And God poured him an exquisite wine, that was daily renewed to him In the clear welling love of his peoples, that daily accrued to him. Honour and service we gave him, rejoicingly, fearless; Faith absolute, trust beyond speech, and a friendship as peerless. And since he was master and servant in all that we asked him We leaned hard on his wisdom in all things, knowing not how we tasked him.

For on him each new day laid command, every tyrannous hour To confront, or confirm or make smooth some dread issue of power. To deliver true judgment aright at the instant unaided In the strict, level, ultimate phrase that allowed or dissuaded; To foresee, to allay, to avert from us perils unnumbered; To stand guard at our gates when he guessed that our watchman had slumbered; To win time, to turn hate, to woo folly to service, and mightily schooling His strength to the use of his nations; to rule as not ruling. These were the works of our King; earth's peace is the proof of them. God gave him great works to fulfil and to use the behoof of them.

Following these events Westminster Hall for two days was thrown open to the public and a continuous procession of half a million mourners passed the coffin and looked for the last time upon the face of their well-loved Sovereign. Into Windsor, meanwhile, there poured innumerable evidences of the peoples' sympathy from the costliest tribute of wealth and aristocracy to the thousands of simple green wreaths sent in by the poorer classes. To Westminster Hall, on May 19th, the Emperor William of Germany, soon after his arrival, proceeded with King George, stood for a while in the private enclosure as the countless stream of people passed slowly by, then descended to the floor of the Hall—the Kaiser carrying a wreath of purple and white flowers—and together knelt within the rails while the stream of passers-by was temporarily suspended. When the two monarchs arose the Emperor William held out his hand which King George clasped and held for some moments.

By May 20th the preparations were all in readiness for the final functions and splendid ceremonial. The streets were draped from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, and thence to Paddington Station, in great masses of purple and white and black; Venetian masts lined the route on which hung masses of funeral wreaths from the people; half-masted flags were everywhere. The town of Windsor was almost buried from sight in the purple trappings of grief and royalty. On the day itself solemn, silent multitudes of men and women, estimated at from three to five millions, were massed along the route of the procession with 35,000 soldiers lining the streets and a parade which even London had never equalled for mingled splendour and solemnity. At 9:10 a. m., the deep-toned bell of Westminster announced the beginning of the royal obsequies. King George, Queen Mary, the Queen Mother, the royal family and the visiting monarchs and representatives of the powers and the Empire, left Buckingham Palace and proceeded with a small escort to Westminster Hall amidst the tolling of bells and the firing of minute guns. Only Queen Alexandra, the Princess Victoria, the King and the Emperor William entered the Hall and saw the body removed from the catafalque to the gun-carriage outside where it rested under conditions similar to those of the earlier removal from Buckingham Palace. Outside, the Queen Mother entered her coach and, as the body-guard of Kings wheeled around and passed her carriage, three by three, each saluted her with silent reverence.

The procession left Westminster at 9.30 headed by a long column of troops and bluejackets and the greater officers of the Army and Navy. Bands of the Household cavalry, the new Territorial troops, Colonial soldiers, were first and then came various volunteer corps, the Honourable Artillery Company, officers of the Indian regiments in their picturesque uniforms and turbans, followed by detachments of infantry, Foot Guards, Royal Engineers, Garrison, Field and Horse Artillery. Naval representatives came next with the military attaches of the foreign embassies, the officers of the Headquarters Staff of the Army and the Field Marshals and massed bands playing solemn funeral marches. Then followed the chief officers of State, followed by the Duke of Norfolk and succeeded by a single soldier carrying the Royal Standard; the gun-carriage carrying the mortal remains of the King came next and just behind it walked a groom leading his favourite charger and another with his favourite dog "Caesar"; King George followed, riding between the German Emperor and the Duke of Connaught, all clad in brilliant uniforms with a long and unique line of nine Monarchs, Princes of great States and special Ambassadors and Imperial representatives. They rode in the following order:

The Duke of Connaught, King George and the Emperor William.

King Haakon of Norway, King George of Greece, and King Alfonso of Spain.

King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, King Frederick of Denmark and King Manuel of Portugal.

Prince Yussof Zvyeden, the Heir Apparent of Turkey, King Albert of Belgium and Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary.

Prince Sadanaru Fushimi of Japan, Grand Duke Michael of Russia, the Duke of Aosta, representing Italy, the Duke of Sparta, Crown Prince of Greece, and the Crown Prince Ferdinand of Roumania.

Prince Henry of Prussia representing the German Navy, Prince Charles of Sweden, Prince Henry of Holland, the Duke of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, the Crown Prince of Montenegro and Crown Prince Alexander of Servia.

Prince Mohammed Ali, Said Pasha Zulfikar, Watsen Pasha of Egypt and the Sultan of Zanzibar. Then followed the Princely and Ducal representatives of a dozen German States, the members of the British Royal family, the Duc D'Alencon, and Prince Bovaradej of Siam.

The mounted group was followed by twelve State carriages. The first was occupied by the Queen-Mother, Alexandra, and her sister the Russian Dowager Empress Marie, the Princess Royal and the Princess Victoria; the second carriage contained Queen Mary of Great Britain, Queen Maud of Norway, the Duke of Cornwall, heir to the British Throne, and the Princess Mary; the next four carriages carried Royal ladies and ladies-in-waiting; the seventh carriage contained Prince Tsai-Tao of China and his suite; the eighth carriage was shared by Special American Ambassador Theodore Roosevelt, M. Pichon, French Foreign Minister, and the representative of Persia; the ninth carriage was occupied by Lord Strathcona, High Commissioner for Canada, Sir George Reid, High Commissioner for Australia and William Hall-Jones, High Commissioner for New Zealand.

The train to Windsor contained a funeral car upholstered in purple and white silk with a catafalque on which the casket was placed and around it were grouped the near members of the Royal Family and eight Sovereigns of Foreign States. From Windsor station to the Castle the procession formed in the previous order except that the Royal mourners walked while sailors drew the gun-carriage to the famous home of Britain's monarchs and to the entrance of the historic St. George's Chapel. Here, where King Edward was christened and married and shared in so many stately functions, the final religious ceremonies were performed by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. While the coffin rested on a purple catafalque before the altar, which was almost buried in floral emblems, and minute guns boomed and bells tolled, the briefest service of the Church of England—at Queen Alexandra's request—was proceeded with and the body slowly, reverently, lowered into the vault. A prayer was then uttered for the new King and the Benediction pronounced by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

What can be said of the day elsewhere? A full record would fill many volumes. In Canada, in Australia, in South Africa, in New Zealand, in Newfoundland, in all British countries and territories, there was a great similarity of solemn and popular demonstration. Everywhere factories and financial institutions and commercial establishments closed their doors. Wherever that was impossible in Canadian factories work was stopped at a certain stage in the funeral ceremonies and every man stood in silence, with bared head for the time arranged; on all the great railways of Canada at the moment when the King's body was lowered into his grave, and for three minutes, everything stopped, every kind of work ceased, every one of at least 40,000 men stood in reverent silence. Military parades took place with muffled drums and passage through long lanes of silent people, in Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Chatham, London, St. Catharines, Kingston, Woodstock, Ottawa, St. Thomas, Winnipeg and Victoria, and other places. Memorial services were everywhere held; in Ottawa, Vice-Royalty and the Ministers took part in a great open-air ceremony in front of the Parliament Buildings, with troops and massed bands and superb drapings, to still further emphasize the solemnity of the occasion. Toronto had 100,000 people attend a similar service under the auspices of the Government in front of its Parliament Buildings and so with other centres. It may be added here that besides Lord Strathcona, Canada had as representatives at the funeral ceremonies Hon. A. B. Aylesworth, Minister of Justice; Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; Hon. C. Marcil, Speaker of the House of Commons; Hon. S. A. Fisher, Minister of Agriculture; Sir D. M. McMillan, Lieut.-Governor of Manitoba; Mayors Geary of Toronto, Sanford Evans of Winnipeg, and Guerin of Montreal.

In other parts of the Empire similar scenes occurred. Throughout South Africa the most solemn memorial services were held and attended by vast congregations. There were scenes of heartfelt sorrow and hundreds of magnificent wreaths were deposited on the statue of the King at Cape Town. Funeral services were held throughout India, the Hindus joining in the services in a remarkable manner. All military trains were halted for fifteen minutes. In Australia the Governor-General and all the Ministers assembled on the great tier of steps at the Parliament Buildings, Melbourne, in the presence of perhaps the most solemn assembly ever gathered together in that country. For a long space there was a reverent silence and the crowd then sang the National Anthem. The day was observed as a day of mourning in Sydney, bells were tolled from noon to sunset, and salutes of sixty-eight minute guns fired in the afternoon. A hundred thousand persons attended the memorial service in Centennial Park at Wellington, New Zealand. Services were general throughout that Dominion while every outpost of the Empire flew the Union Jack at half-mast and paid a tribute to the dead Sovereign's memory.

Thus there passed away and was buried a great King, a man of whole-souled, genial and honourable type, a character rich in graces granted to few in this world, a ruler who combined intellect with heart and knowledge with discrimination, a Briton who could love and believe in the greatness of his own country and Empire without antagonizing the legitimate pride and aspirations of other nations, a diplomatist made by nature's own hand to soothe international acerbities and embody the ideal of peace in an age of preparation for war.



CHAPTER XXVIII.

The New King and His Imperial Responsibilities

In assuming the burden of his great position and manifold duties King George V had the disadvantage of succeeding a great monarch; he had also the advantage of having been trained in statecraft, diplomacy, and the science and practice of government, by a master in the art. He was young in years—only forty-five—strong, so far as was known, in body and health, equipped with a vigorous intelligence and wide experience of home and European politics and, what was of special importance at the time of his accession, instinct with Imperial sentiment and acquainted, practically and personally, with the politics and leaders of every country in the British Empire—notably India, Canada, South Africa and Australia. He was not known to the public as a man of genial temperament but rather as a strong, reserved, quiet thinker and student of men and conditions. Great patience and considerable tact, common sense and natural ability, eloquence in speech and fondness for home life and out-door sports, he had shown as Prince of Wales or Duke of Cornwall. He spoke German, French, and, of course, English with ease and accuracy; he had seen much service in the Royal Navy and was understood to be devotedly attached to the wide spaces of the boundless seas; his Consort was beautiful, kindly, and graceful in bearing, with a profound sense of the importance of her place and duties and a sincere belief in the beneficence and splendid mission of British power.

The Prince of Wales became, of course, King at the moment of his Father's death; on May 7th His Majesty met the Privy Council, signed the proclamation relating to his Accession and accepted the oath of fealty from the Lords and gentlemen assembled. To them he delivered a brief address expressive of his personal sorrow and sense of his onerous responsibilities: "In this irreparable loss, which has so suddenly fallen upon me and the whole Empire, I am comforted by the feeling that I have the sympathy of my future subjects, who will mourn with me for their beloved Sovereign, whose own happiness was found in sharing and promoting theirs. I have lost not only a Father's love, but the affectionate and intimate relations of a dear friend and adviser. No less confident am I of the universal and loving sympathy which is assured to my dearest Mother in her overwhelming grief.

"Standing here, little more than nine years ago, our beloved King declared that so long as there was breath in his body he would work for the good and amelioration of his subjects. I am sure that the opinion of the whole nation will be that this declaration has been fully carried out. To endeavour to follow in his footsteps, and at the same time to uphold the constitutional government of these realms will be the earnest object of my life. I am deeply sensible of the heavy responsibilities which have fallen upon me. I know that I can rely upon the Parliament and on the people of these Islands and my Dominions beyond the Seas for their help in the discharge of these arduous duties and their prayers that God will grant me strength and guidance. I am encouraged by the knowledge that I have in my dear wife one who will be a constant helpmate in every endeavour for our people's good."

This speech, delivered with obvious feeling and indicating a real understanding and appreciation of his late Father's character and career, made a most favourable impression upon the Council, the Nation, and the Empire. It was followed by others—all showing tact and a clear grasp of the fundamental conditions of the time and of his new responsibilities. To the British Army King George issued the following Message: "My beloved Father was always closely associated with the Army by ties of strong personal attachment, and from the first day he entered the service he identified himself with everything conducive to its welfare. On my accession to the Throne I take this earliest opportunity of expressing to all ranks my gratitude for their gallant and devoted service to him. Although I have been always interested in the Army, recent years have afforded me special opportunities of becoming more intimately acquainted with our forces both at home and in India, as well as in other parts of the Empire. I shall watch over your interests and efficiency with continuous and keen solicitude and shall rely on that spirit of loyalty which has at all times animated and been the proud tradition of the British Army." To the Royal Navy His Majesty's Message was issued with special and personal interest. He was devoted to that arm of the service. From the year 1877 when he entered as a Cadet of twelve years old, and 1879 when, with Prince Albert Victor—afterwards Duke of Clarence—he went around the world in H. M. S. Bacchante, and 1885 when he became a Midshipman, he had delighted in the Naval service, imbibed the free air of the seas of the world and become instinct with pride in England's naval record and achievements. He had been attached to and served in several great battleships; in 1888 he commanded a torpedo boat and in 1890 the gunboat Thrush; in succeeding years he held more important commands and finally in 1897 had become an Admiral. To his Navy King George spoke as follows:

"It is my earnest wish on succeeding to the Throne to make known to the Navy how deeply grateful I am for its faithful and distinguished services rendered to the late King, my beloved Father, who ever showed great solicitude for its welfare and efficiency. Educated and trained in that profession which I love so dearly my retirement from active duty has in no sense diminished my feelings of affection for it. For thirty-three years I had the honour of serving in the Navy, and such intimate participation in its life and work enables me to know how thoroughly I can depend upon that spirit of loyalty and zealous devotion to duty of which the glorious history of our Navy is the outcome. That you will ever continue to be, as in the past, the foremost defenders of your country's honour I know full well, and your fortunes will always be followed by me with deep feelings of pride and affectionate interest."

Parliament met in special Session on May 11th to tender its combined condolences and congratulations to the new Sovereign. The Addresses from both Houses were identical in terms and referred eulogistically to the great work of the late King in building up and maintaining friendly Foreign relations. To them His Majesty replied briefly as to his personal grief and the national sorrow and then added: "King Edward's care for the welfare of his people, his skill and prudent guidance of the nation's affairs, his unwavering devotion to public duty during his illustrious reign, his simple courage under pain, will long be held in honour by his subjects both at home and beyond the Seas." Meanwhile an infinite variety of articles were being written about the new King. In Canada and the United States the same despatches, practically, came to the leading papers; in Canada were reproduced many of the attractive articles written by special American correspondents in England. Some of them could hardly have come from personal knowledge; others contained much of current gossip, passing stories, hasty impressions; all were interesting. A remarkable feature of nearly all that was written regarding His Majesty was the absence of serious criticism or the slightest cause for condemnation in a life of forty-five years lived in the continuous white light which beats upon Royalty with such merciless precision.

The facts are that King George was and had been essentially a sailor Prince; that he had in his younger days been open-handed, free, and possessed of a certain natural and bluff and pleasant geniality which was, however, quite different from the urbane, charming, courtly geniality of King Edward; that something of this characteristic had disappeared from public view after the death of his brother, the Duke of Clarence, and his own assumption of public duties and public work as heir presumptive—functions greatly enlarged by the accession of his father to the Throne; that in his travels through the outer spaces, the vast Colonial Dominions, of the Empire he was too hedged about with etiquette, too much surrounded by a varied, and constantly changing, and bewildering environment to exhibit anything except devotion to the immediate duty of the moment; that under the circumstances of his Imperial tours, amidst political conditions wherein a wrong word or even an unwise gesture might, upon occasions, evoke a storm, where not even his carefully-selected suite could be expected to understand all the varied shades of political strife and the infinite varieties of public opinion, it would have been more than human for him to show continuous geniality—as that word is interpreted in democratic countries; that upon many occasions and despite these obstacles he did thoroughly indicate a personal and unaffected enjoyment very different in manner from that of a prince receiving a formal address—notably so in his drives around Quebec during the Tercentenary; that the responsibilities of his position, the personal limitations of his environment, the difficulties always surrounding an heir to the throne, had however, and upon the whole, sobered the one-time "jolly" Prince into a serious and thoughtful personage—a statesman in the making; that he was, what none of the Royal family had ever been, something of an orator as he proved by his splendid speech in London upon returning from the Empire tour of 1901 and by his delivery of otherwise routine addresses upon many occasions; that there could be absolutely no doubt as to his love of home, his devotion to wife and family, his personal preference for a quieter life than that which destiny had given him. King George was married to Princess May of Teck, on July 6, 1893, and the children of the Royal pair at the Accession were as follows:

H. R. H., Edward Albert Born June 23, 1894 H. R. H., Albert Frederick " Dec. 14, 1895 H. R. H., Victoria Alexandra " April 25, 1897 H. R. H., Henry William " March 31, 1900 H. R. H., George Edward " Dec. 20, 1902 H. R. H., John Charles " July 12, 1905

Of the new Queen Mary much might be said. Unspoiled by the social adulation, the personal power of her environment; devoted to her home, its duties and its responsibilities, and believing her children to be the first object and aim of a woman's study and attention, she yet found time to master the underlying principles of her future position, to become thoroughly conversant with all the details of sovereignty—not only in the ordinary sense but in that new meaning which has come to stamp the British Monarchy with such an international and Imperial prestige. The future Queen had some special qualifications for her position. She was British by birth and training and habit of thought—the first Queen-Consort who could claim these conditions in centuries of history. A great-granddaughter of George the Third she was the popular child of a popular mother—Princess Mary of Teck—and was born in Kensington Palace on May 26, 1867, in a room adjacent to that in which Queen Victoria first saw the light of day. Interested in the theatre, in music, and the drama, charitable by nature and incessant in her work for, and amongst, the poor, a cheerful though not exactly eager participant in social affairs and presiding at the Marlborough House functions with tact and distinction; winning during her tour around the Empire the unstinted liking and respect of the people; the mistress and careful head of her household, a constant friend and adviser and associate of her Royal husband, a loving and devoted mother; the Princess of Wales before she entered upon her inheritance of power had well proved her right to help in holding the reins of a greater position and in setting the example of leadership in her natural and important share of the duties surrounding the throne of Britain and its far-flung realm.



What can be said of the future? It may be assumed that King George V will know his people well. He is thoroughly English in life, character, feelings; he knows Europe and the Empire better perhaps than any other living man; he is in sympathetic touch with rich and poor alike and has taken for many years deep interest in philanthropic and other schemes for the betterment of the poor; he has been trained in the school of constitutional monarchy by the personal teachings of his father and the potent example of Queen Victoria. The London Daily Telegraph said of him at the time of his accession—speaking probably with the knowledge of Lord Burnham, its proprietor, who had for many years been on intimate terms of friendship with the Royal Family—that the new King had undergone sedulous training and been educated to rule by learning to obey. "The country will discover in him what those admitted to his confidence have always realized—admirable traits of kindliness and strength; wise common sense, practical judgment of affairs; shrewd insight into character; and a singularly upright and lofty conception of his kingly duty. He has a frank, generous, unspoiled nature, is quick in apprehension, deliberate in thought, careful in expression, controlled by a far-reaching consciousness of duty and is animated by a vivid sense of his exalted mission. He is a keen sportsman, an admirable father and husband, and a lovable man."

King George has also been trained Imperially. He has trod the soil of his empire in every part of the globe and visited seas and lands which no other British sovereign ever saw; he has seen the courage and commercial skill and success of his more distant peoples, the pioneering activities and growing civilizations of new states and territories thousands of miles apart; he has obviously learned from them lessons of great import. It required considerable courage in 1902 to make that speech of "Wake up, England," to a people who do not readily take advice from their rulers and who notoriously dislike being hurried along the lines of their development. In other directions there is much to be hopeful for. His Majesty has chosen his friends well. They are said, in an intimate sense, to be few in number, but the fact of Lord Rosebery being one of them augurs well of the others. He has a strong sense of duty, his addresses indicate the principle of Imperialism in its best sense, his life has commanded the respect of his people. It may well be, and surely will be in his case, as with the late Queen, with Wellington and Nelson and King Edward himself, that

"Not once or twice in our fair Island's story The path of duty was the road to glory."

To the political situation at his accession, therefore, King George brings a trained intelligence, detailed and intimate knowledge, a keen perception of the basic interests and feelings of his people. No one knows, no one can know, what are his political opinions. The probabilities are that his principles are not those of any so-called party. If they were closely analyzed in the light of environment, education, instincts, and natural predelictions the King's policy might, perhaps, be found to be something like this: (1) The maintenance of British power, including a strong Navy and a United Empire; (2) the maintenance of the Monarchy in all its essential rights and privileges and absolute independence of party. These two lines of ambition would really be, and are, one, as in his opinion and, indeed, in that of most thinking men who are not blinded by passing party phantoms the interests of Great Britain, of the Empire, and the Monarchy, are identical.

In the political crisis of 1910 two questions are uppermost—a constitutional change and a fiscal change. In order to defeat the latter proposals the Liberals in part have created the former situation. The King can act only upon the advice of his Ministry unless tacitly and by unusual agreement, as latterly was the case with King Edward, he acts as a conciliatory force. If the Government asks him to create 300 peers so as to compel the acceptance of legislation curbing and crippling, if not abolishing, the Upper House, he can either assent or refuse. Assent means the destruction of a portion of the Constitution—and a portion very close to the Throne and which acts as a real buffer against the hasty action of an impetuous and sometimes imperious Commons. Refusal means that the Ministry must resign or go to the country on an issue in which it is quite possible the people will not support them.

Against the Government, also, in this contest will be urged the full force of the growing fiscal feeling, the desire for Tariff Reform, the development of an Imperial sentiment which wants some means of giving the Colonies a preference in the British market, the pressing need for some weapon of retaliation upon highly protective foreign nations. Whatever course the King takes under all these conditions will bring the Crown into the conflict—either as yielding to the Liberals and thus antagonizing the Conservatives, or by refusing the demands of the former, raising up a party—small but vehement—against the Monarchy itself. There is another element in the situation to be remembered. England, "the dominant partner," is not really behind the Asquith Government. Its majority at the recent elections was infinitesimal; what there was came from Wales and Ireland and Scotland; and that of Ireland was divided upon the fiscal issue. The whole situation is, therefore, very much clouded to the eye.

So far as one writer can estimate the end of such a crisis it will probably be one of compromise. Almost everything in the British constitution is in the nature of a compromise. Constitutional monarchy in its essence is a half-way house between Autocracy and Republicanism and its great advantage to the minds of its supporters is that the system has the extremes of neither, the best qualities of each, and all the advantages of that strength and permanence which moderation and toleration always afford. In Britain the system certainly has the affection and devotion of the great mass of the people. Mr. Asquith is not an extremist, Mr. Haldane and Sir Edward Grey are moderate forces in the Cabinet, and though Messrs. Lloyd-George and Winston Churchill are more heard of it does not follow, and it certainly is not the fact, that they are more influential. They hold the same place in Liberalism that Mr. Chamberlain with his republican tendencies (which they do not profess) and his "three acres and a cow" held to Mr. Gladstone and the Liberal leaders of thirty or forty years ago. The Conservatives, also, are not desirous of pushing the issue too far. They believe in and have tested the affection of rural England for the aristocracy and the preference of nearly all England for a second Chamber of some kind. But they do not intend to fight the issue on the hereditary principle. The acceptance, by a very large majority, of Lord Rosebery's motion in the Lords declaring that "the possession of a peerage should no longer, of itself, give the right to sit and vote in the House of Lords," removes this point from the actual conflict and leaves the Conservatives as urging a strong, reformed and democratised Upper House against the Liberal policy of a weakened, emasculated echo of the House of Commons.

[Illustration: THE YOUNG PRINCES AT THE WALL OF MARLBOROUGH HOUSE WATCHING THE PROCLAMATION OF THEIR FATHER AS KING; AND TEXT OF THE PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy our late Sovereign Lord King Edward the Seventh, of Blessed and Glorious Memory, by whose Decease the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is solely and rightfully come to the High and Mighty Prince George Frederick Ernest Albert:

We, therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm, being here assisted with these of His late Majesty's Privy Council, with Numbers of other Principal Gentlemen of Quality, with the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of London, do now hereby, with one Voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart, publish and proclaim, That the High and Mighty Prince George Frederick Ernest Albert, is now by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord George the Fifth by the Grace of God, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions Beyond the Seas, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India:

To whom we do acknowledge all Faith and constant Obedience, with all hearty and humble Affection; beseeching God, by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal Prince George the Fifth with long and happy years to reign over Us.

GOD SAVE THE KING!]



[Illustration: Reading from left to right—Sir Almeric Fitzroy (Clerk of the Privy Council), Earl Beauchamp (Lord Steward), Viscount Althorp (Lord Chamberlain), the Earl of Crewe (Lord Privy Seal), the King, Prince Christian, Lord Loreburn (the Lord Chancellor), the Earl of Granard (Master of the Horse), the Duke of Fife, the Duke of Argyll, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

KING GEORGE'S FIRST OFFICIAL ACT.

According to ancient procedure a meeting of the Privy Council was held at St. James's Palace on Saturday, May 7th, the morning after King Edward's death. After the Earl of Crewe had officially informed the Council of the death of the late King, and of King's George's accession, His Majesty entered the Council Chamber and after addressing the Councillors, took the usual oath for the security of the Church of Scotland.]

Genealogical Chart

SHOWING DESCENT OF KING GEORGE V, FROM EGBERT (A. D. 827)

1. Egbert. 2. Ethelwolf. 3. Alfred the Great. 4. Edward the Elder. 5. Edmund. 6. Edgar. 7. Ethelred. 8. Edmund Ironside. 9. Edward (not a king). 10. Margaret, wife of Malcolm, King of Scotland. 11. Matilda, wife of Henry I. 12. Matilda or Maud, Empress of Germany, and wife of Geoffrey of Anjou. 13. Henry II. 14. John. 15. Henry III. 16. Edward I. 17. Edward II. 18. Edward III. 19. Lionel, Duke Edmund John of Gaunt, of Clarence Duke of York Duke of Lancaster, m. Catherine Swynford 20. Phillippa, (issue afterwards legitimated) m. Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March 21. Roger Mortimer, Earl of March John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset 22. Anne Mortimer.......m........Richard, Earl of Cambridge John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset 23. Richard, Margaret. Duke of York m. Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond 24. Edward IV 25. Elizabeth............married............Henry VII - James IV...m....26. Margaret Tudor.....m.....2ndly, Archibald Douglas, of Scotland Earl of Angus 27. James of Scotland Margaret Douglas m. Earl of Lennox 28. Mary, Queen of Scots.....m....Lord Darnley - 29. James VI of Scotland (James I of England) 30. Elizabeth m. Frederick, Elector Palatine 31. Sophia m. Ernest Augustus of Brunswick, Elector of Hanover 32. George, Elector of Hanover, afterwards George I 33. George II 34. Frederick, Prince of Wales 35. George III 36. Edward, Duke of Kent 37. Victoria 38. Edward VII 39. George V

There is plenty of room for compromise in this, and there is every possibility that something will be done along the lines of, perhaps, restricting the financial veto of the Lords, leaving the other questions open, and, meantime, reforming the structure of the House. Whatever the developments of the future, the new King may be depended upon to preserve the general principle of a second chamber; to conserve the legitimate interests and influence of the aristocracy and landed classes in the state—when, of course, they do not conflict with the well-being of the people as a whole; to stand for stability and gradual reform rather than change for the sake of change; to prefer and enforce evolution rather than revolution. In all this His Majesty will voice the deliberate and well-known opinions—instinct it may almost be said—of his people in general. Be it also said, in conclusion, that these thoughts are generalizations; that the King's opinions are his own and are not known to the people; that newspaper writers in England, the United States, or Canada, who proclaim an intimate acquaintance with his views, and hidden qualities, and private conversations, only betray their absolute ignorance of actual conditions. King George is an honest, honourable and patriotic Englishman, guarding the greatest birthright that a man can have, watching over the evolution of the greatest of world-empires, sitting at the heart of vital and powerful political movements. The steps he takes, or does not take, will be carefully considered, and all public knowledge of the new King's character and life leads one to believe that they will be wisely taken—in this respect following the precedents left by his august father and grandmother and realizing the principles and training and looming responsibilities of a lifetime.

Transcriber's Note:

The scan of page 287 is unclear, but it makes sense for the text to be: "The King was accompanied by Sir Frank Lascelles, Ambassador at Berlin, and by his physician, Sir Francis Laking."

THE END