AN IMPOSING SCENE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 118, 21 May 1910, Page 5

AN IMPOSING SCENE.

TEE KING'S FUNERAL. IMMENSE PROCESSION TO PABDINGTQN. MANY BRILLIANT SPECTACLES. FINAL BITES AT WINDSOR.

By Telegraph .~Pre6S Association.— Copyright. (Received May 21> 8.30 a.m.) LONDON, 20th May. The funeral of the late King Edward the Seventh took place to-day, in fine weather. Thero was an imposing scene in Buckingham Palace courtyard, where the Royalties assembled. As Queen. Alexandra, in a glassed-in, carriage, took her place in the procession, all the monarchs and princes saluted, and her Majesty made her acknowledgments. There were many brilliant spectacles. A splendid cavalcade, circling Parlia- | ment Square, entered tho new Palace Yard, where King Edward's charger and his favourite fox terrier Caesar were standing behind the gun-carriage. King George, tho Kaiser, and the | Duke of Connaught dismounted, and Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria alighted. The Kaiser kissed his aunt (Queen Alexandra), and accompanied her to the hall, King George, the Duke of Connaught, and Princess Victoria following. A distinguished group, including Mr. Asquith (Prime Minister), the Earl of Crewe (Secretary of State for the Colonies), other Ministers, and Lord Rosebery, witnessed ths arrival of the Royal personages at the porch of Westminster Hall. ■ Queen Alexandra wore tho brilliant jewel of the Garter. After a short service, the coffin was borne through the porch, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Most Rev. Dr. Davidson) and a chaplain, with a cross, preceding it. THE PROCESSION STARTS. The coffin was placed on the gun-car-riage, and the procession started. Its head was a mile and a half away. Tho bands of the Household Cavalry headed the procession ; then came detachments of Territorials, colonial troops (including the King's Colonials and the Australian and New Zealand officers, already cabled), and all branches of tho Army, concluding with the Household Cavalry and Horse Artillery. Then came ths Marines and the Naval 'and Military attaches to foreign embassies ; a deputation of officers of the Austro-Hungarian, Bulgarian and Danish Armies, the German Navy and Army, thb Norwegian and Portuguese Armies, and tho Russian, Spanish, and Swedish Annies and Navies. Six General Officers Commanding-in- j Chief, Field-Marshals Lord Kitchener, Sir Evelyn Wood, and Lord Roberts -, j t'no Headquarters Statf of the Army Council, Admirals Sir Wilmot Fawkes, Sir Chas Drury, Sir A. O. Fanshawc, Sir E. 11. Seymour, Sir F. W. Richards, Lord Walter Kerr, Sir Gerard Noel. The Board of Admiralty ; King Edward's naval and military aides-dc- J camp, four abreast , the bands of the Maiines, Infantry, Guards, Engineers, . and Artillery His Majesty's suites and English Royal Princes, the Duke of Norfolk (Earl Marshal), Lords Denman, Rosebery, Allendale, Althorp, and Beau-L-hamp. The late King s Equerries, Gentlemen-at-Arms, Bearers, and Non-Commissioned Officers of Guards on either side of the guncarriage, drawn by eight horses and preceded by a full detachment of Royal Horse Artillery. ROYALTIES. The gun-carriage was followed by the late King's charger. The Royal Standard was carried by a noncommissioned officer of the. Household Cavalry. Then came King George V., with the Emperot of Germany on his right hand, and the Duke of Connaught on his left, followed by the principal members- of his iuite. Then the Kings and Princes, three abreast, in the following order from. left to right :—: — ' King of Norway, King of the Hellenes, King of Spain. King of Bulgaria, King of Denmark, King of Portugal. The Turkish Heir-Apparent, th© Arcnduke Franz Ferdinand, Prince Fushimi. The Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, the Duke of Aosta, Prince Ruprecht of Bavaria. The Duke of Sparta, the Crown Prince of Roumtinia, Princo Henry of the Netherlands. Prince Albrecnt of Wurtemburg, Prince Alexander of Servia, Prince George of Saxony. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Prince of WaldecK Pyrmont, Mohammed Ali. Prince Cnanes of Sweden, Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, Prince Aithur of Connaught. Prince Christian, the Duke of Fife, Prince Alexander of Battenberg. The three Princes of Teck. Prince Maximilian of Baden, the Grand Duke Michael Michaelovitch, and the Princo of Saxe-Coburg. Prince Danilo of Montenegro, Prince Christopher of Greece, the Grand Duke of Mecklenberg-Strelitz. The Duke D'Alencon, Comte Deu Pierre, Prince Louis D'Orleans. Prince Bouaradej of Siam, Prince Leopold of Coburg, Prince Wolrad of Wal- | deck. ! THE LADIES. The Ciown Equerry followed, tnc-n twelve carriages, the first containing the Queen Mother Alexandra, the Dowager Empress of Russia, the Princess fiuyol, :md the Princets Victoria. The second carriage contained Queei: Mary, the Queen of Norway, the Duke of Cornwall (Heir-Apparent), and Princess Mary. Third carriage . Princess Christian, Princess Louis Henry of Battenberg, the Duchess of Connaught. Fourth carriage : The Duchess of Albany, Princesses Patricia of Connaught, Andrew of Greece, and Louis oi Battenberg. Fifth carriage : Piincesses Alexandra of Schleswig-Holstein. Sixth : The Duchess of Teck, Prince-ss Louise of Battenberg, Princes Albert, Henry, and George. Seventh ; Prince Tsaito, with nis suite.

OTHER CARRIAGES. Mr. Roosevelt, M. Pichon, and Sanad Kha-n (Persia) came next. In the ninth caa-riage were: — Lord Strathcona, Sir Geo. R-eid, the Eon. Wm. Hall-Jones. The ienth, eleventh, and twelfth carriages contained suites. 'ihen followed a detachment of the Metropolitan City Police, tho Edinburgh Police, the Royal Irish Constabulary, tho Dublin Police, tho Metropolitan Fire- Brigade, and the closing escort. REVERENTIAL SILENCE. There was intense reverential silence along the entire route of the procession. Tho crowd was deeply touched by the sight of the riderless changer, followed by a sialwarfc Highlander (in the Royal I Stuarts' tartan), leading the (terrier Caesar. TheTe were splendid renderings of the impressive funeral marches, Beethoven's "Trailer Marsch" (B flat, minor), "The Dead March" ("Saul"), Chopin's "March Funebre," Beethoven's Opus 26. The progress of the procession to Paddington station was absolutely without hitch. ALONG THE ROUTE. Lining the -route there were- 33,500 ! dismounted troops and 1120 mounted, in review order, with colours, trumpets, and drums draped. As the cortege was seen the infantry sloped arms. When the head of tho procession arrived they reversed arms and bowed their heads 1 . Big Ben tolled from 9.15 a.m. till 11.50 a.m. The Australian destroyers' draft — four officers (including Lieutenants Warren and Filk-es), and eighteen petty officers and men and seven stokers — was jpiiicd to Rear-Admiral Jerram's Naval i Brigade of 107 officers and 2750 sailors and marines. j Representative detachments walked in the procession. The remainder assisted in lining the route. Minute guns were fired during the journey from Westminster Hall to Padj dington. MOURNING IN THE STREETS. The route was lined with purple and ■wirite Venetian, macsis, on which; flags .were Qiun'g at ha3f-mast, including all the colonial fiage. A notable feature was l-hmisands of laurel wreaths, mamy from boys' brigades, working men's clubs, ■ mothers' meetings-, and Primrose Jrabitaitiofts and orphanages. The Pall l\[all, St. James's street, and Piccadilly clubs were draped with violet or black, Apsley and Grosvenor Houses with purple. The Ritz and Berkeley HoteL-5 and the- majority of private houses wera similarly dtaped. A great purple arcb at Padditigton wan sur«ToumU>d by a croiMi, inscribed "Fare•well.' r There were several big public stands in the House Guards' Parade, wUiere the Dartmouth and Osborne cadets and fhe boya from Greenwich Hospital were accommodated. At the Colonial Office there was a stand for distinguished visiting colonials, including Sir William Russsll, Dr. Levmge, Dr. M' Arthur, Mrs. RoMcEton, Mr Oallender, Mrs. Malcolm Ross, his Honour Judge Denniston, the Hon. S. Thome-George, the Hon. C. Louisswn, and Lady Stout. From the windows of 'the Government Offices, Whitehall, 150 Chel&ea pensioners looked out The Yeomen of tho Guard were stationed at Friary Court, 2000 London Territorials at Marble Arch, another 2000 near Apsley House. PROCESSION REACHES PADDINGTON. King George and the otQier Monarchs stood with bowed heads as Guardsmen neverently transferred' the coffin to the train, the massed bands playing "The Dead March" ("Saul"). King George and most of the Royalties travelled in a saloon carriage next the mortuary carriage. The train was the same "as that used at Queen Victoria's funeral. Tho engine was heavily draped with punple and white. The heat and the long standing caused many civilians and troops to faint. There were 1100 St. John Ambulance men. in the streets, in addition to a large force of the Army Medical Corps. The whole route A-as packed to its utmost rapacity. CROWD EXCEEDS A MILLION. It is estimated that the crowd exceeded a million. Tho crushing at many points was= very severe, especially at Hyde Park Coiner and the Marble Arch. There were eomi, broken limbs. SCENES AT WINDSOR. TOWN DENSELY PACKED. AWAITING ARRIVAL OF FUNERAL TRAIN. (Received May 21, 9.20 a.m.) LONDON, 20th May Windsor was densely crowded. Many tock up positions at 6 o'clock, and tho streets were impassable by 10 o'clock. Police and military cleared the route by 11 o'clock. Earlier portions of fhe procession arrived by special trains, re-formed, and on the station platform awaited the arrival of the coffin. The coffin was placed on a guncarriage and drawn by bluejackets through High-£ireet and Great Park, thence by the Long Walk to the west door of St. George's Chapel. The Kings and Princes followed afoot, as before, except that the Duke of Cornwall and Prince Albert were immediately behind King George. THE CURFEW BELL The bell of the Curfew Tower tolled, and the artillery fired minute guns. Queen Alexandra nnd the DowagerEmpress Maria drove behind the foreign royalties, and Queen Mary and the Queen <it' Norway followed. ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL. The coffin was received at the west door of St. George's Chapel by the Atclibishops of Canterbury and York, the Bkhop of Winchester, tho Dean of Windsor, canons, minor canons, lay clerks, and choristers. The chapel procession moved down the nave, the choir chanting the opening sentences of the service. The procession pacsed into tho choir, the Earl Mars-hal, the Lord Steward, and the Lord Cham box-la in immediately preceding the coffin. King George's wreath was on the coffin. Ifc was a cross of white Alexandra orchids. Queen Mary's wreath was of white may.

The procession preceded the coffin from the west door to the bier. King George led Queen Alexandra, by the hand. The Duke of Connaught and the Kaiser followed, with the Dowager-Em-press Marie on the Kaiser's right arm. Other Royalties and ambassadors .came next. It was a brilliant spectacle, sunbeams illuminating the chapel through the side windows. The coffin rested at the end of the nave, King George standing at tho head. Queen Alexandra and the Dowager-Em-press Marie stood on one side nt the head of the coffin. DISTINGUISHED CONGREGATION. St. George's Chapel was undraped, the only decorations being the banners [ of the .Knights of the Garters over the choir. j A distinguished congregation, numbering 700, was seated early, those occupying the tiers in the aisles including the Agents-General. The choir-stalls were filled by Ministers and ex-Minis-ters, including Mr. Asquith, Mr. Balfour (Leader of the Opposition), Lord i Lansdowne, Mr. Churchill (Home Sec- ! retary), Mr. Lloyd-George (Chancellor of the Exchequer), Siv E. Grey (Foreign Secretory), and Mr. Austen Chamberlain. THE SERVICE. Tho service proceeded. The Psalm was 90 ("Lord, Thou has been our dwelling place in all generations"), and the hymns were ;* "My God, My Father, While I Stray," and "Now the Labourer's Task is O"er." Anthems : Goss's "I Heard a Voice," and Handel's "His Body is Buried in Peace. ' The Bishop of Winchester read the lesson, and the Dean of Windsor pronounced the sentence :—: — "I heard a voice from Heaven, saying ' unto me, write from henceforth blessed ara the dead which die in the Lord : Even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours." The Archbishop of Canterbury read the prayers and pronounced King Edward's styles and the Benediction. Sir Walter Parratt played as an organ solo Beethoven's "Funeral March," (Aflat minor) as the sentence was pro- ! nounced : "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." PRIOR TO THE COMMITTAL. Prior to the committal of the cody, the > crown, orb, and sceptre were removed, but the coffin was left covered Iby the Royal Standard. King George advanced, and placed thereon a miniature of tho Standard carried by the King's Company of Grenadiers. While the Archbishop of Canterbury was reading tho words, "Earth to earth," the bier and coffin gradually and silently descended to tho vault. Afterwards, it was wheeled to its final resting place, a massive stone table, directly beneath the tomb of the late King's eldest son, the Duke of Clarence and Avoudcde. AT THE GRAVESIDE. After the benediction, King George and Queen Alexandra knelt together at live graveside and iook a last look at the coffin. They then retired to the Chapter room. The other Royal mourners followed ; then the entire assembly passed through the choir, and took a farewell look at the- grave. That was the end. GERMAN KAISER. HIS ARKIVAL IN ENGLAND. HE EMBRACES KING GEORGE AT THE BIER. LONDON, 19th May. His Imperial Majesty William 11., Emparor of Germany, in the Royal yacht Hohenzollern, arrived off the British naval station Sh-eeraess, escorted by two German warships and four British de?troyers. The Emperor landed quietly at Port Victoria (the Kentish seaport and railway station, tho starting-place of Continental steamers running in. connection, with the South-Eastern Railway). He then took train for London. On his arrival at Victoria Station, he was welcomed by King George V., the Duke of Connaught, Princes Edward and Henry, amd others. Tho moment the train came to a standstill, the Emperor leaped bareheaded on to the platform, and, seizing the King's right hand with outn his own, greeted his cousin with the utmost heartiness, kissing him on both cheeks. The Emperor then greeted the Duke of Connaught and the Heir-Apparent, also Prince Henry and the others. Finally, the Royal cousins, rulers of the British and of German Empires, together proceeded to the King's residence, Buckingham Palace. In the afternoon King George and the Emperor paid a visit to Westminster Hall, where they stayed for a quarter of an. hour. After the Emperoi and King George had gazed i"or some moments on the bier, the passage of the queue of public visitors was checked, and both the monarchs passed within the barrier, to a position at the head of the coffin. The Emperor then laid a, splendid wreath on the catafalque enclosing ihe earthly remains of his uncle. For a while lie kn«lt in prayer. Rising, th© Emperor looked feelingly at the King and stretched out his hand. Both grasped ha-nds firmly, and turned as though instinctively towards the coffin. In the eyes of each were the traces of tears. King Ferdinand of Bulgaria was met at Victoria Station by King George. A RAJAH'S OFFER. EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF KIXG EDWARD. LONDON, 19th May. Sir Rameswara. Singh Banadur, Maharajah of Darbhanga (who rules over 3335 square miles, with a population of about tnree millions, in Bengal, and who ranks as tho- first nobleman of Behar) has offered the Viceroy (Lord Alinto) a. laTge equestrian statue of King Edward, to be erected on tha Maidan (the great park) at Calcutta.