A Journal From Our Legation in BelgiumGibson, Hugh
History
A Journal From Our Legation in Belgium
Gibson, Hugh
Belgium -- History -- German occupation, 1914-1918
When the King and Queen finally left the Palace we knew it from a roar
of cheering that came surging across the Park. The little procession
came along at a smart trot, and although it was hidden from us by the
trees we could follow its progress by the steadily advancing roaring of
the mob. When they turned from the Rue Royale into the Rue de la Loi,
the crowd in front of the Parliament buildings took up the cheering in a
way to make the windows rattle.
First came the staff of the King and members of his household. Then the
Queen, accompanied by the royal children, in an open daumont. The
cheering for the Queen was full-throated and with no sign of doubt,
because of her Bavarian birth and upbringing--she is looked on as a
Belgian Queen and nothing else.
After the Queen came a carriage or two with members of the royal family
and the Court. Finally the King on horseback. He was in the field
uniform of a lieutenant-general, with no decorations and none of the
ceremonial trappings usual on such occasions as a speech from the
Throne. He was followed by a few members of his staff who also looked as
though they were meant more for business than for dress parade.
As the King drew rein and dismounted, the cheering burst forth with
twice its former volume; and, in a frantic demonstration of loyalty,
hats and sticks were thrown into the air. Two bands played on manfully,
but we could hear only an occasional discord.
Just as the King started into the building an usher came out, touched me
on the arm and said something, beckoning me to come inside. One of the
galleries had been locked by mistake but had now been opened, and Webber
and I were rewarded for our modesty by being given the whole thing to
ourselves. In a few minutes the Bolivian Charge came in and joined us.
Our places were not ten feet from the Throne, and we could not have been
better placed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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