Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901 -- Fiction
As soon as she had landed the difficulties began; for the people who
had been waiting for hours to see the face that they had heard was the
prettiest in the world meant to see it, and they thronged about her
carriage in such determined crowds that the police were helpless. There
is a story that one inquisitive youth actually twisted his head between
the spokes of her carriage wheels to get a glimpse of her in some way;
and the legend says that the Princess herself helped him out of his
dangerous position. Addresses were presented before she had fairly set
her feet upon English soil, one of them signed by the eight hundred
Eton boys. Whenever there was a moment's delay, some delegation was
always waiting, ready to make a speech of welcome. There were rockets
and bonfires and salutes from vessels and forts, and, fascinated as she
was, the young girl was thoroughly tired before she was safe at Windsor
Castle.
A week later the royal wedding was celebrated in St. George's Chapel.
The Prince was in the long flowing purple velvet mantle of the Order of
the Garter, which made a rich contrast with the white lace and satin
and orange blossoms of his bride. She was loaded with jewels, for the
gifts of the Queen, the Prince, and the city of London must all be
treated with respect. In her bouquet were sprigs of myrtle that had a
history, for they had come from a bush grown from the myrtle in the
bridal bouquet of the Princess "Vicky." There was more jewelry that was
of special interest, for while the Prince was satisfied with a plain
hoop of gold for the wedding ring, the guard was set with stones the
initials of whose names formed the word, "Bertie,"--beryl, emerald,
ruby, turquoise, jacinth, emerald. The lockets that he gave to the
bridesmaids were made after a new fashion, for they were wrought of
crystal, and in each were the initials "A. E.--A." intertwined in a
design drawn by the Princess Alice. These letters were made of diamonds
and coral to display the red and white of the Danish flag.
There was all the brilliancy and gorgeousness that can be imagined, for
it was the wedding of the heir to the British crown. There were
heralds, drummers, and trumpeters, all in quaint and handsome costumes.
The gleam of gold, the flash of diamonds, and the burning glow of
rubies made the Chapel a wilderness of color and brightness. Very
slowly the beautiful Princess and her bridesmaids moved up the long
aisle to the altar, too slowly for the comfort of Prince Arthur and his
brother Leopold in their Highland dress, for the small German nephew
had been put under their care, and the naughty little Frederick William
Victor Albert bit their bare legs whenever they told him to be quiet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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