificent Oriental carpet, a century old, lent for the occasion by a member of the Westminster and Keystone Lodge. Behind the throne the banner of Grand Lodge and other flags were placed; in front a wide aisle was formed right across the area to the Royal entrance. This was laid with a rich carpet of velvet pile, woven expressly for the occasion. The ground was blue, enriched alternately with the arms of Grand Lodge and Prince of Wales’s feathers.

It is recorded that when the King entered the hall the enthusiasm of the brethren was so great that the proper order of the ceremonial was forgotten, and the Grand Master Elect was greeted with extraordinarily vehement, but quite irregular plaudits.

In returning thanks after his installation, His Majesty delivered an appropriate speech, in the course of which he said:--

“It is difficult for me to find words adequate to express my deep thanks for the honour which has already been bestowed upon me--an honour which has, as history bears testimony, been bestowed upon several members of my family, my predecessors; and, brethren, it will always be my most sincere and ardent wish to walk in the footsteps of good men who have preceded me, and, with God’s help, to fulfil the duties which I have been called upon to occupy to-day. The various duties which I have to perform will frequently, I am afraid, not permit me to attend so much to the duties of the craft as I should desire; but you may be assured that when I have the time I shall do the utmost to maintain this high position, and do my duty by the craft and by you on every possible occasion. 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. I assure you I shall never forget to-day--never!”

The last sentence, obviously an impromptu, was uttered with much emphasis and evidently deep feeling.

At the banquet which followed in the evening the King, in proposing the health of the King of Sweden and Norway, said:--

“It affords me especial pleasure to propose this toast, as seven years ago I became a member of this craft, initiated by the late King, the brother of the present one. Thereby I consider I have a more special interest in Sweden.”

As a matter of fact, in spite of his numerous other duties, the new Grand Master did find time to attend a considerable number of Masonic functions. Not the least interesting of these was his laying the foundation stone of Truro Cathedral on 20th May 1880, of which the late Archbishop Benson, then Bishop of Truro, wrote the following vivid description, quoted in that prelate’s _Life_:--

“The ceremonial of the Freemasons, which some regarded with suspicion and dislike, was satisfactory and refreshing from its simple exposition of symbolism as an element in life, quite apart from ecclesiasticism. I had, upon the first mooting of the question by the Prince, taken the opinion of the Rural Deans as representative of the clergy, and their unanimous opinion was that it was even desirable to use an old guild in this way, provided that the Church Service and order were in no way interfered with. And the Prince, both through Lord Mount Edgcumbe, and at Marlborough House himself, said that nothing should be done except in full accord with my own arrangements as Bishop and the usual forms.… The dignity and the simplicity and naturalness with which the Prince poured the corn and wine and oil over the stone added much to the ceremony, and the force and clearness with which he delivered the impressive little sermon, ending with an excellent passage of Ezra, chosen by Lord Mount Edgcumbe, rang out of a really serious spirit.… The colours of the Masons, which look quaint on the individual, looked very soft in the mass.

“The most striking moment was when the procession of military and naval authorities and deputy lieutenants came sweeping in with a great curve, leading the Princess and her boys. She was received by our tall Mayor in his stately new furred gown and me, and taken up to her throne. At the end she was led to the newly-laid stone and seated by it, while a long train of girls brought their purses and laid them before her, after the little Princes had each presented £250 in behalf of Miss Goldsworthy Gurney, who wished thus to memorialise her father’s invention of the steam jet. The Prince of Wales was timidly asked whether he would approve of this, and said, ‘Oh, why not? The boys would stand on their heads if she wished!’ The younger of the boys is a bright-coloured, cheery lad, but the elder, on whom so much may depend, is pale, long-faced, and I can’t help thinking, _for a child_, like Charles the First--it is a very feeling face. At night when they were sent to bed between 12 and 1, having been allowed to sit up as a special privilege to the ball, the Princess said to me as they pleaded for a little longer, ‘I do wish to keep them children as long as I can, and they do want so to be men all at once.’ May she prevail!”

The mallet which was used by His Majesty on this occasion was the one with which King Charles II. laid the foundation-stone of St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was presented to the old lodge of St. Paul by Sir Christopher Wren, who was a member.

The King, who was of course then Duke of Cornwall, was also present at the consecration of Truro Cathedral on 3rd November 1887, and Archbishop Benson records an instance of His Majesty’s religious feeling:--

“There was a nice incident in the consecration. Just as the Bishop was signing the sentence of consecration, Bishop of Salisbury whispered to me, ‘Shouldn’t the Prince of Wales be asked to sign it?’ I sent him to Bishop of Truro to suggest it, who sent him on to the Prince’s daïs. The Prince assented, but instead of waiting for the parchment to be brought up, instantly came down from his place and went up the altar steps and signed it there on the little table set in front of the altar--a real little bit of reverence.”

Another interesting ceremony was His Majesty’s consecration, in his official capacity as Grand Master of England, of the Chancery Bar Lodge of Freemasons in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. The King sat in the Grand Master’s chair, wearing the full regalia of his office; at his left sat the Earl of Lathom, Pro-Grand Master, and at his right, the Earl of Mount-Edgcumbe, Deputy Grand Master.

Many curious incidents have occurred in connection with the King’s interest in Freemasonry. At one dinner at which the King of Sweden was present, the list of subscriptions announced amounted to the enormous sum of £51,000, probably the largest amount ever raised at a festival dinner in the history of the world.

On two occasions the King has presided as Grand Master of English Freemasons over remarkable assemblies in the Royal Albert Hall. The first was in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, when the tickets for admission produced £6000, a sum which was divided among the three great Masonic charities. Very similar was the Diamond Jubilee assembly of Freemasons, at which eight thousand members were present. The King spoke admirably, the Duke of Connaught moved the adoption of the address to Queen Victoria, while Earl Amherst aroused unbounded enthusiasm when he alluded to Her Majesty as “the daughter of a Freemason, the mother of Freemasons, and the patron and benefactress of our Order.”