KING’S ACCESSION TO THRONE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 100, 22 January 1936, Page 13

KING’S ACCESSION TO THRONE

Change in Sovereign’s Declaration NOTABLE EVENTS OF THE REIGN King George V succeeded to the Throne on the death of his father on May 6, 1910. By the Regency Act, 1910, a temporary* constitutional necessity in view of the fact that .Prince Edward qf Wales was not yet 16, Queen Mary was .at once nominated Regent in the event of the demise of the Crown while the heir to the throne was under age. A new civil list fixed at £470.000 a year Was approved by Parliament in 1910. . ;

An important change in the King’s accession declaration was also embodied in the Act of that year, the following short and simple formula being substituted for tho old manifesto: — I do solemnly and sincerely in tlie presence of God profess, testify, and declare that I am a faithful Protestant and that I will according to the true intent of the enactments w’hich secure the Protestant succession to the Throne of my Realm uphold and maintain the said enactments to the best of my power according to law.

Tlie Coronation Ceremonies. Tlie coronation at Westminster Abbey on June 22, 1911, was attended by representatives from all parts of tho Empire and other countries, and. in order to complete the public assumption of royal authority throughout the United Kingdom, the King and Queen, with the Prince of Wales and Princess Mary, made state visits to Ireland, Wales, and Scotland during July. Later in the year Their Majesties visited India, and coronation ceremonies took place at the ancient capital of Delhi on December 12, 1911. From the very first King George anil Queen Mary showed in all their actions their earnest desire to use the Royal position in the most public-spirited manner. Great Britain was fortunate in the fact that so much had already been done by Queen Victoria and King Edward to establish the Throne in the hearts of the people as a central nnd unifying national and Imperial force, distinct from sectional interests of party or class. Under King George this tradition was steadily maintained. He and Queen Mary devoted themselves to the task of making: the influence of the Court a pure, useful, nnd kindly one in the life of the country; they mingled with different classes of society, and were ever active in accepting new opportunities of service. The personal tastes of both were known to lie in characteristically domestic directions. Period of Great War. Tlie value of tlie influence of tlie Crown. :is standing above mid outside domestic

5 party politics, was emphasised by the . Buckingham Palace Conference of 1914 on the Irish deadlock; and by the conduct during: the world war of the King and : the Royal Family, who, in various ..way, strengthened their hold on the affections of the British people. From the opening of the world war in 191” the King and Queen jointly and severally set themselves ; to make the Royal influence an encourage-’ I incnt to every form of national 'activity in the aid of the fighting forces. .-The King and Queen regularly went in.state to prorogue and open Parliament-.in successive sessions, and on frequent occasions during the war Royal visits were paid to important factories and workshops qS the munitions centres throughout Great Britain, as well as to shipbuilding yards, hospitals, and other institutions en- I gaged in war work of one kind.: or another. Tho King’s inspections - !-■ of provincial industrial establishments included visits to Glasgow, and the,-Clyde. Coventry and Birmingham, Leeds’ alid. Sheffield, Nottingham, Liverpool, > Manchester. Barrow, Gretna, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Hull and Rosyth. Bristol, Bradford and Huddersfield. Moreover, periodical visits were made by him to tbe--Grand Fleet. In 1917. Queen Mary aceomjSrinfed the King to France. Finally, after the Armistice, the King made another (visit to Paris and to the battlefields, November 27 to December 10, 1918. and luid fin enthusiastic reception in the French'capi-’ tai. ' . ' Patriotic Self-abnegation. In other directions, during the war period, the King’s desire to set an example of patriotic self-abnegation, ? was frequently apparent. The long record of Royal attendances at notable ceremonies included such occasions as the funeral services at St. Paul’s for Lord Roberts, in November, 1914, mid Lord Kitchener, in June, 1916; the commemoration, service of the entry of the United States into tho war, in April, 1917: the' Albert Hall commemoration of the First Seven Divisions, in December, 1917: tho thanksgiving at St. Paul’s, on their Majesties’ silver wedding, in July, 191 S; the pre- ■ sentation to the King, at Buckingham Palace, by the special Japanese, mission, of the sword mid badge of n Japanese Field-Marshal, in October, 191 S: nnd other events.On the occasion of their Majesties silver wedding, the King and Queen were received at the Guildhall, and were presented with a cheque for £53.000. subscribed by the citizens of London, to be devoted to charity, by their Majesties’ wish, together will, n silver tankard, once ro-ned In rbr..i« the Second.