Funeral of King Edward VII
The funeral procession of King Edward VII, passing through Windsor. | |
Date | Friday, 20 May 1910 |
---|---|
Location |
Westminster Abbey, London (official ceremony) St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle (resting place) |
Participants | British Royal Family |
The funeral of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India occurred on Friday, 20 May 1910.
The funeral was the largest gathering of European royalty ever to take place, with representatives of 70 states, and the last before many royal families were deposed in World War I and its aftermath.[1]
Organisation
King Edward VII had died on 6 May, and the funeral was held two weeks later. Huge crowds gathered to watch the procession, which passed from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where a small ceremony was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Randall Davidson, before a small group of official mourners – the late King's widow, Queen Alexandra, his son King George V, his daughter The Princess Victoria, his brother the Duke of Connaught, and his nephew the German Emperor. The remainder of the funeral party waited outside the Hall, consisting of thousands of people. Then the whole procession proceeded via Whitehall and the Mall, from Hyde Park Corner up to the Marble Arch, and thence to Paddington Station. From there, a train conveyed the mourners to Windsor. The procession then continued on to Windsor Castle, and a full funeral ceremony was held in St George's Chapel.
The funeral directors to the Royal Household appointed to assist during this occasion were the family business of William Banting of St James's Street, London. The Banting family also conducted the funerals of King George III in 1820, King George IV in 1830, the Duke of Gloucester in 1834, the Duke of Wellington in 1852, Prince Albert in 1861, Prince Leopold in 1884, and Queen Victoria in 1901. The royal undertaking warrant for the Banting family ended in 1928 with the retirement of William Westport Banting.[2]
People in the procession
The funeral was notable for the enormous number of important European and world royalty who participated in it. The funeral procession saw a horseback procession, followed by 11 carriages.
Figures on horseback included the following, along with various military figures and equerries (given roughly in the order they rode:
- HM The King of the United Kingdom, the late King's son
- HI&RM The German Emperor, King of Prussia, the late King's nephew
- HRH The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, the late King's brother
- HM The King of the Hellenes, the late King's brother-in-law
- HM The King of Spain, the late King's nephew-in-law
- HM The King of Norway, the late King's nephew by marriage/son-in-law
- HM The King of Denmark, the late King's brother-in-law
- HM The King of Portugal, the late King's fourth cousin
- HM The Tsar of the Bulgarians, the late King's second cousin
- HM The King of the Belgians, the late King's second cousin
- HI&RH The Archduke of Austria-Este, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary
- HIH The Crown Prince of the Ottoman Empire
- HIH Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, the late King's nephew by marriage
- HRH The Duke of Aosta, cousin of the King of Italy
- HIH Prince Fushimi Sadanaru, cousin of the Emperor of Japan
- HRH The Crown Prince of Greece, the late King's nephew by marriage/nephew-in-law
- HRH The Crown Prince of Romania, the late King's nephew-in-law
- HRH Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, the late King's sixth cousin, grandson of the Prince-Regent of Bavaria
- HRH Duke Albrecht of Württemberg, cousin and heir-presumptive of the King of Württemberg[3]
- HRH The Crown Prince of Serbia
- HRH The Prince Consort of the Netherlands, husband of the Queen of the Netherlands
- HRH The Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, the late King's nephew
- HRH The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the late King's second cousin
- HRH Prince Henry of Prussia, the late King's nephew
- HRH The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the late King's nephew
- HRH Prince Johann Georg of Saxony, the late king's second cousin once removed
- HRH The Duke of Västergötland, the late King's nephew-in-law by marriage
- HSH The Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, brother of the late king's sister-in-law
- HRH Prince Mohammed Ali of Egypt, heir presumptive to the throne of Egypt
- HRH Prince Arthur of Connaught, the late King's nephew
- HH Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the late King's brother-in-law
- HH Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, the King's nephew
- HH Prince Alexander of Battenberg, the late King's nephew
- His Grace The Duke of Fife, the late King's son-in-law
- HSH The Duke of Teck, the late King's second cousin
- HSH Prince Francis of Teck, the late King's second cousin
- HSH Prince Alexander of Teck, the late King's nephew-in-law
- HRH Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, the late King's nephew by marriage/great-nephew-in-law
- HIH Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia, the late king's third cousin once removed
- HGDH Prince Maximilian of Baden, the late King's nephew-in-law by marriage
- HRH The Crown Prince of Montenegro, the late King's third cousin-in-law
- HRH Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark, the late King's nephew by marriage
- HH Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the late King's second cousin
- HRH The Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the late King's third cousin
- HRH Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza (Brazil), the late king's second cousin twice removed
- HRH The Duke of Penthièvre
- HRH Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
- HH Prince August Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the King's second cousin
- HSH Prince Wolrad of Waldeck-Pyrmont, first cousin once removed of Queen Alexandra
- HRH Prince Bovaradej of Siam
Those who followed behind in the carriages included:
- Caesar (dog), the late King's dog who led the funeral procession with a highlander walking behind the carriage that carried the King's coffin
- HM Queen Alexandra, the late King's widow
- HIM Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, the late King's sister-in-law
- HRH The Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, the late King's daughter
- HRH The Princess Victoria, the late King's daughter
- HM The Queen of the United Kingdom, the late King's daughter-in-law
- HM The Queen of Norway, the late King's daughter
- HRH The Duke of Cornwall, the late King's grandson
- HRH The Princess Mary, the late King's granddaughter
- HRH Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the late King's sister
- HRH The Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, the late King's sister
- HRH Princess Henry of Battenberg, the late King's sister
- HRH The Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, the late King's sister-in-law
- HRH The Dowager Duchess of Albany, the late King's sister-in-law
- HRH Princess Patricia of Connaught, the late King's niece
- HH Princess Alexandra of Fife, the late King's granddaughter
- HH Princess Maud of Fife, the late King's granddaughter
- HH Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, the late King's niece
- HH Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, the late King's niece
- HRH The Prince Albert, the late King's grandson
- HRH The Prince Henry, the late King's grandson
- HRH Prince George of Hanover and Cumberland, the late King's nephew by marriage
- HIH Prince Zaitao of China, representing the Qing Dynasty
- His Excellency Former President Theodore Roosevelt, representing the United States
- Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphen Pichon, representing the French Republic
- Samad Khan Momtaz os-Saltaneh, representing Persia
Notes
- ↑ Tuchman 2014, p. 1.
- ↑ Todd Van Beck, "The Death and State Funeral of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill", part II, in Canadian Funeral News (October 2012), Vol. 40 Issue 10, p. 10 (online Archived 2014-03-16 at the Wayback Machine.)
- ↑ Tuchman 2014, p. 6.
References
Books
- Tuchman, Barbara W. (2014). Guns of August. Random House Trade. ISBN 978-0-345-38623-6.
News
- The Times, May 21, 1910