Chapter 56 Conversation after the Funeral
At around three o'clock in the afternoon, the hearse officially arrived outside Windsor Castle and continued along the long walk of Windsor Castle.
This is the last section of the road to enter Windsor Castle. Thousands of British people gathered on both sides of the long road to wait.
In the reluctant eyes of the British people, Queen Victoria's hearse entered the fence of Windsor Castle and disappeared from the eyes of all British people.
The last place where the funeral was held was St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, which is a church often used by members of the royal family for weddings, baptisms and funerals.
The burial ceremony was officiated by Bishop David Connor of St. George's Church. As the burial ceremony was by invitation only, only nearly 400 guests attended the burial ceremony.
The main participants in the ceremony are current and former staff of the royal family and private estates, which actually symbolizes the end of the Queen's reign.
The royal crown, the orb and the scepter, symbols of royal power, were removed from the top of the coffin by the crown jeweler, and Queen Victoria was separated from her crown for the last time.
Subsequently, under the leadership of Edward VII, all members of the British royal family sang hymns at St. George's Church. Arthur is naturally among them.
After the last hymn, the Honor Guard Battalion of the Guards Corps placed the camp flag on the coffin. They are also the highest-level honor guard dedicated to the ceremonial duties of the monarch during his travels.
Finally, the church rang out the songs of blessing and God bless our king, and Queen Victoria was sent off to the Royal Mausolus Mausoleum, where she was buried next to Prince Albert.
At this point, Queen Victoria's funeral was officially over. At the same time, it also announced the end of Queen Victoria's reign, and Britain was about to usher in a new era, the reign of Edward VII.
Because it was determined that he would rule Britain under the title of Edward VII, Edward's official title at this time should be Edward VII, King of England and Emperor of India.
As Queen Victoria's coffin entered the mausoleum, the focus of the audience slowly shifted to Edward VII.
As the current king of the United Kingdom and the helm of the British Empire, Edward was able to control a considerable part of the voice and power in the United Kingdom by relying on the remaining prestige of Queen Victoria.
Edward's attitude, words and deeds will also determine the subsequent policies and actions of the British government.
As the world's largest British Empire, all countries are waiting for Britain to take a stand regarding the current situation in Europe.
However, Edward VII behaved extremely low-key at the funeral. Regardless of anyone's conversation or contact, Edward VII maintained a serious attitude and refused everyone's closeness.
Everyone had no choice but to disperse, but they did not leave England.
Because seven days later, there is still a grander ceremony waiting for everyone to attend, that is the coronation ceremony of Edward VII.
Today and seven days later, these people will witness the change of British power and the rotation of the old and the new.
Arthur was mixed in among them, and just as he was about to leave quietly, he was stopped by a familiar voice behind him.
"Arthur, long time no see!"
Turning around, he saw that it was William II whom he had not seen for a month since leaving the Isle of Wight.
William II is equally low-key today. Firstly, the protagonists today can only be Queen Victoria and the British royal family. Secondly, because he is in the UK, he does not receive as much attention as Edward VII.
However, William II didn't care about this. On the contrary, the less people paying attention to William II at the scene, the more relaxed William II was. "Cousin William, it's been a long time indeed." Arthur responded with a smile and a salute.
Previously, the farewell team could only consist of members of the British royal family, so even if William II was emperor, he could only wait at Windsor Castle.
"Arthur, how about we have a meal together later?" There were too many foreign officials and royal families around, and William II had no intention of discussing matters with Arthur now.
"Of course." Arthur nodded and followed William II out of Windsor Palace.
One was the emperor of the German Empire, and the other was the distinguished duke whom Queen Victoria specifically protected in her will. The departure of William II and Arthur attracted the attention of many people, including Edward VII.
King Edward VII watched the two people leave like good friends, a deep light flashed in his eyes, and then he talked to the surrounding guests as if nothing happened.
The restaurant ordered by William II is located in a private manor outside London and is not open to the public.
This is a restaurant that only belongs to princes and nobles. Obviously, its owner is William II.
It has to be said that the luxury of Western monarchs and nobles, in later generations, the top restaurants with three-star tires are only one of many private restaurants, and they can not even come a few times a year.
After asking about Arthur's tastes and preferences, the restaurant's chef got busy preparing lunch for William II and Arthur.
As for ordering food, it doesn't exist at all in a restaurant like this.
After letting the guards leave, William II looked at Arthur with a smile and said: "Arthur, I didn't expect that grandma would care about you so much. At the last moment of her life, the first thing she mentioned was I will give you British New Guinea and New Zealand."
Arthur smiled and shook his head and said: "Compared with these two territories, I hope my grandmother will not leave." "
Okay, let's not talk about such a heavy topic. , Arthur. Grandma has left, but life has to go on, right? After Australia owns British New Guinea and New Zealand, it can already claim to be the hegemon of the South Pacific and establish regional hegemony." William II smiled and changed the subject. .
"I've said it, Cousin William. Where is the regional hegemony? At most, Australia has some say in places like Oceania. There are small colonies of great powers around it, and to the north is the Dutch East Indies, which is protected by various countries. I can only feel at ease. Staying and developing in Oceania has nothing to do with the word hegemony." Arthur shook his head and denied it.
If Australia is given another decade or more to develop, there may be hope for establishing regional hegemony in Oceania and Southeast Asia.
But if it were only now, Australia would be just a weak regime with colonies that had just become an independent country. What it could barely guarantee was its own independence.
"Arthur, how was the discussion with Uncle Edward? Has Britain agreed to provide a large amount of aid to Australia?" William II got to the point and asked curiously.
In terms of bloodline, Australia is undoubtedly closer to Britain. Most Australians are British immigrants and exiled criminals, as well as local Australian aborigines. After decades or even hundreds of years of combination and evolution, a new nation was finally formed.
After Arthur integrated the six Australian colonies, the concept of Australians has become very vague, and it can also refer to all citizens of Australia.
If we look at it this way, more than half of Australians are of British descent, and the vast majority of Australians have British ancestry.
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(End of chapter)