The Life of King Edward VII: with a sketch of the career of King George VHopkins, J. Castell (John Castell)
History
The Life of King Edward VII: with a sketch of the career of King George V
Hopkins, J. Castell (John Castell)
Edward VII, King of Great Britain, 1841-1910
To these varied lines of useful statesmanship and personal labour in
which the Heir Apparent was engaged for so many years, may be added the
personal influence which he exercised over men of the Empire from time
to time, and his constant inculcation of pride in country and of
patriotic principle. There will then be seen a total record worthy of
his later place as the hereditary ruler of vast dominions. In the former
connection one incident may be mentioned as told by a correspondent
during the Indian tour: "The Prince's tact is remarkable, and the news
of his friendliness soon spread over India; one officer of great
experience in Indian affairs declared that in asking the Maharajah
Scindia to ride down the lines with him at Delhi, His Royal Highness
performed an act which was worth a million sterling." Upon the latter
point his speeches during forty years to innumerable military
bodies--Militia, Volunteer, or Naval--may be mentioned. His earliest
deliverance of this character was in presenting colours to the 100th, or
Prince of Wales' Royal Canadian Regiment, at Thorncliffe, on January
10th, 1859. His first speech as an officer of the Army was, therefore,
of an Imperialistic character: "The ceremonial, in which we are now
engaged, possesses a peculiar significance and solemnity because in
confiding to you for the first time this emblem of military fidelity and
valour, I not only recognize emphatically your enrollment into our
national force but celebrate an act which proclaims and strengthens the
unity of the various parts of this vast Empire under the sway of our
common Sovereign." The fact that this address of the youthful Prince--he
was not eighteen--was probably revised and approved by the Prince
Consort and the Queen, illustrates how early his education in
Imperialism began, and how far in advance of public opinion the Queen
and her sagacious husband were.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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