Chapter 53 Heading to Europe
On October 30, 1900, after a few days of brief preparations and taking care of domestic matters, Arthur took the Foreign Minister Andrew, the Minister of Industry Pierre, and the Minister of Defense Kent with him. A large diplomatic delegation composed of a series of officials officially embarked on a journey to Europe.
This diplomatic visit team has two purposes. One is to follow Arthur to attend the funeral of Queen Victoria, and the other is to seek support and more technology from Britain and Germany.
Needless to say, the German side naturally wanted to let Australia harass France's colonies in Asia and Africa during the war, so William II would not be stingy with industrial and technological support at this time.
In the UK, although Queen Victoria has passed away, the will made by Queen Victoria will also be held with Queen Victoria's funeral and will be spread to the entire UK and even the entire world.
At this relatively special moment, neither Crown Prince Edward nor British officials would violate Queen Victoria's will at the risk of offending the British people.
Therefore, it is still easy for Australia to obtain greater support from the United Kingdom and Germany, and it is reasonable to sign some immigration and trade treaties at this time.
The 31st, which is immediately adjacent to the 30th, is a famous holiday in the West, Halloween.
However, there were no children on Arthur's warship. Therefore, on Halloween, which was supposed to be spent happily, Arthur temporarily ordered officials to work overtime and held corresponding meetings.
This diplomatic visit team was extremely formal. Not only three cabinet ministers were dispatched, but officials from basically every department joined in, in order to seek support from Britain and Germany in all aspects.
The reason why it caused such a stir among various cabinet departments is that thanks to the dual efforts of Queen Victoria and Arthur, the British Empire and the German Empire's support for Australia was basically free and selfless.
Of course, the biggest contributor to this was Queen Victoria.
At present, the world's largest naval power and largest army power provide support to Australia, so how can Australia grow?
On November 27, after nearly a month, the Australian fleet finally docked in the port of London, England.
Said to be a fleet, it was actually a few warships put together by the navies of several colonies.
Because the size of the navy directly under each colony is not large, Australia's navy is not large either. There are only a few light cruisers and frigates, and some coastal defense gunboats.
Only these light cruisers and frigates can be on the table. This is also the largest fleet dispatched by the Australian visiting mission.
After docking at the port, Princess Beatrice greeted them at the port on behalf of the royal family.
During this period of time, countless warships from major European countries and even major countries around the world have gone to Britain to pay their condolences and attend the funeral of Queen Victoria.
Because he was a member of the British royal family, Arthur was arranged in the original room in Buckingham Palace.
Royal members and senior officials of other countries basically do not have this treatment. Except for royal members of some powerful countries, others can only live in major hotels in London or some small manors.
Arthur's original room is located in a corner of Buckingham Palace, next to Duke Arthur's original room.
This huge corner lot and various nearby buildings were owned by the Arthur family, but unfortunately it has long since changed. Returning to the familiar room, the furnishings and decorations remained unchanged. Although no one had lived in it for more than half a year, it could be seen that the room was cleaned every day and it was still spotless and very clean and tidy.
This room was the place Arthur was most familiar with in the UK. He traveled to the UK for three full months, and because he was not familiar with it, he spent most of his time in this room reading books.
After staying in his room quietly for a few minutes, a guard soon came to deliver a message that Prince Edward wanted to have dinner with him.
Arthur did not hesitate and followed the guard to the banquet hall.
Although he came to England, Arthur was not worried about his personal safety. As Queen Victoria's last will and testament spread throughout Britain and the world, and even in the last moments of Queen Victoria's life, Arthur held Queen Victoria's hand.
Currently, Arthur already has a preliminary favorable impression in the hearts of all British people. Many British people who originally respected Queen Victoria began to pay attention to Arthur after Queen Victoria's death.
If something happens to Arthur in the UK, the British government and royal family may suffer the greatest anger from the British people before Queen Victoria's funeral.
No British person would allow Arthur, whom Queen Victoria cared about and loved even before her death, to have any accident happen during her visit to England to attend Queen Victoria's funeral.
It can be said that as long as Arthur does not take the initiative to go against the British and does not say anything to hurt the British. Then all the actions of Queen Victoria during her lifetime were Arthur's last protective umbrella. As long as Queen Victoria's prestige in the hearts of the British was not completely eliminated, Arthur would gain the favor and attention of all British people.
Arriving at the banquet hall of Buckingham Palace, Arthur felt sad again.
This was once the place where Queen Victoria entertained foreign guests. Unexpectedly, Prince Edward now uses it to entertain himself.
The meaning is self-evident. Crown Prince Edward wants to use this to remind himself that he is now the definite master of Britain, and Arthur, even if he receives sympathy from the British, he is only a guest of Crown Prince Edward and Britain.
Shaking his head and smiling, Arthur sat quietly in his seat, waiting for the arrival of Crown Prince Edward.
After a while, Prince Edward greeted him with a smile.
Arthur stood up, smiled and said to Crown Prince Edward: "Uncle Edward."
"Well, long time no see, Arthur. It's been a month since we last saw each other on the Isle of Wight. I haven't been to the UK for a long time. How does it feel to be back in the UK?" Crown Prince Edward was polite at first, and then asked with a slightly meaningful smile.
"It's okay, uncle. Although the UK is indeed much more prosperous than Australia, after getting used to it in Australia, I feel that the UK is no longer used to it." Arthur replied.
This is actually true. Arthur prefers the unfettered life in Australia to living under someone else's roof in the UK.
"Hahaha, you are not adapting because you lost your grandmother, Arthur. It doesn't matter, you still have me in the UK, Arthur. If you have anything to say to me during this time, I can take care of you. Solve it." Crown Prince Edward got the reply he wanted and said with a smile immediately.
First update, please support!
(End of chapter)