The funeral procession of King Edward VII.
The Funeral of King Edward VII of the United
Kingdom occurred on Friday, 20 May 1910. It was one of
the largest gatherings of European royalty ever to take place, and
one of the last before
World War I ended
the era of European royalty.
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.
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
.
Personages in the Procession
The funeral was notable for the enormous number of important
European and world royalty that 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:
- His Majesty King
George V, the late king's son
- His Imperial Majesty The
German Emperor, the late king's nephew
- His
Royal Highness The Duke of Connaught, the late king's
brother
- His Majesty The King of the
Hellenes, the late king's brother-in-law
- His Majesty The King of
Spain, the late king's nephew-in-law
- His Majesty The King of
Norway, the late king's son-in-law
- His Majesty The King of
Denmark, the late king's brother-in-law
- His Majesty The King of
Portugal
- His Majesty The Tsar of
Bulgaria
- His Majesty The King of the
Belgians
- His Imperial and
Royal Highness Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria,
heir-presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary
- His Imperial Highness The
Hereditary Prince of the Ottoman Empire
- His
Imperial Highness Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia,
brother of the Emperor of Russia and nephew-in-law to the late
King
- His Royal
Highness The Duke of Aosta, cousin of the King of Italy
- His Imperial Highness Prince
Fushimi Sadanaru, cousin of the Emperor of Japan
- His Royal Highness The Duke
of Sparta, heir to the throne of Greece and nephew-in-law to
the late King
- His Royal Highness The Crown
Prince of Romania, nephew-in-law to the late king
- His Royal
Highness Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria
- His Royal
Highness Duke Albrecht of Württemberg
- His Royal Highness The
Hereditary Prince of Serbia
- His Royal
Highness Prince Henry of the Netherlands, husband of Queen
Wilhelmina
- His
Royal Highness The Grand Duke of Hesse, nephew to the late
King
- His Royal
Highness The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
- His Royal Highness Prince
Henry of Prussia, nephew to the late king
- His Royal
Highness The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, nephew to the late
king
- His Royal Highness
Prince George of Saxony
- His
Royal Highness Prince Carl of Sweden, nephew to the late
King
- His Serene
Highness The Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- His Highness Prince
Mohammed Ali of Egypt
- His Royal Highness Prince
Arthur of Connaught, nephew to the late King
- His Royal
Highness Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, brother-in-law
to the late King
- His Highness
Prince Albert of Schleswig-Holstein, nephew to the King
- His Highness
Prince Alexander of Battenberg, nephew to the late King
- The Duke of
Fife, son-in-law to the late King
- His
Serene Highness The Duke of Teck, second cousin to the late
king
- His Serene Highness Prince
Francis of Teck, second cousin to the late king
- His Serene
Highness Prince Alexander of Teck, nephew-in-law to the late
King
- His Royal
Highness Prince Andrew of Greece
- His
Imperial Highness Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of
Russia
- His Grand Ducal Highness
Prince Maximilian of Baden
- His Royal
Highness Prince Danilo of Montenegro
- His Royal
Highness Prince Christopher of Greece
- His Royal
Highness Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- His Royal
Highness The Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
- His Royal Highness Prince
Louis d'Orleans
- His
Royal Highness Prince Pierre d'Orleans
- His Highness
Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
- His Serene
Highness Prince Wolrad of Waldeck
- His Royal Highness Prince
Bovaradej of Siam
Those who followed behind in the carriages included:
- Her Majesty Queen
Alexandra, the late king's widow
- Her Imperial
Majesty Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, the late king's
sister-in-law
- Her Royal Highness The
Princess Royal, the late king's daughter
- Her Royal
Highness The Princess Victoria, the late king's daughter
- Her Majesty Queen Mary, the late
king's daughter-in-law
- Her Majesty The Queen of Norway,
the late king's daughter
- His Royal Highness
The Duke of Cornwall, the late king's grandson
- Her
Royal Highness The Princess Mary, the late king's
granddaughter
- Her Royal
Highness The Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, the late
king's sister
- Her Royal
Highness The Princess Louise, the late king's sister
- Her Royal
Highness The Princess Henry of Battenberg, the late king's
sister
- Her Royal
Highness The Duchess of Connaught, the late king's
sister-in-law
- Her Royal Highness The
Duchess of Albany, the late king's sister-in-law
- Her Royal Highness
Princess Patricia of Connaught, the late king's niece
- Her Highness
Princess Alexandra, the late king's granddaughter
- Her Highness
Princess Maud, the late king's granddaughter
- Her
Highness Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, the
late king's niece
- Her
Highness Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, the late
king's niece
- His Royal Highness
The Prince Albert, the late king's grandson
- His Royal Highness
The Prince Henry, the late king's grandson
- His Royal Highness
Prince George of Cumberland, the late king's nephew-in-law
- His Imperial Highness Prince
Zaitao of China
- His Excellency President Theodore Roosevelt, representing the
United States
- His Excellency Foreign Affairs
Minister Stéphen Pichon,
representing the French Republic
- Sanad Khan
Montaz-os-Saltanch, representing Persia
Sources