Arrangements for the Coronation

The preparations for the Coronation of the King were of a character which eclipsed anything in the history of the world. It was unquestionably his aim and intention to make the event an illustration of the power of the British Empire, the loyalty of its people and the unity of its complex races. The pride of the King in his great position, the knowledge which he had acquired of the Empire in his innumerable travels, the statecraft which he had inherited and developed, were all factors in the determination to make this occasion memorable. Connected with the splendour of the event, as planned, was the personal relationship and friendship of most of the Sovereigns of Europe with and for His Majesty and, associated with every detail of its anticipated success, was the enthusiastic loyalty of Indian Princes and great self-governing British dominions beyond the seas. Finally, the end of the South African War came as if to add the one thing wanting to the entire success of the most magnificent Coronation in all history. Preparations went on apace from the beginning of Spring, 1902. The mere material evidences of the coming event transformed busy and commercial London into a forest of boards and poles and platforms. Westminster Abbey was changed inside and out and a special entrance was made for the King and Queen Alexandra to enter through, and so made as to harmonize with the general architecture and character of the building.

A thousand great beacon lights were built over the United Kingdom so that from shore to shore the news of the crowning of the King might be flashed in flames of light to the people. In London and other centres every kind of device for electrical display and illumination was prepared and, toward the middle of June, flags and bunting in myriad forms began to show themselves. In other parts of the Empire almost every city and town and village arranged for some kind of demonstration. Banquets and garden parties and band concerts and processions and military reviews and all the varied means by which the English-speaking person expresses his feelings were in full tide of preparation as the time of the Coronation grew near. India had its own unique and Oriental modes of expressing loyalty and the feeling there was enhanced by the news that the new Prince of Wales was going to repeat the state visit of his father, the King, in December of this year and see the people of practically the only part of the British realms which he had not yet visited. South Africa was to celebrate peace and loyalty at the same time and the great centres of Australia were not behind the rest of the Empire despite the existing gloom of draughts and sheep famine.

The guests invited to attend the great function might be divided into two classes—those who came to a common centre for the celebration of their Sovereign's crowning, for the presentation of a picture of Imperial unity, and for the discussion of questions incident to the wide-spread dominions of the King; and those who came from foreign nations as a tribute to the position of Great Britain in the world and as a token of their friendship for its people as well as their respect for its ruler. In the first list the first place may be given to India because of the element of gorgeousness and Oriental pomp which its representatives were to bring to the function. Calcutta was to be represented by Maharajah Kumar Tagore; Bombay by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, the scion of a series of great merchants; Madras by Rajah Sir Savalai Ramaswami Mudaliyar; Bengal and the Presidencies of Bombay and Madras by distinguished gentlemen of long names and varied titles; the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh by the Hon. N. M. D. F. Ali Khan, who had served in both the Provincial and Supreme Councils, and by Rajah Pertab Singh; the Punjab sent two representatives of whom Sir Harnman Singh Ahluwalia belonged to the Viceroy's Legislative Council and represented indirectly the native Christians; the Central Provinces, Assam, Burmah and the new North-West Frontier Province also appointed representatives. Other guests from India included the Sultan Muhammad Agha Khan of the Khoga Community.

The special Royal guests from the Colonies were General Sir Francis W. Grenfell, representing Gibraltar, Malta and Cyprus; Sir Joseph West Ridgeway, representing Fiji and various Eastern Colonies and Protectorates; Sir Walter J. Sendall, for the West Indies, Bermudas, British Honduras and the Falkland Islands; Sir William MacGregor, representing the West African Colonies and Protectorates; the Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister, representing the Dominion of Canada; the Right Hon. Edmund Barton, Prime Minister, representing the Commonwealth of Australia; the Right Hon. Richard J. Sedden, Prime Minister, representing New Zealand; the Right Hon. Sir J. Gordon Sprigg, Prime Minister, representing Cape Colony; Sir Albert H. Hime, Prime Minister, representing Natal; and Sir Robert Bond, Prime Minister, representing Newfoundland. Other British guests were His Highness the Sultan of Perak and Lewanika, Chief of the Barotzes, in Africa. There were many invitations accepted outside of the list of special names mentioned who were privileged as the King's guests and as such were to be put up in state at the Hotel Cecil and be provided with Royal carriages and servants and escorts. Governors of various minor Colonies and dependencies; Native Princes of India apart from the official representatives of its Cities and Provinces; Premiers of Australian States and Canadian Provinces; were all invited to be present and many of them came to grace the occasion. Amongst those from Canada who accepted the invitation and were in London, with the others already referred to, as the day for the ceremony approached, were the Hon. G. W. Ross, Premier of Ontario, the Hon. H. T. Duffy, representing the Premier of Quebec, the Hon. R. P. Roblin, Premier of Manitoba, the Hon. James Dunsmuir Premier of British Columbia, the Hon. L. J. Tweedie, Premier of New Brunswick and the Hon. G. H. Murray, Premier of Nova Scotia.

Every foreign country or state of importance had its official representative appointed and they poured into London and were received with varying degrees of state and ceremony as the eventful day approached. Prominent amongst them were the Hon. Whitelaw Reid, special Ambassador from the United States and, in an unofficial capacity, Senator Chauncey M. Depew. From Russia came the Grand Duke Michael, Heir Presumptive to the Throne; from Italy His Royal Highness the Duke d'Aosta; from Greece the Crown Prince and Heir to the Throne; from Bulgaria, the reigning Prince Ferdinand I.; from Belgium, Prince Albert of Flanders; from Germany, Prince Henry of Prussia; from Denmark the Crown Prince Frederick, Heir to the Throne; from Roumania the Crown Prince; from Austria the Arch-duke Francis Ferdinand, Heir Presumptive; from France, Admiral Gervais, special Ambassador; from Rome, Mgr. Merry del Val; from Abyssinia, Ras Makonnen, the victorious general and special envoy of the Emperor Menelik; from Bavaria, Prince Leopold; from Sweden and Norway the Crown Prince; from Portugal, the Crown Prince.

Other foreign representatives were Duke Albert of WÜrtemberg, Prince Waldemar of Denmark, General Dubois of France, Field Marshal Count Von Waldersee and Admiral Von Koeter of Germany, Prince George, Prince Nicholas and Prince Andrew of Greece, the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prince Danilo of Montenegro, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg, Prince George of Saxony, the Prince of the Asturias from Spain, Prince Chen of China, Prince Mohamed Ali of Egypt, Prince Akihito Komatsu of Japan, Prince Yo Chai-Kak of Korea, Baron de Stein of Liberia, the Prince of Monaco, the Crown Prince of Siam and special Ministers from Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Turkey, Honduras, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Persia, Servia and Uruguay.

Soldiers of the King from all parts of the Empire were present in England for the occasion. The Indian troops, quartered at Hampton Court, numbered nine hundred strong and represented every phase of the military and native life of Hindostan. Sikhs, Dogras, Jats, Pathans, Mohammedans from the Punjaub, the Deccan and Madras, Mahrattas, Rajpoots, Garwhal's, Gurkhas, Afridis, Tamils, Moplahs, Hazaras and Beloochis, were each represented in uniforms of their local regiments. Scarlet, yellow, blue, grey, green and red, were some of the colours to be seen. At the Alexandra Palace were soldiers from a great variety of countries. Canada sent six hundred and fifty-six men, representative of all its regiments, under command of Lieut.-Colonel H. M. Pellatt and Lieut.-Colonel R. E. W. Turner V.C., D.S.O.; Australia sent one hundred and forty men under Colonel St. Clair Cameron C.B.; New Zealand seventy-nine men under Colonel Porter; Cape Colony one hundred and fifty under Major-General Sir Edward Y. Brabant; Natal, ninety-nine under Lieut.-Colonel E. M. Greene; Rhodesia twenty-six, Ceylon fifty-four, Malta forty-six, and Cyprus fourteen men. Native contingents included variously coloured and clad soldiers from the Gold Coast of Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Lagos, British Central Africa, British East Africa, Uganda, Somaliland, Straits Settlements, Bermuda, British Borneo, the West Indies, Fiji, Hong-Kong and Wei-hai-Wei. The Colonial troops, with their interesting war record, their varied and striking uniforms, their varieties of race and colour and country, their differences of physique and appearance, were not the least remarkable of the Empire contributions to a great function. The Duke of Connaught was in command of all the Forces for the occasion and with him were associated Lord Roberts, Lord Wolseley, Sir Francis Grenfell, Sir William Butler, Major-General W. H. Mackinnon, Sir Edward Brabant and other officers connected with the late war. Colonel and Maharajah Sir Pertab Singh represented India on this Staff and Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Hunter was in immediate command of the Colonial Contingents.

Various Foreign regiments were to be represented including the 1st Prussian Dragoons of Germany, the 12th Hussars of Austria, the Guard Hussars of Denmark and the forces of Russia and Portugal. All the great British regiments were to be included, either in the procession as cavalry, or along the route as infantry. Preparations for the great Naval Review were elaborate. The Channel, Home and Cruiser squadrons were to be in attendance with Admiral Sir Charles Hotham as Commander-in-Chief. Besides a number of Foreign warships, which were specially sent to participate in the function, the British battle-ships numbered twenty-one, the cruisers twenty-six, the torpedo gun-boats seventeen, the torpedo boat destroyers twenty-eight and the sea-going training vessels ten. Amongst the Foreign contributors to the Review were Germany, the United States, Russia, Sweden and Norway, Denmark, Greece, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Chili, Austro-Hungary and the Argentine.

All the complex arrangement of the details in connection with these and other elements of the Coronation festivities were in the hands of an Executive Committee appointed on June 28th, 1901, at a meeting of the King and his Privy Council and attended by most of the members of the Cabinet, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Dukes of Norfolk, Portland and Fife, the Earls of Rosebery, Selborne and Carrington, Earl Roberts, Earl Spencer, Lord Alverstone, Sir W. V. Harcourt, and Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. Amongst the members of this Executive of fifteen were the Duke of Norfolk (chairman) Lord Esher, the Bishop of Winchester, Lord Farquhar, Mr. Schomberg K. McDonnell, Colonel Sir Edward Bradford, Sir Francis Knollys, Sir Edward W. Hamilton, Colonel Sir E. W. D. Ward, Major-General Sir Arthur Ellis and Rear-Admiral W. H. Fawkes. Later on Sir Montagu Ommanney, Sir William Lee-Warner, Sir Kenelm Digby, Lieut.-General Kelly-Kenny, and others, were added. Their work was, of course, closely overlooked by the King who was in constant communication with the Duke of Norfolk and Sir Francis Knollys. The following programme of leading events was finally announced as approved by His Majesty:

Many other functions developed around these central ones until the weeks before and after the event were to be crowded with every sort of festivity and celebration—partly in honour of the occasion, partly as evidences of hospitality to Colonial, Indian and Foreign visitors. At Portsmouth arrangements were made for a banquet in the Drill-hall, on June 26th, to one thousand men from the Foreign war-ships, with five hundred British seamen and marines as hosts. On the following day there were to be athletic sports for the sailors and a garden party by the Mayor and Mayoress for the officers of the fleets and distinguished visitors. Following the Review, on June 28th, arrangements were made for a garden party at Whale Island, for an Admiralty ball in the Town-Hall, for a luncheon to the officers, a Civic entertainment to the men and a ball given by the Mayor and Mayoress. In London a Coronation bazaar, in aid of the Sick Children's Hospital, was announced with various stalls in charge of Princess Henry of Pless, the Duchess of Westminster, Lady Tweedmouth, Mrs. Harmsworth, the Countess of Bective, Mrs. Choate, the Duchess of Somerset and Countess Carrington. The King's Dinner to the Poor of London was planned upon an enormous scale and His Majesty stated that he would spend £30,000 in thus entertaining half-a-million of his poorer subjects. Sir Thomas Lipton, who had been in charge of a smaller affair at the Diamond Jubilee, was given control of the details. Similar preparations, upon a minor scale of course, were going on all over the Empire and in New York a Coronation Ode was issued by Mr. Bliss Carman—a Canadian by birth—which did the subject noble justice and commenced with the following verse:

Meanwhile, a Colonial Conference had also been arranged to take place during these weeks of celebration and the delegates were to be special Royal guests for the Coronation—Sir Francis W. Grenfell, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Mr. Seddon, Mr. Barton, Sir W. J. Sendall, Sir William MacGregor, Sir Gordon Sprigg, Sir Albert Hime, Sir Robert Bond, and Sir West Ridgeway—together with Mr. Chamberlain and the Earl of Onslow, Under-Secretary of the Colonies. The official programme, published a few days before the date set for the Coronation, gave the details of the Royal procession on that and the following days. On June 26th, in passing from Buckingham Abbey, there were to be eight carriages containing the Royal visitors and members of the Royal family, the Prince and Princess of Wales and then the state coach with the King and Queen—having the Duke of Connaught riding to its right and a considerable staff and brilliant escort of Life Guards behind.

The procession of the following day was to be essentially an Imperial pageant and was to pass over a popular city route. The Colonial portion came first on the programme, headed by Lieut.-General Sir A. Hunter, and with detachments of Canadian artillery and cavalry and Australian cavalry preceding a carriage containing Sir Wilfrid and Lady Laurier and Mr. and Mrs. Barton. Then followed carriages with Sir R. Bond and Mr. and Mrs. Seddon, Sir Gordon and Miss Sprigg, Sir Albert and Miss Hime, Sir W. Ridgeway and Sir F. Grenfell, Sir W. Sendall, and Sir W. MacGregor, the Sultan of Perak and King Lewanika—each preceded or followed by detachments of New Zealand, Cape, Natal, Ceylon, Trinidad, Cyprus and other Colonial cavalry, in accordance with the country represented. Then was to come the Indian portion of the procession including varied detachments of Native cavalry, and with carriages containing the Maharajahs of Jaipur, Kolapore and Bikanur. Following these was to be a long line of British artillery and Aids-de-Camp to the King, representing the Volunteers, Yeomanry, Militia and Regular forces and the Marines. The Head-Quarters staff came next, then Field Marshals in the Army, Foreign naval and military attachÉs, deputations of Foreign officers, then Indian Aides-de-Camp to the King—the Maharajahs of Gwalior, Gooch and Idur—and several members of the Royal family on horseback. Then came thirteen carriages containing Royal visitors, special Ambassadors and members of the Royal family, followed by special escorts of Colonial and Indian troops and Royal Horse Guards. The King and Queen were to come next, in a splendid state coach drawn by eight horses, with the Duke of Connaught riding on one side of them and the Prince of Wales on the other.