Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901 -- Fiction
"Huzza! we've a little Prince at last,
A roaring Royal boy;
And all day long the booming bells
Have rung their peals of joy.
"And the little Park guns have blazed away
And made a tremendous noise,
Whilst the air has been filled since eleven o'clock
With the shouts of little boys."
One or two questions in regard to the celebration had to be settled by
the courts of justice. It was an old privilege that when an heir to the
throne was born, the officer on guard at St. James' Palace should be
promoted to the rank of major. In this case the child was born at
Buckingham, but the guard at St. James' demanded his promotion
nevertheless. The matter was complicated by the fact that the change of
sentry had chanced to occur just at the time of the birth of the
Prince, and whether the old or the new guard actually held the keys was
a difficult question to determine. Another difficulty of the same kind
arose at Chester. The Prince had the title of Earl of Chester, and the
mayor of that city declared that by ancient right he had claim to a
baronetcy. Exactly the same question arose as with the sentinels, for
at about the moment when the keys were transferred the new mayor was
taking the oath of office.
All England rejoiced; but across the water, in Germany, was a man who
was not at all pleased to hear that a son and heir was born to
Victoria, for he had always had a lingering hope that he might yet
become King of Great Britain. His aide-de-camp said that King Ernest
was generally ill-natured when he heard from England; and he was
indignant enough when he was not asked to become his grandnephew's
godfather. Who should be the chief sponsor was a weighty matter but
Baron Stockmar's advice was followed, and the King of Prussia was
invited to take the place of honor. The Queen wished the little Prince
named Albert for the husband who was so dear to her, and Edward for the
father whom she could not remember, and these names were given him.
This small Prince was an expensive baby, for it is said that the
festivities at his christening cost at least $1,000,000. The Queen gave
him the title of Prince of Wales when he was only a month old by
signing an interesting bit of parchment which declared that she girded
him with a sword and put a golden rod into his hands that he might
direct and defend the land of the Welsh.
In all these regal honors and rejoicings the little baby sister was not
forgotten, and the Queen wrote in her journal: "Albert brought in
dearest little Pussy in such a smart merino dress, trimmed with blue,
which mamma had given her, and a pretty cap. She was very dear and
good."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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