Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

4 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

,f"" THE KING'S LAST COURT…

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

,f"" THE KING'S LAST COURT T IN WESTMINSTER HALL. 1 IMPRESSIVE MOURNING PAGEANT. Amid the grief of a nation, and with solemn and ceremony, the remains of King fdward were removed on Tuesday from the Xkr ■ne Room in Buckingham Palace to West- lfmdKster Hall, there to lie in state. A a very early hour people began to as- semble along' the line of the procession, most itt'lhem clad in mourning, and by ten o'clock ttte Mall and the Horse Guards were densely ftvc-wded. The crowds increased rapidly until -the very moment at which the procession St&Tt-ed. The solemnity and quietude of the crowds iie-vei- been surpassed. Such a-silence from mrh a multitude was the most eloquent tribute -f«t. registered to the revered memory of the •■.f&trfai Peacemaker. *hu> scene in the Mall will never be for- by those who waited in the crowds. Away down the avenue between the. densely ..gMckod, black-garbed people, and the lines of '-ifiHH'let-tunics, the bonnets of the Highlanders, ;sod the bearskins of the Grenadiers, the ■frafx'hers caught a glimpse of the Palace, and tplF* Royal Standard hanging at, half-mast above. kl&tteiiily the people waited, and the silence was wonderful. Lord Roberts passed along, and tvvi hats were lifted. The King, accom- jpohicd by the Duke of Cornwall and Prince Albert in the uniforms of naval cadets, drove in hit; carriage to the Palace. THE TWO KINGS. Punctually at half-past eleven, King Edward kk his last Bad departure from Buckingham. J>alce. A befirerparty of non-com missioned ^0&ettT9 from the Grenadier Guards slowly ear- JTMMJ the Royal coffin towards the gun-carriage. King George, dressed in the uniform of an English Admiral, walked behind, followed by ■siSie two young Princes. The draped coffin, sup- "porting the symbols of kingly office, the Crown, >; Orb and the Sceptre, was reverently placed "ØpøD the gun-carriage. The silence became op- lFeMive, and then suddenly a roll of muffled ,Idruins broke out on the morning air, and the md bands swelled out with the eolenm ..jrfraitiK of Beethoven's Funeral March. First ,æsme an advance division of the escort, dis- j«K)nn<ed. the sunlight glistening on their breast- gilsirp and plumed helmets and the naked blades idt t he sw ords they carried beneath their arms. Lotd Kitchener and Lord Roberts followed ■jUtpether. walking side by side. After the Field-Marshals came the Adririrals the Fleet, then the Indian orderly officers, r:S»d then the massed bands of the Brigade of with their drums and pipers. And siiijCR came the gun-carriage and t;1 oa.k coffin ,-40closift-g all that waiR' mortal of the sleeping gior The Royal Artillery drew the gun- „4»rriag<e, and on either side of the horses ;Hs*rehed men from the King's Company of .Grenadier Guards, while guarding the coffin -■■&«¥(■ etit-terries au<l: Yeomen of the Guard. The Royal Standard draped the coffin, and V, the Standard were two rich purple Ot whiuiift, on whic h rested the jewelled crown, iJw orfct and the sceptre. Many women wept ,^pf»ily. Keit to tl k' jtuibjc^rtiajf^, spiked King V. iK-idio nif [K'opie. and ^behind the of his iathei. The' ayiitpa'thy'o'f the crowd went (ilit to the new King and the bereaved son jin a visible waw, of emotion which was aeeen-, -■4a»ieA\ by the sight of the smaller figures in uniform who are the heirs of the British ,Vrown a,,rid ihe grandsons of Edward the Great. After this csitte the group of Reigning Monarchs ;:Md Royal Princes whom blood tics, affection, ,-And re«s[>eot have brought acros* the sea, to do i-A) the dead. The depu King's brother, "h DuTie of Connanght. was in the front rank, With ihe Kings of Norway and Denmark. Following them came Prince Christian, the Uwke of Saxe-Coburg, the Grand Duke Michael Al"itidrovitch of, Russia. Prince Arthur of *4&»nauglit, Prince Albert of Schleswig-Hol- ..atem, Prince Andrew of Greece, the Grand ,Vuk,- Michael Michaelovitch, the Reigning IPriBee of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the Duke of "T"k, P,rinœ Louis of Battenberg, the Duke of fife, t. Duke of Argyll, Prince Francis of "k., Prince Alexander of Battenberg, Prince liguri(-e:of Ba-ttenl)erg, Count Gleiehen, Prince Alexander of Teck, Prin,George of Batten- F l,f.- late King's household came next, the Lofdfi and Grboran in Waiting, the Extra and the gentlemen of the varioun Mttya.1 households, j THE QUEEN MOTHER. 1 And then the first carriage, with tche, wrrow- ing beautiful face of the widowed Queen Alex- ..atidra, touching every heart to tears as sh,- went jwwt, Her Majesty was accompanied by the Empress Marie of Russia. In the second ear- jriagft waft Queen Mary, with the Queen of Nor- Way, Princess Mary, and Prince Henry. The ■ qU(lefAfj went past with veiled faces, and as ihey > ante slowly down the Mall the pipers of i,lie, Guards swirled out into the old, Jbea-rfc-pier ping Scottish lament, "The Flowers .<j»f the Forest." Tlie deep mourning worn by Royal ladies contrasted strangely with the ^parklte of the State carnages in which they, Sa.t, the scarlet and gold liveries of -'Ae drivers and footmen. In other carriages node Princess Christian of Sehleewig-Holstem, Princess LOUlSB Duchess of Argyll, Princess Henry of Battenberg, the Duchess of Con- the. Duchess of Albany, the Duchews Haxe-Coburg and Goth a, Princes* Patricia ".of C'oflnaught, Princes." Andrew of Greece, I Prhi<j £ fifl I.Aiuis of Battenberg, Princess Alex- -sndra of Fife, Princess Maud of Fife, Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holsteiit, Princess Marie- ,IA41ii4e of Schelswig-Holstein, and the Duchess ,of Teck. A second division of mounted Life i. Ouargs brotigbt the procession to a close. The wailing of the bagpipes died awav as the *««) of the procession neared the Home I 4>uar<t« Parade, and then the massed bands jave out Chopin's "Marche Funcbre." When was reached the music was Again changed, the Dead March from "Saul," intrcwluced by a deeply impressive "ron "from Atty Mide drums, being played fi-oni here until | Ae •offin was borne into Westminster Hall. I IN PARLIAMENT-SQUARE. It was ten minutes past noon when the head .!Of the Procession reached Parliament-square. guards of Honour were drawn up inside the railitil,ys of New Palate-yard. A bearer party ..fOr (irenadier Guards stood beneath a great Awning of purple and white cloth in front of f.he main entrance to Westminster Hall, and At intervals of fifteen seconds a dull, muffled tOMii came from St. Stephen's Tower. It lII'Q,s the death knell which, for the first time since Big Ben was cast was tolled from that mighty b*Yl. Two other bells also tolled—those of W#«tnlin»ter Abbey and St. Margaret's Church --aj)d they were accompanied at intervals by the distant booming of guns. Mrh4Rn the massed torn As reached the Square the gunsoouidbe | lO8re diatmgttifihedj but the awlemn tollilag of the bells mingled with the notes of Handel's music. The bands formed up in the roadway between St. Margaret's and Westminster Hall, continuing to play the Dead March till all the mourners had passed into the interior. THE RESTING PLACE. At the door of the Hall the coffin was re- ceived by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Great Chamberlain (the Earl of A11- caster), the Earl Marshal (the Duke of Nor- folk), and the First Commissioner of Works (Mr. Lewis Harcoiirt). It was taken from the gun-carriage and borne into the Hall. There- upon the Union jack which had been flying half-mast on1 the Victoria Tower was hauled down and the Royal Standard hoisted, also half- mast, in its place. The Yeomen of the Guard who had walked beside the coffin formed up on each side of the doorway, and remained until the service in the Hall was over. This was not till nearly ten minutes to one. The King and other Royal mourners who had made the journey from Buckingham Palace on foot re- turned in carriages, escorted by Life Guards. All were respectfully and sympathetically greeted by the crowds of silent spectators ail they drove slowly away. "BLEST ARE THE DEPARTED." The Holujos of Parliament met before the procession started from Buckingham Palace, and afterwards assembled in Westminster Hall, waiting in silence for its arrival. The King's, Company of Grenadier Guards, bareheaded, had the honour of carrying the coffin into the Hall on their shoulders immediately a long panel, draped with the Roval pall, with, upon it, the Union Jack, the Crown, the Orb, the Sceptre, and King Edward's insignia of the Order of the Garter, was borne on the shoulders of GcHflcmen-at-Arms. The coffin and the superstructure, with its symbols of kingship, were deposit.ed on the catafalque. The Royal I mourners passed in. The Queen-Mother and her sister, the Empress Marie of Russia, led the solemn proces- sion of black-robed ladies. On the right of Queen Alexandra was King George, and during the brief ceremonial his Majesty's solicitude tor his mother was constant and tireless. He sup- ported her with his arm as they took up their position at the head of the coffin'. Everyone was standing. It was a family group-—a family lamenting its lost head. group-—a family lamenting its lost head. The service was very simple. The Arch- bishop repeated the Lord's Prayer. The twenty- third Psalm was read, followed by the Lesson— this read by the Dean—from St..John v., 24 and 25: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that lieareth my word and beiicveth on llini that sent mc, hath everlasting life. Next the choir sang the anthem Blest are the departed who in the Lord are sleeping, from j henceforth for evermore they rest from their labours and their works do follow them." The Archbishop led in three prayers. The Primate's address was brief. "Brothers," he said, "the Sovereign whom his Empire and the, world delighted to honour is suddenly takem from our head, and perhaps we find it difficult to fix in our thoughts the signi- ficance of these memorable days, the lesson of this scene for us and for the multitudes who will throng to look upon it. "Here in the great hall of English history we stand in the presence of death. But death is, to us Christians, swallowed up in a larger life. Our common sorrow reminds us of our common hope. We rise from sorrow to thanksgiving and prayer. We give thanks. We thank God for a ruler devoted to the service of his people; we thank God for the peace and prosperiwhich have marked King Edward's reign. W* thank God for teaching us still to see His hand in the story of our nation's well-being. And we pray. We pray God that, as we are united by this great sorrow, we may be united for the tiisks which lie before us; for the fight against all that is unworthy of our calling as the Christian inheritors of a great Empire; the fight against selfishness, and im- purity and greed, the fight against fhe spirit that is callous or profane. "Let us pledge ourselves afresh, from this solemn hour. to a deliberate and unswerving effort, as Christian folk. to set forward what is true and just, what is lovely and of good report, in the daily life, both public and private, of a people to whom much is given and of whom much will be required." c THE PEOPLE'S HOMAGE. It is estimated that some 40,000 people passed through Westminster Hall between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Tuesday, the hours during which the public were admitted to the lying-in-state, j As early as noon people began to assemble on the western side of the House of Lords, and the police at once formed them into a queue. Pechaps the most striking feature of the queue was that it was composed almost entirely of people of the lower and middle classes. When Big Ben struck four and the doors of I St. Stephen's were opened the tail end of the main queue was two miles away, St. George s- square, Pimlieo. It was six minutes before the end of the queue began to move forward. The men and women reverently passed into the hall. At each corner of the coffin burnt a four-light candelabra, and an officer of the Grenadier Guards stood at each corner. In front of each officers stood a Yeoman of the Guard. At the head of the coffin were four Gentlemen-at- Arms, and LI, the foot was the Major of Ghuikhas, who is in command of the King's Indian Bodyguard. The officers, who were in review order, stood resting on their drawn swords, while the Gentlemen-at-Arms and the Yeomen of the Guard stood with their halberds reversed. Just inside the hall, where the public could see it on leaving, was the magnificent- wreath of lilies arid orchids sent by the "German Emperor and Empress. The people passed the coffin at the rate of about 7,000 an hour. Every half-houi the stream was checked to allow the watch to be relieved. When darkness came and the lights were lit inside the hall the impressireness of the scene was enhanced. Almost until the last minute people were joining the queue. As Big Ben struck ten o'clock the doors of Westminster Hall were shut, and the disappointed ones, who numbered about 4,000, dispersed quietly. The police made strenuous efforts in the 'last hour to get all the waiting people through the hall, but found it impossible.

Advertising

Advertising

TEA TABLE TALK.