Chapter 58 Edward's coronation ceremony
and the conversation with William II went very smoothly. Not only did they finalize Germany's financial assistance to Australia, but they also roughly agreed on a series of plans for industrial assistance and future war assistance.
At least in William II's view, he has initially and successfully tied Australia to Germany's chariot, and Germany will also have one more ally in future wars.
Arthur and William II agreed on a time to go to Germany, around mid-December.
If the negotiations go smoothly, we can spend a good Christmas in Germany and then return to Australia.
However, before heading to Germany, there is one slightly more important thing that needs to be negotiated, and that is the aid treaty with the United Kingdom.
Although Britain will definitely not be as generous as Germany, for Arthur, anyone who doesn't want this kind of free assistance is a fool. Of course, it is best to get as much as there is.
Moreover, there is no conflict between the aid from Germany and the United Kingdom. Both countries are very strong in industry, and one prefers army equipment and the other prefers naval warships. They both have their own technology that is leading the world, which Australia can study and receive. .
After leaving William II, Arthur returned to Buckingham Palace and convened a meeting of the key members of the diplomatic mission in his office.
Fortunately, Buckingham Palace is huge, and so are the rooms allocated to each member of the royal family. Not only does it have its own exclusive living room and conference room, but it is also quite large, and there is no problem in accommodating more than a dozen people for meetings.
In fact, the focus of this meeting is to determine the direction in which British support is needed. After all, with Germany's support, many industries and technologies no longer need British support.
It's not that Germany's technology is more advanced than Britain's in some aspects, but it's a bit wasteful and extravagant to use limited support in the same direction.
Australia is currently in a golden stage of development, and Arthur will naturally not tolerate these precious resources and development opportunities being missed or wasted due to such negligence.
The meeting lasted for several hours, and finally the technologies that needed British support were determined, mostly focusing on the shipbuilding industry.
This is also an inevitable result. Compared with German industry, Britain has a clear advantage in its achievements in the shipbuilding industry and the warship industry.
In terms of warship manufacturing, Britain is still number one in the world and will not be surpassed by other countries in the short term.
Members of the diplomatic corps unanimously believe that it is most reasonable and effective to focus Britain's limited resources on the shipbuilding industry, especially warships.
Although Australia occupies the entire Australian continent, it is actually a huge island country with a large number of overseas territories and territories.
This also means that Australia must have a powerful fleet to protect its overseas territories and spheres of influence.
After all, for a non-continental country like Australia, the navy is more important than the army in many aspects, and the security of the coastline is the first line of defense for the country's territorial security.
The shipyard that Arthur originally owned was a shipyard with advanced British shipbuilding technology.
Although it is only a small shipyard and can only build small-scale warships, all the technologies used are relatively advanced shipbuilding technologies from the UK.
If we can build on this and introduce and absorb some more advanced technologies, as well as technology for building medium-sized or even large warships, then Australia's navy will have hope of rising.
As for purchasing warships from major European powers, the warships ordered are generally expensive, generally about twice the cost.
Secondly, Arthur was not unaware of the events in Turkey. Under the premise of the increasingly intense naval arms race among European countries, ordering warships now will inevitably lead to this risk. Mastering the means of building warships yourself is the best way. Even if you pay some price for it, it is worth it in the eyes of Arthur and everyone in the diplomatic community.
After determining the direction in which they want to seek support, the next task of the diplomatic mission is relatively easy, which is to establish good relations with people in the British political arena, buy a few small newspapers, rush to print newspapers, and improve Arthur and the Australian people. Favorability among British people.
Although this task seems urgent, it is actually the easiest to complete.
With a background from the British royal family, coupled with a slightly tragic situation and Queen Victoria's will, coupled with the fact that the heat of Queen Victoria's funeral has not dissipated, Arthur was not low-profile in the UK at this time, and was even quite loved.
As Arthur and the diplomatic corps were busy, the coronation ceremony of Edward VII came soon.
On December 6, 1900, the coronation ceremony of King Edward VII of England officially began.
Different from the sad atmosphere of Queen Victoria's funeral a week ago, after a week of transition, the streets of London have become joyful, and the whiteness of London has disappeared, as if what happened in the past never happened.
In order to show respect for the late queen, Edward VII's coronation ceremony was streamlined, lasting only about two hours.
This is much simpler than Queen Victoria's coronation ceremony, not to mention that Britain is now the well-deserved world's most powerful country.
However, this move of Edward VII won the favor of many British people.
After all, the British still have Queen Victoria in their hearts. It is not a good thing for most of them to organize a coronation ceremony at this time.
The person responsible for presiding over the coronation ceremony was the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior bishop in the Church of England.
In fact, the more formal weddings, baptisms and funerals of royal members are basically presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In the absence of the bishop, another bishop designated by the monarch will preside, but this situation is relatively rare.
All procedures for the coronation ceremony were carried out in accordance with the red manual of Westminster Abbey, which has never been published publicly for nearly a thousand years.
After the completion of the grand ceremony, the royal musicians played celebratory music, and then Edward VII rode in a gilded carriage via Buckingham Palace amid the cheers of most British people.
Although there were far fewer British people on both sides of the road than at the last funeral, overall it was still bustling.
Edward VII waved to the crowd with great satisfaction and walked towards Buckingham Palace amid cheers.
As the most powerful country in the world today, the coronation ceremony of the British King still attracted many British people to come and watch.
If it hadn't been affected by the Queen's funeral not long ago, I'm afraid the crowd of onlookers would have increased.
Second update, please support! In addition, let me talk about an issue that many book friends are struggling with, immigration. Whether it is in terms of their skin color or novel policies, white immigrants are the most preferred. Other immigrants can only say that they are not rejecting them, but they have to be tested before they accept them. There will be no two-way situation, and only immigrants from Europe, especially the United Kingdom, will be truly accepted. In addition, Australia is not black!
(End of chapter)