Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 04 (of 15), EnglishMorris, Charles
History
Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 04 (of 15), English
Morris, Charles
Great Britain -- History
Six cream-colored horses drew the stately carriage in which the royal
party rode, the Duke of Cambridge and an escort accompanying it, while a
body-guard of princes followed, the Prince of Wales being mounted on a
golden chestnut horse and sharing with his mother the cheers of the
throng. Preceding this escort and the queen's carriage was a series of
carriages in which were seated the sumptuously appareled Indian princes,
clothed in cloth of gold and wearing turbans glittering with diamonds
and other precious gems. Prominent in the group of mounted princes was
the German Crown Prince Frederick, who succeeded to the throne as
Emperor Frederick III. in the following March and died in the following
June, in less than a year from his appearance in the Jubilee. But there
was no presage of his quick-coming death in his present appearance, his
white uniform and plumed silver helmet attracting general admiration,
while he sat his horse as proudly as a knight of old and was covered
with medals and decorations significant of his prowess in battle. A
gorgeous cavalcade of natives of India completed the procession, than
which none of greater brilliance had ever been seen in London streets.
In the Abbey were gathered from nine to ten thousand spectators, of the
noblest families of the land, and dressed in their most effective
attire, while the lights brought out the glitter of thousands of
gleaming gems. The queen herself, while dressed in rich black, wore a
bonnet of white Spanish lace that glittered with diamonds.
[Illustration: WINDSOR CASTLE, NORTH FRONT.]
As she entered the Abbey the organ pealed forth the strains of a
triumphal march. There followed a Jubilee Thanksgiving Service, brief
and simple, and special prayers by the Archbishop of Canterbury. As a
finale to the impressive scene the queen, moved to deep emotion,
embraced with warm affection the princes and princesses of her house,
and, with a deep bow to her foreign guests, withdrew from the scene, to
return to the palace over the same route and through similar
demonstrations of enthusiastic loyalty.
All over England and Ireland and in the colonies the day was celebrated
by joyous celebrations, and in foreign lands, especially in the United
States, the British residents fittingly honored the festive occasion.
On the following day, in Hyde Park, London, the queen drove in state
down a long and happy line of twenty-seven thousand school-children, who
had been made happy by a banquet and various amusements, besides being
given a multitude of toys. The special feature of the occasion was the
presentation by the queen of a specially manufactured jubilee-ring,
which she gave with a kind speech to a very happy twelve-year-old girl
who had attended school for several years without missing a session.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account