PROCLAIMED AS KING. BUSY EARLY DAYS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 84, 21 January 1936, Page 6

PROCLAIMED AS KING.

BUSY EARLY DAYS

THE SEA KING'S TRAINING. MOST TRAVELLED OF ROYALTY. PREPARATION FOR THE THRONE. KING GEORGE V. (George Frederick Ernest Albert), the second son of Edward, Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII., was born on June 3 1865 ■ of the King’s boyhood there is perhaps little to recall that bears directly upon the great office he was called upon to fill. Both Qiieon Alexaiidia and Queen Victoria, his grandmother, held the strongest possible views as to the unwisdom of allowing the certainty of a splendid position in after years to influence or distort in any way the simple uneventful life which they thought to be as necessary for their own descendants as for any other healthy and happy boy whoso future had-, no such brilliant possibilities. From his earliest years it was decided that Prince George should enter the navy, and this he did • as yoiing as it was possible for any boy to do so, for he was barely twelve years old. During a number of yeais he applied himself steadily to his profession, and the years were full of work for him and of the healthiest discipline as well as of manifold education in the widest sense of the term in all parts of the world. This experience also was more than • usually varied. He served on nearly eveiy naval station—the East Indian, the Australian, the South African, and the South American, times on the North American, and West Indian, and as many more on the Mediterranean and the Channel, and on board ships of almost every kind. The messmates of his early gunroom days (it has been said) when he was a middy on board the Bacchante, the Inconstant, or • the Canada, and those who were in class with him when later he was passing through the College of Greenwich, or in the Excellent,, testified to his geniality and popularity with officers and men. Life in the Navy. “The strenuous diligence with which he has' devoted himself to his studies,” we read in the “New Review,” “andj the ability which he has displayed in mastering the subjects which he had to tackle for the series of examinations, have been evinced by the manner in which he has acquitted himself, and by the places he has won in the class lists inasmuch as they are incontestably far above the average.” When off duty, it appears, he participated freely and heartily in the open air amusements of his brother officers, cricket, polo, or lawn tennis; and later he has become well-known as a sportsman. . . . £ .„ ~ , According to a writer m the iiiiiglisn Illustrated Magazine,” Prince George was very efficient and popular. “As a midshipman,” he says, “ he was always keen to do all in his power to render the boat’s crew, or the gun entrusted to his charge, the smartest and best handled in the ship, as a lieutenant he, was always alive to all the individual characters of the men of his division. | Those who showed themselves neat, steady, smart and eager to fulfil theirj duties and get on, he was ever ready to encourage by word and sympathy and helping hand.” The best known incidents of this pai t of his life are the cruises in Her Majesty’s ship Bacchante, from 18< J--82 in the course of which he and his elder brother visited the West Indies, South America, the Cape, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Ceylon, and Singapore: while of foreign countries, halts of various duration were made in Egypt, Japan, and China. This was no merely ceremonial progress." Both the Royal midshipmen, were expected to do their work in the ordinary way throughout the entire cruise. Soon after their return Prince George, went to Switzerland and stayed at Lausanne for six months in order that he might perfect himself both m German and French conversation. Special Training Course. While serving on Her Majesty’s ship Canada in 1884, Prince George was promoted to the rank of sub-lieuten-ant, and the next few months saw him at Greenwich, where he went through a course of training necessary for promotion to a full lieutenancy. In 1880 he served on the Mediterranean station! on the Dreadnought, and afterwards on his uncle, the Duke of Edinburgh’s] flagship, the Alexandra. On returning to England the Prince volunteered for another cruise and in

1889 lie commanded the torpedo boat No. 79 for tho manoeuvres. “It happened,” we are told, “that one of these craft disabled Iter screws off tho coast of Ireland, and was in danger of drifting on to a lee shore. The sea was running high, and there was- a, stiff gale blowing. Prince George was sent to her assistance. The task was a most difficult one, owing to the delicate nature of the construction of such boats. He showed, however, such skill, judgment and nerve in approaching, securing with wire hawser after several hours’ effort, and ultimately towing the disabled craft into safety as won him high encomiums of praise to tho Admiralty from Captain Fitzgerald and other senior officers who witnessed his conduct on that occasion. The achievement was perhaps all the more noteworthy as Prince George (like Nelson and many other distinguished naval officers) suffers terribly from sea-sickness, and the behaviour of the torpedo boat in rough weather is not the most conducive to quietness of nerve or for comfortably collecting tho thoughts.” His capacity and judgment on this occasion won for him shortly before his 25th birthday, the command of Her Majesty’s ship Thrush, a small gunboat destined for service in the West Indies. While engaged on this work Prince George, who was appointed rear-admiral in 1901, represented Queen Victoria at the opening of the Jamaican exhibition. ->

Duke of Clarence’s Death. In January, 1892, his elder brother, Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, died after a brief illness, and Prince George stepped into the position of Heir-Ap-parent to the Throne. It was obvious from the beginning that this change in his fortunes would interfere immensely with all that Prince George had valued and liked best in his previous career, and tho first sign that his old life must be lost to him was his elevation to the House of Lords shortly afterwards by the titles of Duke of York and Earl of Inverness. By this creation a title was revived that had been in abeyance, since the death of Frederick Duke of York in 1827 finally cleared the way of Princess Victoria to tho Throne of Great Britain.

From that moment the lif© of His Royal Highness had been, perhaps, necessarily modelled upon, that which seems nowadays the inevitable destiny of a Crown Prince. His old calling, so far as actual naval w r ork was concerned, was to be subordinated to the duties of his new position. It is true that in 1889 lie was appointed to His Majesty’s ship Crescent and commanded her during the naval manoeuvres of the year. But he could not be spared from Royal engagements for longer than three months, and from that time onward it .was found impossible to give any opportunity for any active duty in the navy to His Royal Highness. But his interest in his old service has been, if anything, whetted by the sting oi his exclusioin from it.

There has been no more attentive student of naval affairs for many a year than His Majesty, and every retrograde step has been noted, and in many cases freely commented upon 'in private, by His Majesty, He has retained his friendship with every one of tho companions of his blue-water days. Always in attendance upon him is one of these links with the profession in which lie showed such unusual proficiency, and from which ho was turned away only with the utmost reluctance and regret. Betrothal and Marriage, The most momentous occasion of his earlier years was now approaching. On May 3, 1893, the announcement was made that His Royal Highness was betrothed to Princess Mary, daughter of the Duke of Teck, and of her who was throughout her long and useful lifo known as Princess May. Queen Victoria, in giving her assent to the engagement, expressed her pleasure most warmly, and his late Majesty King Edward VII., made no secret of his satisfaction that one to whom he had already shown the greatest possible proof of his love and confidence should after all become bis daughter-in-law, and assist with her love and sympathy his only remaining son in the long and arduous course which lay before him. The wedding was fixed for July 6.

* The ceremony took place in the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace. The building does not admit of the extensive ceremonial surroundings which usually attend the marriages of heirs to European thrones, but it was eminently characteristic of the Duke of York that not only the traditions of the chapel, but the simple fact of its [comparatively small area, recommended it very highly in. his eyes. Except the amusing incident —-probably unprecedented in modern Court history—that Queen Victoria arrived at the chapel before there was a single officer of State to receive her, the service, beautiful in its exquisitely-rendered simplicity though it was, and though at-

tended by representatives from every Court in Europe, calls for no special attention in this place. Of the years that followed all that need he said is that from being at first merely a substitute and representative of the then Prince of Wales, the Duke of York shortly before Queen Victoria s death had largely taken from his father’s shoulders the burden of ceremony which the latter had lip-borne for so long. The most conspicuous incident of those years was, of course, Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, in 1897, which naturally threw a very largo amount of important and continous work upon the Duke of York. His command of His. Majesty’s ship Crescent has been referred to already, and tlie outbreak of tlie South African war in 1899 turned the Duke’s attention to sterner matters than national or international courtesies and celebrations. Direct Successor. Before that war came to an honourable conclusion in 1902 Queen Victoria had ended her long and magnificent reign, King Edward VII. ascended the throne, and His Royal Highness succeeded to the position of direct successor. At first the only obvious difference made to him was the fact that the Dukedom of Cornwall descended to him by the mere fact of his heirship. The title Prince of Wales had been associated for nearly '6O years with the personality of our late Ring (Edward VII.) and it was held very rightly that confusion of an unfortunate nature might be occasioned were the Duke of York to be created Prince of Wales immediately. The Duchy of Cornwall is the oldest Dukedom in the kingdom,

having been created in the year 1337. With it the Heir to the Throne of Great Britain holds also tlie Dukedom of Rothesay; in virtue of the union of the two Crowns of England and Scotland, the Duke of Rothesay having been the official title of the eldest son of the Scottish Kings during their father’s lifetime. His Royal Highness’s official title for nearly a> year was therefore die Duke of Cornwall and York, and it was brought into prominence in the course of the following year owing to tho important tour through a large part of the colonies which His Royal Highness mado in 1901.

Then followed the tour of India and tho Coronation as King George V. in 1911 (dealt with in other articles). Ruling the three years that followed the Coronation, Their Majesties ably and graciously carried out the high offices which they had been called upon to fill. But then came the Great European War. It was the signal for Empire-wide demonstrations of patriotism and His Majesty’s thoughts turned instinctly to the Navy. On August 5 he sent the following message to Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, in command of the British Fleet:—“At this most grave moment in our national history F send, through you, to the officers and men, my assurance of my confidence that they will revive and renew the old glories of the Navy, and prove again- a sure shield of Britain and Empire in the hour of trial.”

Message to the Troops. A few days later British troops embarked for France and on this occasion another strikingly impressive message was sent by the King. Late in November His Majesty visited the British headquarters in France. He was greatly acclaimed, and was met by the Prince of Wales. Newspapers contrasted tlie unobtrusiveness of his visit with the Kaiser’s theatricalism, and stated that his presence was calculated to convince the most incredulous that Britain was determined to prosecute the war to tho bitter end. Genuine enthusiasm was aroused by tho Sovereign’s presence among his war-worn troops, and at several places the men formed hoi low squares, tlie King presenting decorations including Victoria Crosses. Finally he issued an order expressing admiration of the splendid manner in which the army had fought a powerful, relentless enemy. He was particularly impressed by the soldierly, healthy, cheerful appearance of the troops. “I can assure you,” lie said, “of the proud confidence and gratitude of myself and your fellow countrymen.”

Excessive drinking by shipyard and munition workers' during the war, as a consequence of which much valuable time was lost, caused deep concern to His Majesty, who with Lord Kitchener, members of the Cabinet, and other Ministers, as well as a number of judges, banished intoxicants from their households. A cablegram of April 7, 1915 stated that the King’s anti-alco-hol decision had fired the popular imagination, peers, society leaders, and commercial men joining the movement. Mr Lloyd George had received 100,000 abstinence pledges and another 50,000 people had signed the pledge in Edinburgh. Accident in France.

An accident, which fortunately had no serious results, befell the King while he was inspecting troops m France in October of 1915. His Majesty, accompanied by a group of Generals, rode along the lines examining each unit. Though it was raining continuously, and there were heavy gusts of cold wind, the men looked splendid, the masses of khaki presenting an impressive spectacle. After the Army Corps Commander and his staff had been presented, His Majesty inspected another body of troops. Intense enthusiasm was shown ijv the men who shouted and waved their caps, but the King’s horse, excited by the cheering, reared and fell. The mare, though specially trained, reared high in the air. The King managed to retain control, but she reared again, and fell over backwards, pinIning His Majesty to the ground. _ Offijeers in the vicinity rushed to his assistance and carried the King to a motor-car which immediately left the ground. The news caused a sensation. A big limousine rolled slowly through the lines, and though ho was suffering severely from shock, the King bravely tried to acknowledge the silent salute of the troops. The King was taken to the French coast under the sign of the Red Cross in the ambulance train Queen Mary. He was attended bv two nurses, one British, Sister Edith Ward, and the other Canadian, Nurse Vivienne Tremayne. Sister Ward was obtained from a French hospital Large and the Canadian nurse from the Canadian clearing hospital, and although selected quite fortuitously, it was a singular coincidence that Sister Ward was the nurse who attended King Edward during his attack of typhoid. “It was one. of the hospital trains which have carried thousands of wounded to a port in France,” wrote the “Daily Chronicle” correspondent, Mr Philip Gibbs. “One if those which I have visited when the stretchers are loading them to the full with the harvesting of tlie battlefields. Beautifully equipped, spotlessly clean, curiously like a hospital ward in brightness of fittings and polish of wood, thete is many a man who has ’ain there after a great show, as we call our battles, and thanked God that he had come out of it with honour and

luck. So the King lay there then with wounded men near him, and I suppose few things in this war will so touch tlie imagination of people as the thought of his journey in these conditions.

"On reaching the port the King was carried on board the hospital ship Anglia. Already there were many wounded men aboard who had been lowered down by the lift to the deck, where the doctors check their tickets and pass them down to the cots, which swing with the roll of the ship. * It is the last stage but one in the via dolorosa which leads from the battlefield to ‘Old Blighty,’ as England is called out here. His Majesty was placed in the officers’ ward, • and a moment later the vessel steamed out.

“The King was conveyed from the Victoria station to Buckingham Palace on a stretcher placed in an ambulance, but so painful had been His Majesty’s injuries that the car, which started at eight miles an hour was quickly dropped to dead slow.” For some days His Majesty’s indisposition continued, hut he soon made a complete recover}' to health.

PAGEANTRY AT THE GORONATION LIFE AS A MONARCH. I With startling suddenness news of the last illness of King Edward VII. was received early in May, 1910, and atj midnight on the sixth, His Majesty! passed away. World-wide grief was [expressed, but it is interesting to note that a leading German newspaper, in a characteristically bitter leading articlej spoke of King Edward’s animus to-j ward his best-loved sister’s son. It declared that the death chants praising him as a Prince of Peace were perhaps sincere, but were incapable of proof, as lie sometimes gave the impression of being a stormy petrel. Fate had awarded him the happiness of departing in peace, and uncle and nephew were reconciled. '

The proclamation of King George as King was mado in London and other cities on the morning of May 9. Following a> fanfare by the State Trumpeters, Garter King-of-Arms (Sir Alfred Scott Gatty), at St. James’s Palace, proclaimed George V. King of Britain and the Dominions Beyond the Seas, Enormous crowds joined in shouting “God Save the King,” and the band played the National Anthem. Then escorted by an imposing cavalcade of the Life Guards, Garter King-of-Arms proceeded to Charing Cross, Temple Bar, and the Royal Exchange, at each of which places tlie proclamation was repeated with the same ceremony. Seven thousand troops lined the route, which was crowded, and artillery fired accession salutes in St. James’s Park. Whenever a British sovereign ascends the- Throne, the proclamation of the new monarch is read, by tlie commander of each of His Majesty’s war vessels which'are all extra territorial and integral portions of the British Empire. In accordance with this custom, Commander Blunt, of H.M.S. Pioneer, which was lying at Queen Street Wharf, Auckland, read the proclamation to the crow of the vessel, on the morning of the ninth.

in His Father’s Footsteps. Meanwhile in England there were striking scenes of patriotism and loyalty. Tho King, in the course of an impressive speech, said: “The earnest

object of my life will be to follow in my father’s footsteps, and uphold the constitutional good of these realms. I am deeply sensible of my very heavy responsibilities, and know I can rely on the Parliament and the neople of these Islandfe and the Dominions over the seas to help me to discharge ray arduous duties. I know I have theirl prayers that God may grant me strength and guidance; arid I am en-j couraged by the knowledge that I slialll have in my dear wife a constant help-1 mate in every endeavour for the people’s good.” A Brilliant Ceremony. A little more than a year later, on! June 22, 1911, the brilliant Coronation! ceremonial took place. Buckingham! Palace. Westminster Abbey and the! route between were tlie Mecca of en-1 thusiastic crowds, a portion of which! gathered at midnight on the 21st and! slept on the kerbstones in order to! ensure an uninterrupted view of tliel spectacle of unexampled .splendour.! Tlie scene was most brilliant when the! troops, with their new uniforms, and! the colonial contingents took theirj positions. Tho New Zealanders were! in dark uniform, tlie South Africans! in khaki, while the Imperial Light! Horse, the Natal Mounted Rifles, the! kilted Cape Town Highlanders, and 600|

representing 186 units, were particularly noticeable. j Besides its own population, half as many millions were gathered in the great metropolis of London to see the pageant of Coronation, or take part in the sacred ceremonial at Westminster, as generations had done before for BUO years. . j To tho 40 odd princes who came from foreign lands, the King’s Coronation was a pageant mure magnificent than any or them could have seen, but to the thousands of representatives' and members of the colonies who were m London, the ceremony was not only ail act of religious consecration, but a recognition of the kingly tie winch binds the Empire together. The Archbishop of Canterbury administered the Coronation Oath. The King advanced from his chair to the altar, knelt on the steps, kissed the Book, and declared that he would perform and keep his solemn promise* His Majesty* had just received the cheers and ovations when he addressed his people and the Lords. He said that lie had been hailed as accepted to rule die greatest Empire the world had ever seen, and he now presented; his own homage like any ordinary mortal to the King of Kings. The ceremony of anointing the King then followed, his Majesty being seated in St. Edward’s chair, under a pall of cloth of gold supported by four Carter Knights. The crown was reverently placed on the King’s head by the Archbishop, and] instantly the electric lights were turned on and the whole congregation I shouted “God save the King.” The Peers simultaneously raised their coronets to their heads, and, the acclama-l tions over, the Archbishop of Canter-I bury presented the King with the Bible; describing it as the most valuable thing this world afforded. Thenl followed the entlironisation on the j King’s homage seat, and the paying of homage by the Archbishop, the! Prince of Wales, and others of the I Blood Royal, the Peers, the Dukes, Marquises, Earls and Viscounts. The coronation of the Queen wasl then proceeded with on a- lesser seale,l after which the King and Queen satl together crowned, sceptred and en-l throned. The next stage in the magnificent ceremony was the acknowledge! ment of both Sovereigns of their duty! to Almighty Cod as meftibers of I Christ’s Church here below. Accom-I panied by their officers of State they! advanced from the dais to the altar,! and humbly removed their crowns to! partake of Communion. After the! close of the Communion service there! was a brief retirement to King Ed-j ward the Confessor’s Chapel for re-1 freshment, the King and Queen emerg-j ing wearing new crowns, tho King’sl known ns the Royal, and the Queen’s! as the Small Crown of Diamonds.! These they wore all the way through the street's on their triumphal return to the Palace.

Scene at Ashburton. At Ashburton before 12 o’clock struck on the same day the Borough Council Chambers wore surrounded by loyal subjects anxious to witness and take part in the ceremony of proclaiming liis Majesty King George V. as King. . Soon the Mayor (Mr H. Davie) appeared, attended by all the members of the Borough Council. The County Council was represented by Messrs J. Lambic' (chairman), H. Friedlander, J. Grigg, E. Mainwaring (clerk) and C. W. Purnell (solicitor). Mr H. Friedlander was also present as the chief representative of the Lyttelton Harbour Board and of the Ashburton Hospital and Charitable Aid Board. In the silence the Mayor stood forward to the edge of tho steps. Then there was a pause whilst the Town Clock across the way rolled out the

hour of noon, unci flags, half-hesitat-ingly fluttered up to tho mast-head. The Mayor then read the proclamation of the accession to the Throne of his Majesty King George V. |