Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, May 10, 1910, Page 3, Image 3
EDWARD VII, LATE KING OF ENGLAND-HIS PERSONALITY, HABITS, TASTES, LIKES AND DISLIKES, AND ROUTINE OF HIS DAILY LIFE Strong Human Qualities Made Secret of King Edward’s Popularity—He Liked Sports and Humor, Was Fond of Theatre. Punctilious on Etiquette, and Delighted in Stolid Ceremonials—His Face One That Rarely Showed Anger DISLIKED ULTRA-BRITISH AMERICANS; W. WALDORF ASTOR HIS PET AVERSION But Was a Good Mixer With Sincere People. Though Kept loyal Dignity Always Intact—Liked to Read All Views of Himself - “ Habits Temperate in Latei Life Reformed Household Details of Palace and Paid All His Debts PY JOHN VA.XDEBCOOK. C-«r T rirtt by Ne«P-l*r Eo,e,pri * ar it» European bureau. He baa Hard lor al* ki l£2don and baa aeen King €.,f rarvtn« circuMawea- Tmm knowledge «hu ~i tw| and from rarinna InaMe source* of be haa written one of the m«*t complete IX»7itM “b.ra.ter akeiebea of «•*£*“* tuouarcb wbicb bas ever appeared —bditor. • LONDON.—The great secret of King Edward's popularity was his man qualities. His subjects felt that they knew him a* they might one at their intimate friends, and while 1 am not one of his subjects. I have lived six vears in his capital, have frequently seen him and have heard a great deal about him from men who enjoyed nt. close personal acquaintance. The last time I saw King Edward he was driving from Buckingham palace to the Liverpool station, in London, to take a train for Newmarket. Eager people massed in the streets, leaving only " nar row lane for the king s carriage. Along it came, mounted policemen and a couple of outriders. There was a big cheer and then the crowd began to shouL almost in unison. Good old Teddy! Good old Teddy!” ~ . The king took off his hat and smiled -not a formal, thank-you-for-your-loyal greetings sort of a smile, but a broad, happy grin. EDWARD. THE MAN. Edward was about 5 feet 10 inches in height and weighed well over 300 poun.l>. He was a far larger man than the pub lic realised or got any idea of. from h a pictures. One reason for this was that t court photographer always retouches a few inches off the kings figures. His stoutness was what made his °Pf r *» ,o _ n fur appendicitis so particularly dang ous. The doctors had to cut an appalling amount of tissue befoia they reached the appendix. Hed the king beer smooth-shaven, he would have exhibited several double chin., which were concealed in his *1 P° ln ‘* beard, almost white. His eyes were large, blue and very prominent, with lit tie fleahv bags under the 4ower Hl, nose was large, and both cheeks and r,s. were InsUne-l to a ruddiness o.iM >e be observed in well-fed. elderly »- g-.ishmen. The general Ot race was one of wise good humor It raiciy. if ever. expressed anger. the ring was displeased, his eyes glaxed ove- with a look of utter indifference. If he saw anything at such a time, seem ing! v it was at the back of the pe.sons head to whom he was talking. It disconcerting trick known only to * miners of the upper British and their studious imitators. To a man w be had presumed on the king s good na l«rt. it was withering. THE KING’S DAILY LIFE. Whatever may have been the habits es the kings youth, they * ere ’ a ;• most temperate in all respects. He was r» a mXr of fact, on a strict reguns Prescribed by the » hy ’ ici * n " brought him through his coronation 111- C A* T SO tn the morning a cup of tea .ar a cracker were brought to him m bed. after which he took a warm bath at S-30 he sat down to breakfst with ■be queen or any members of his; at the palace Should he be visiting at rxs >■»»... i.. In his own apartments. This • was the typical English meal, which is duplicated Tn nine out of every ten Eng lish homes —tea. porridge with cream, haddock or some otner fisu. or bacon aud eggs. Very rarely did the king onnk coffee. . . . After breakfast, the king received his secretary. Lord Knollys. and ran larough such correspondence as was submitted to him- Seldom, if ever, did he dictate any replies. To most letters he listened in silenoe. On one or two ot greeter im ports nee he made a brief comment and dismissed the rest with * what to oo with that lot. To all. Knol- Ls was expected to make fitting re dlies. with very little help in the way of suggestions. Sometime* me king initi al..! correspondence on some particular matter, but as * rule he preferred a per » Interview «o writing. At least one n mber of the cabinet was always w ' ,h ' In call The prime minister and tne for eign minister were frequently in attend ance. and in thia way the king was as well or better Informed than anybody in t's dominions as to what was going on. If after Knollys had gone, there was special duty to be performed, the kina demoted an hour or more to reading newspapers The .ate Queen Victoria read only one daily paper, the Lon don Morning Post, an Ultra-royalist Con servative organ, and such clippings, mostly fulsome, as her attendants made for her. Consequently she lived more cr less in a fool s paradise as to the ac tus* state of public opinion. '.•f.e king, on Stea other hand, got all sorts of papers, and got them uncut He • cad grandmotherly .ectures to himself in the Times on how he must not let his wily nephew. Emperor William, fool him. and on how he must be careful not to work his royal prerogatives too bard. In another paper he got a bucket ful of slushy ilattery, inspire., ny the I roprietor. who hoped to get a title. As the other extreme, he got Reynolds Weekly, a democratic organ, and th a I»ndon Socialist paper. Justice, in whlcn he read how royalty is fattening on the tcil of the poor. f*e frequently got American papers an I recently was so pleased with an ap p; relative non-slopover article in one of them about himself that he wrote the editor a letter of thanks. The editor, by the way. had the unusual modesty and !‘s-retion not to publish this valuable and unusual piece of copy. LIKED SPORTS AND HUMOR Kind Edward always had a special lik ing for sporting and humorous papers. New York Life was one of his favorites among the latter, while the London sport ing prints enabled him to keep especially well informed about all racing matters. He perused the "tips" carefully, and. It is said, occasionally followed them. Lunch at Buckingham palace was a comparatively simple affair of four courses, and the afternoon was usually given tsp to some rpecial business or cer emonial. Os there the mort tedious were laying cornerstones or launching war sh'pe. It was a useful family peculiar itv of the Guelphs, however, that the re-By enjoyed h-a"v. stolid cere.-nonia!s Q"'rn Victoria yel’-hted tn them. a-<l. while the king was enough of a man e* tthe A.-ori« tto Iknnyr Itenr rutupd ihw realty cstt. ‘he was j--ez iaStettoEsottirroifei. f one of them with mild resignation, even if not with pleasure. The fussy mayor of some little city was his only fear. These officials get themselves up in black robes, wigs and gold chains and go through the most absurd, not to say Ori , ental, genuflexions of respect. I Once, when the king was prince of ' Wales, a delegation of up-country may- I ors visited Marlborough house to present . a royal address on some subject now for gotten. The chairman was a very fat man. whose embarrassment was so in 'tense that his knees shook together and when the time came to withdraw, the chairman evidently forgot his cue, for he continued to vibrate from one foot to the other, murmuring. "God bless you/ royal ’lghness!” "God bless your royal ighnese!" Finally, a yank at his coattails |by a fellow delegate started hhn in his i exit backward, still muttering blessings. ' But the embarrassment, the feeling that i he had made a break, and the difficulty '. of shuffling backward over the thick car i pet, were all too much for him, and he I fell in a faint. The prince rushed to aid in picking up . the old gentleman, and ordered the at : tendants to bring brandy. Strangely I enough, there wasn’t a drop in Marlbor ■ oigh house, and the mayor's resuscita- I tion was unduly protracted. So annoyed was the prince over the absence of brandy that he ordered that a full bottle should thenceforth stand conspicuously in the j entrance hall. The prince’s bottle of : "mayor reviver” has become almost as ' celebrated as the Baby McKee milk pitch- •er which used to stand in the front ’ window of the White House during the : Harrison administration. . Dinner at Buckingham or Windsor was ' an elaborate meal, at which there were! often royal or state guests. Since his 111- • ness. the king had to pass by the richer i ■dishes, and drink nothing but white wine. I ; heavily diluted with bottled spring water, j ; Besides this white wine the king's only] potation was a glass of Scotch whisky I and soda at bedtime. The doctors had: tried to stop his cigar smoking and to re- j strict him to or« or two cigarettes after | dinner, but role he frequently broke. | FON» OF THE THEATRE. Edivard VTf was a great lover of the! theatre Sa<! when no state function de-1 martded hfs attention in the evening he! was generally to be seen at one or the; ether of the London playhouses. He took a box. which he occupied with the queen, one or the other of his children, or some| | gentleman of his household. The theatre • manager was not allowed to let «he public* Into the secret of his coming—this would i be a little too good a drawing card—and ' • semetimes an audience would sit through a whole evening without knowing that' | the elderly gentleman sitting back in one ’ of the boxes was the king. There was no| “royal box.” after the style of ion years ago. except at the opera, and this the king rarely occupied. He preferred a good comedy or music hall show to grand opera any day. I think the last time that h* went to the opera was with President Loubet. at which time the management took advantage of the occasion to jump the price of orchestra seats to each. The late Dan T.eno. the most popular character sketch artist of the London KING EDWARD WEARING THE BALMORAL TARTAN I 1 J t I a I ’ Thia picture shows cho 1-to kin s fa EocctisZi THt: ATLANTA Smn.WKEKLT ” —NAL. ATLANTA. GEORGtA. TVESDAY. MAY 10. 1310. GREAT BRITAIN’S RULER PASSES AWAY s 5 ‘ > XX ■fc ” ll V ; 'Wife" 'II lx W 4 g * 4 > ' * W / / %> x T* f K _/S ‘ ]vdw<\rcl music halls, was a great favorite of the king's, and practically occupied the posi tion of court jester. Whenever the king had a company of close friends at Sand ringham or one of his smaller places, where he didn’t have to be too much on bis dignity, he had Dan Leno down toi do all the latest music hall stunts. . FROM PRINCE TO KING. Edward, in company with all ruling sov-l ereigns today, with the possible exception j of Piux X, had the firm be'lief that eti-, quet is one of the best assets of mon-1 archy. Edward did not enjoy ceremonial; au much as his nephew, the kaiser, but ? in all essential points he was just as! punctilious. Whatever he may do in in-; timate association with a few friends, the; public was never allowed to see him de part from the traditional royal dignity. J As prince of Wales he allowed himself j a few liberties, such as traveling by or-; dinary trains, though always in a private; compartment, and occasionally walking in ( the public parks or streets. As king, eacn railroad kept a private train for his sole use, and when Edward appeared in Lon don streets or country roads it was al ways in a carriage or automobile. With his carriage he had one or more outriders! but the automobile is naturally more in-1 formal. . When in a hurry he broke the I speed limit, and had one or two narrow | escapes from arrest. Once an irate coster, whose horse he! had disturbed, yelled after him: "Hi, slow up there, you fat bloke, i You must think you’re the king his-, self.” . One of the king’s first innovations was to bring the construction of Windsor and Buckingham palaces up to date. Queen KING EDWARD’S SOCIAL LEADER JI -J THE HON. MRS. KEPPEL. Victoria had everything much as it was in 1830 and had, moreover, sealed up against all use the apartments which I ad belonged to the prmce consort. Th. king renovated and opened all these apartments. , Tire king also instituted many reforms in the way of business administration. He fr tmd that some of his motner s favorite servants had been paying exorbitant prices for all sorts of palace supplies and were waxing fat on secret commis sions. Then he looked up a lot of tradesmen who had been advertising themselves aa purveyors to the queen and royal house hold, and found that a great number of them had never received the proper warrant from the lord chamberlain, which is demanded in such cases. He put the tax collectors after them and a large number of London West-end hat ters, tailors, bankers, and what not. had to pay heavy fines. Two men had claim ed, without warrant, to be rat catchers to the king. Only one individual escaped Xhe gen eral prosecution. He is James O'Connor, whq keeps a baked potato stall near the bcur-es of parliament. Over the stall O’Connor displays the royal arms, witn the announcement that he is a purveyor to his majesty. It seems that some years ago. when the king was prince of Wales, ho visited the house of commons to hear Gladstone speak and, leaving about midnight, decid ed to walk home to Marlborough house. Near the Mall he was attracted by the appetizing odor of baked potatoes, which emanated from O’Connor’s Ho stopped and bought a penny’s worth and devoured them on the spot. O’Connor rec ognized his customer and thenceforth decorated his stall with the royal arms. VV;OMEN AND CARDS. From his youth up the king had beer, fond of the society of charming and clever women. Some of h's early affairs were not free from scandal, but of late years he exhibited more discretion, at least. When he was a young royal prince there were any number of women ready literally to throw themselves at him. In European high society an affair with a person of royal blood Is still considered scarcely a breach of moral law. I have heard a clergyman of the American Episcopal church boast that he was de scended from an illegitimate son of George IT. and what was considered a distinction by this clerical snob, is scarcely looked down upon In English society, where some of the proudest ducal houres claim descent from the natural ch’ldren of Charles IL One noble beauty who made a con quest of the young prince of Wales, wooed him In the character and zephyr draper es of Cleopatra, in apartments through which he had to pass to reach his own. If, like Anthonv, the prince was tempted, he at least did not desert his kingdom for the temptress. In fact, he has always avoided any really serious en tanglement. His preference was chiefly for the so ciety of women of mental charm awi sprightlfness. Since his accession, the Hon. Mrs. Keppel has been almost al ways a guest at small informal gather ings where the king was present. She was one of Sir Thomas Linton’s gues‘s aboard the Shamrock In the Solen, off the Isle of Wight, when the mast fell and narrowly missed cracking the king's bend. She had one of. the best boxes at the coronation in Westminster Abbey, and. ccming in late, with a great flour ish. created almost as great a sensation as the royal entry itself. The king took an interest in Mrs. Lang try’s career, though he seldom saw her of late years. Some say he thought she went too far, when, at a small party, she di opped a piece of ice down the roy.d neck. Shortly after the coronation, an English bishop asked one of the king’s intimates “Yes,” was the reply. "The king has celebrated his accession by playing bridge more carefully, and for higher stakes.” The famous "baccarat scandal” was simply due to Edward’s misfortune in being in a game with some people wno cheated and weie found cut. When prince of Wales. Edward was fre quently more or less In debt, and upon his accession it was necessary to discuss his affairs with Sir Thomas Lipton, Sir Ernest Cassell and other of his friends. It is said that these gentlemen tempora rily took care of one or two somewhat troublesome obligations. Court gossip al so has it that not only have all these debts been paid, but lately the king paid off some debts of one or two of his close personal friends.whose affairs threatened to cause scar.dr.l. AS DIPLOMAT-IN-CHIEF. Os the king s work as a diplomat the world has heard much. The Anglo- French entente is almost entirely due to his efforts. In the crisis with Russia over the Baltic fleet outrage and in oth er affairs, his influence was on the side of calmness, common sense and peace. To begin, with, the king knew France and the French people about a thousand times better than the average English man knows them. The king had none of that heavy English respectability which the French regard as hypocrisy; he was on the other hand, a good liver, a sportsman, and a lover of French novels and French plays. He spoke French with absolute ease, and knew his way about Paris as well as any bou leverdier. One incident of his visit to President I.oubet greatly expedited the good feel- KING EDWARD AS HE LOOKED WHEN ATTENDING THE RACES I '' ‘ • wimr Edward Is seen m t e appeared at the races. j KING EDWARD VII e King of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and ♦ ► of all the British dominions beyond the seas, emperor of India. >. ► Born in Buckingham palace. London, Nov. 9, 1841. < »■ Second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Consort ♦ e Albert. ’ • 1 ♦ a At his birth he was created prince of Wales. ♦ a As heir apparent to the throne, he succeeded to the title of duke ♦ a of Cornwall and its rich emoluments. • • a* a As heir to the crown of Scotland, he became great steward or ♦ a Scotland, duke of Rothesay, earl of Carrick, baron of Renfrew, and -a a lord of the isles. . , ♦ a In 1819 he was created earlof Dublin. a a He was also duke of Saxony? colonel of the Tenth Hussars, col- % • onel-in-chief of the Rifle Brigade, and field marshal bosh in the Brit- -a a ish and German armies. a He was educated by private tutors and at Edinburg university, -a- a Oxford and Cambridge. a In 1860 he made a tour of the United States and Canada. -a a In 1862 he made a trip to the Orient. • ♦ a Began public life In January, 1863, as a member of the house or -a a lords. a a He was married March 10, 1863, to Princess Alexandra, oldest ♦' a daughter of King Christian of Denmark. ♦’ U They had six children. ' a- a In 1872 he narrowly escaped death as a result or a typhoid fever a a attack. • ’’ * ’ ♦ a Elected grand master of the Free Masons in 187 4. ♦ ► He made an extended tour through the Indian empire In 1875- a * 1876. . ♦ e He succeeded Queen Victoria Jan. 22. 1901; crowned Aug. 9, J 902. , a a The civil list of the king was-fixed in 1901 at 32,284,200 a year, a a Was the most traveled monarch of Europe. • a WORLD COMMENT ON THE DEATH OF KING EDWARD (By Associated Press.) ■ LONDON. May 7.—The king’s death. occurring at midnight when the news- ’ papers were going to press, precluded 1 anything beyond the bare announcement. ' All the morning papers, however, appear , with heavy mourning borders and full | biographies of the dead sovereign. They publish editorials deploring the nation's i loss, while many columns -of dispatches , from abroad testify to the intensity of, interest and even alarm his sudden ill-! ness had excited throughout the world. 11 Little yet has been heard on the sub-, i ject of the new king, but the universal burden of the editorials is to remind theji empire of the great loss sustained. “In the zenith of his fame, and what • i seemed to his loyal subjects but the mid dle of his reign he has been suddenly. stricken down,” says tne Morning Post, j i "Seldom has an English king and never ji has a British king enjoyed throughout j his life the same kindly personal affec- j tion as always attended King Edward.! Only now. too late, will men know how much they owed to him and how great ; part he unostentatiously played.” FROM THE TELEGRAPH. The Telegraph says; ing. While the two chiefs of state were driving one day, a photographer caught if his majesty had moderated his card playing. the pair just as Edward was finishing a funny story. On the king’s face was a btoad. leering smile, while the president’s mouth was wide open in a guffaw of ui.affected delight. The picture was la beled "L’entente cordiale” and wfdely ciiculatcd on postcards. This alone was enough to make England’s merry mon arch popular in France. Then, when Loubet visited London, there was a little incident which tickled French susceptibilities. Some may have forgotten that the first long trousers to be worn at the time of the French revo lution were a symbol of democracy, while knee breeches stood for the old aristo cratic regime. Hence long trousers are a badge of French Republicanism. Well, the king gave a full-dress ball at which the American ambassador and all other guests wore knee breeches. The sole ex ception was President Loubet. who wore the long trousers and conventional dress “Even in France and the United States, King Edward commanus well nigh as waim regard as can ever be extended to their own rulers and if this was the case abroad, what shall we say -of the feel ings with which our beloved sovereign was regarded at home? Not three kings in the whole range of our history en- * joyed at any time such universal affec tion as was given to Edward Vll through out his life." The Standard says; ■■ "The first of Englishmen has passed away—the monarch whose name is writ- t ten among the highest roll of England's long line of sovereigns, a patriot, a statesman, a governor, well fitted by -the vigor of his intellect and the engaging charm of his temperament to be the act ual as well as the ceremonial chief of the peoples he loved so well and of the empire he ruled with such memorable success.” • "A The Daily News says: "The whole nation is confused and be wildered to an extent whicli defies analy- ■, sis and beggars description. The king prssed away in the full tide of his per sonal popularity, which was unequaled among contemporary monarchs in any quarter of the world.” , A suit of Republican France. He was the flr«t man who had ever attended an Eng lish court function in this dresa. KING AND AMERICANS. King Edward was generally friendly toward Americans, though It is doubtful • If he understood or liked them as much as he did Frenchmen. He met too many Americans who tried to be a little more English than the king himself, anti who were always apologizing for America’s shortcomings. William Waldorf Astor was one of the king's pet aversions. When Astor insulted Sir Berkley Milne, the king at once put Milne on his person al staff. , . I Those who met the king off his guard, as between the acts at the theatre had the best chance to see him as he really J was. When the curtain ’.went down, Jie : usually left his box, and. in company I w'th the manager, took a stroll behi id the ' scenes- To the manager he invariably ' presented a cigar. He then appeared , quite an affable old gentleman, with a fund of reminiscences—theatrical, sport ing. political and anecdotal. » At the races, too, he liked to go into the paddock, feel the withers of the fa vorite, chat with the trainers and joca eys, and discuss the betting odds with bls friends. On such occasions there was Ino suggestion of patronage, and he : succeeded in putting everyone at hie ease. ! There had been a great change since I the day when Edward, as 'a young prince, was known as "Turn Turn” and I was held up as. a terrible example by all i the old ladies in the kingdom. That a I stricter life would have made him a wiser Ring, is a statement that a great many 'of his subjects would now he prepared to doubt. -A* EDWARD’S AMERICAN SUBJECTS DISTRESSED Expressions of Sorrow Are Called Forth from Many '■ in New York NEW YORK, May 7.—The news of Kins Edward's death called iortb expressions of deepest sorrow from hundreds oB hU subjects and former subject in Nev/ York today. Statesmen, clergymen and finan ciers. many of them Americans who i’.ar. 8 known the king personally, joined with the representatives of the various Brit- a ish societies here and other Englishmen in words of praise for his great influence ; for good and in words of sympathy for bis bereaved queen. Most of the-leading bankers and Wall street men. while ex pressing deep sorrow at the news of the king’s death, refused to express any opin ion as to what the effect of the kind’s demise upon the market would *>* | Ex-Ambassador Joseph P. Choate, wfiv ® was present at the king’s coronation av 1 served in England for several years after. was greatly affected by the news. "The -3 king was a splendid man.’’.he said "and , I hoped he would live many years vet. I xj am sorry ’to hear of his end for I had hoped against hope that he would rg- W cover.” ENGLISH CONSUL CABBES. On behalf of the British . community ; here. Courtney Walter Bennett, the Eng- M lish consul-general, sent the following ca blegram to the British foreign office: "Sir Edward Grey. Foreign Office. Lon don : Deeply grieved at the loss of our beloved sovereign. Staff and self join 4 with the British community in offering 9 our respectful condolence to her majesty, : Queen Alexandra, and expressions of loy alty to the royal house, (Signed.) “BENNETT." John Bigelow the veteran American di plomat. now 93 years old considers tha 1 ? s king’s death at this time the most criti cal event in English history since he b«- 3 came acquainted with its contemporane- I ous events. NO OTHER EVENT. “I can recall no other event approaching J it in significance” he said. “The very i strained relations between the lower and upper houses of parl'ament and the re cent triumnh of the liberal government aggravate the seriousness of the coining crisis and rive an importance and promi nence to the prime minister which hat been enjoyed by few. if any. of his prede cessors since the time of William Pitt. “The world knows very little of the heir apparent and it is impossible to con jecture the relations he will establish with Mr. Asquith.” * 3