The Life of King Edward VII. Marie Belloc Lowndes

Читать онлайн книгу.

The Life of King Edward VII - Marie Belloc  Lowndes


Скачать книгу
n>

       Marie Belloc Lowndes

      The Life of King Edward VII

      Biography of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales

      Published by

      Books

      - Advanced Digital Solutions & High-Quality eBook Formatting -

       [email protected]

      2018 OK Publishing

      ISBN 978-80-272-4352-5

      Table of Contents

       Chapter I. An Appreciation

       Chapter II. Birth and Early Years

       Chapter III. The King’s Boyhood

       Chapter IV. Oxford, Cambridge, and the Curragh

       Chapter V. The King’s Visit to Canada and the United States

       Chapter VI. Death of the Prince Consort—Tour in the East

       Chapter VII. The Wedding of King Edward and Queen Alexandra

       Chapter VIII. Early Married Life

       Chapter IX. Their Majesties’ Tour in Egypt and the Mediterranean

       Chapter X. The Franco-Prussian War—The King’s Illness

       Chapter XI. 1873-1875

       Chapter XII. The King’s Tour in India

       Chapter XIII. Quiet Years of Public Work, 1876-1887—Visit to Ireland—Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee

       Chapter XIV. Silver Wedding of King Edward and Queen Alexandra—Engagement and Marriage of Princess Louise

       Chapter XV. The Baccarat Case—Birth of Lady Alexandra Duff—The King’s Fiftieth Birthday—Illness of Prince George

       Chapter XVI. The Duke of Clarence and Avondale

       Chapter XVII. The Housing of the Working Classes—Marriage of Prince George—The Diamond Jubilee—Death of the Duchess of Teck

       Chapter XVIII. Later Years—A Serious Accident to the King—Gradual Recovery—The Attempt on the King’s Life

       Chapter XIX. The King as a Country Squire

       Chapter XX. The King in London

       Chapter XXI. The King and State Policy

       Chapter XXII. The King and the Services

       Chapter XXIII. The King and Freemasonry

       Chapter XXIV. The King as a Philanthropist

       Chapter XXV. The King as a Sportsman

       Chapter XXVI. Death of Queen Victoria—The King’s Accession

      Chapter I.

       An Appreciation

       Table of Contents

      On the Sunday following that eventful 9th of November on which His Most Gracious Majesty King Edward VII. first saw the light, the Rev. Sydney Smith preached at St. Paul’s, and made the following interesting addition to the Bidding Prayer:—

      “We pray also for that infant of the Royal race whom in Thy good providence Thou hast given us for our future King. We beseech Thee so to mould his heart and fashion his spirit that he may be a blessing and not an evil to the land of his birth. May he grow in favour with man by leaving to its own force and direction the energy of a free people. May he grow in favour with God by holding the faith in Christ fervently and feelingly, without feebleness, without fanaticism, without folly. As he will be the first man in these realms, so may he be the best, disdaining to hide bad actions by high station, and endeavouring always by the example of a strict and moral life to repay those gifts which a loyal people are so willing to spare from their own necessities to a good King.”

      It must be remembered that this prayer was uttered in 1841, and some of the phrases which the great wit used reflect rather the Holland House view of the monarchy entertained at that time. Nevertheless, the prayer is noteworthy because in spirit, if not in the letter, it has been so completely answered. The manner of King Edward’s accession exhibits to a contemplative mind the eternal contrast between East and West. In an Oriental State a new Sovereign is as a rule unknown even in his outward appearance to his subjects, and is generally tossed up on to the throne by the angry waves of some palace intrigue of which he himself knows nothing. But it is the peculiar happiness of the British people that, in the midst of their bitter grief at the loss of Queen Victoria, there came to them the swift thought that one whom they had known and approved from his youth up was her successor, and would assuredly walk in her footsteps.

      The accession of a Prince so universally beloved to the throne of his ancestors amid the deeply-felt joy of a great and free people is an inspiring spectacle. Perhaps, however, it is not fully realised how much King Edward, in the years of his public life as Prince of Wales, shared in the duties of the British Crown. The following pages will, it is hoped, show how completely His Majesty and his lamented mother agreed in their conception of the position of ruler of the British Empire. It is known that the death of the Prince Consort drew even closer the ties of affection which subsisted between the late Sovereign and her eldest son, and it would seem as if King Edward from that day forward had set both his parents before himself as exemplars, and had endeavoured to approve himself to his future subjects as a worthy son, not only of Victoria the Wise but also of Albert the Good. It is certainly significant how many of the qualities of both his parents His Majesty possesses.

      In those admirable


Скачать книгу