Speeches and Addresses of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales: 1863-1888. King of Great Britain Edward VII

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СКАЧАТЬ target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#ulink_5376cbc8-1f66-54a4-b094-eaaefa9fe789">349 Speeches at Royal Academy Banquets 355 Royal Banquets at the Trinity House 377 The Royal College of Music 391 National Training School for Music 391 Founding the Royal College of Music 394 The Colonies and the College of Music 403 Inauguration of the Royal College of Music 408 Index 417

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.

       Table of Contents

      As the record of Public Speeches in the following pages does not begin till 1863, it may be well to give a few dates and incidents of previous years in the life of the Prince of Wales.

      He was born on the 9th of November, 1841, at Buckingham Palace. From Windsor, to which the Court removed on the 6th of December, the Queen wrote next day to King Leopold, "We arrived here safe and sound, with our awfully large nursery establishment, yesterday morning. … I wonder very much whom our little boy will be like. You will understand how fervent are my prayers, and I am sure everybody's must be, to see him resemble his father in every respect, both in body and mind."

      The Prince, named Albert Edward, was baptized in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on the 25th of January, 1842. King Frederick William of Prussia was invited to be the boy's Godfather, and he came over personally to undertake the office. The other Sponsors, six in number, were members of the Houses of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha, and of the English Royal family. There was a full choral service at the christening. A special anthem had been composed by Sir George Elvey. On the Prince Consort being told of this, and asked when it should be sung, he answered, "Not at all; no anthem. If the service ends by an anthem we shall all go out criticising the music. We will have something we all know—something in which we can all join—something devotional. The Hallelujah Chorus; we shall all join in that, with our hearts." The Hallelujah Chorus ended the service accordingly. The incident is noteworthy, as showing how the infant Prince was committed, at his baptism, not in outward form only, but in devout spirit, to the care of the Heavenly Father.

      When the Queen told King Leopold of the removal of the Court to Windsor, she had made special mention of "the nursery establishment." No mother in any rank of life ever paid greater attention to this part of the home, wherever the Court might be. In Memoirs and Recollections of the Queen, by those who have belonged to her household, many anecdotes are found which show the watchful care and the personal superintendence of the Royal Mother.

      It is only this year, in the autumn of 1888, that Mrs. Hull, who entered Her Majesty's service as nurse to the Prince of Wales, died, in her seventy-ninth year. She was a kind and conscientious attendant to every one of the Royal children, and the Queen ever retained great regard for the faithful nurse—"Dear old May," as she used to call her. When she retired from the Royal service, and lived in recent years in Windsor, she was always welcome at the Castle. The Queen herself and the Princesses often saw her, and the Prince of Wales frequently brought her handsome presents. In reading the account of her funeral, it is pleasant to see that on the card attached to one of the many wreaths laid on her coffin were the words: "A mark of affection and gratitude from Victoria R. I." A beautiful wreath sent by the Prince and Princess of Wales bore the inscription: "In remembrance of dear old May."

      When the Royal children came to be under governesses and teachers, they were taught well the usual branches of early education, and were also trained in practical ways, the boys in the use of tools, and the girls in household work, especially when the Swiss Cottage at Osborne was occupied by the young folk.

      In the story of the 'Early Years of the Prince Consort' there is an amusing reference to the interruptions of the schoolroom studies by the old Duke of Saxe-Coburg, who loved to carry off the two boys, and take them on excursions. The Prince himself did this sometimes, as when the two elder children, in the autumn of 1846, were taken with their parents in the Victoria and Albert to Portland, Weymouth, Guernsey, Dartmouth, and Plymouth, between August 8th and 25th; and to Jersey, Falmouth, St. Michael's Mount, and the Duchy of Cornwall, between September 2nd and 9th. Of these excursions details are given in the Queen's 'Leaves from a Journal.' The Queen tells how, at several places off the Cornish coast, "boats crowded round us in all directions, and when Bertie showed himself the people shouted, 'Three cheers for the Duke of Cornwall!'" … In the Journal, under date September 7th, Prince Albert having that day landed to visit some mines, the Queen has this entry, "The Corporation of Penryn were on board, and very anxious to see the Duke of Cornwall, so I stepped out of the pavilion with Bertie, and Lord Palmerston told them that that was the Duke of Cornwall; and the old Mayor of Penryn said that 'he hoped he would grow up to be a blessing to his parents, and to his country.'"

      On September the 2nd, on the evening of the day when the Royal yacht left Osborne for the Channel Islands, "Bertie put on his sailor's dress, which was beautifully made by the man on board who makes for our sailors. When he appeared, the officers and sailors, who were all assembled on deck to see him, cheered, and seemed delighted with him."

      In 1847 there was another holiday journey, this time to Scotland, the Queen and the Prince taking with them, as before, the two eldest children, with Miss Hildyard, their governess. They embarked at Osborne, in the Royal yacht, on the 11th of August. On the 14th they were at Pembroke, when the dockyard and the castle were inspected: thence along the coast of Wales, landing at Bangor, from whence there was an expedition to Penryn Castle, and thence past the Isle of Man to the Scottish coast. Of this journey a detailed account is given in a letter to Baron Stockmar. At Rothesay in the Isle of Bute, the Prince Consort says, "The people were as much rejoiced to see the Duke of Rothesay as the Welsh were to salute the Prince of Wales on their native ground." It was this enthusiasm about local associations that led the Queen, after the first visit to Ireland, to desire for the Prince the title of Earl of Dublin.

      During 1848 and the following year there was much in the state of public affairs, at home and abroad, to occupy the attention of the Queen and the Prince Consort, but they were anxiously considering the plans for the future education of the Prince of Wales. In May 1848 negociations had been opened with Mr. Birch, who had been highly recommended as tutor. In the spring of 1849 the appointment was made, and Prince Albert, in a letter to the Dowager Duchess СКАЧАТЬ