The Coronation of King Edward VII 9 August 1902

HM King Edward VII, 1902
[From my own collection]

The 9th of August 2012 marks the 110th anniversary of the Coronation of King Edward VII, "By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India" and also of his wife Queen Alexandra, "Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions; Empress Consort of India".

HM Queen Alexandra, 1902
[From my own collection]

I thought this would be an opportune time to share some of my royal memorabilia specifically relating to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Interspersed with these images are quotes which detail something of the King and how he was viewed as a Monarch and the valuable contribution he made but also a couple of interesting references to his valued consort, Queen Alexandra.

Service sheet for the Coronation Day
service in Dalserf Parish Church
Lanarkshire Scotland, 9th Aug 1902.
The original date has been blocked out.
[From my own collection]

The Coronation had in fact been delayed from the 26th June 1902 due to Edward's operation for appendicitis. This caused many problems for manufacturers of souvenir china who had already manufactured and printed their wares carrying the now incorrect date of the 26th June.

A Staffordshire wall plaque commemorating the Coronation. The
 original date has been carefully painted out with gold paint.
[From my own collection]

"As King, Edward VII proved a greater success than anyone had expected, but he was already an old man and had little time left to fulfil the role. In his short reign, he ensured that his second son and heir, George V, was better prepared to take the throne."

A Royal Doulton bone china cup and saucer bearing effigies of both King
Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The saucer is marked "Coronation 1902"
[From my own collection]

"He had a tremendous zest for pleasure but he also had a real sense of duty" [JB Priestley]

The reverse of the above Royal Doulton duo.

"In 1875, Edward set off for India on an extensive eight-month tour of the sub-continent. His advisors remarked on his habit of treating all people the same, regardless of their social station or colour."

A gilt medal struck by Elkington and Co Ltd in
1902 to commemorate the Coronation of King
Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. It came with
an attractive red Moroccan leather and velvet box.
[From my own collection]

"Biographers have asserted that Alexandra was denied access to the King's briefing papers and excluded from some of his foreign tours to prevent her meddling in diplomatic matters. In 1890 Alexandra wrote a memorandum, distributed to senior British ministers and military personnel, warning against the planned exchange of the British North Sea island of Heligoland for the German colony of Zanzibar, pointing out Heligoland's strategic significance and that it could be used either by Germany to launch an attack, or by Britain to contain German aggression."

A Royal Doulton bone china beaker bearing an effigy of
His Majesty King Edward VII.
On the reverse are a Crown, Edward's Cypher, and the words
"Coronation 1902".
[From my own collection]

"[The King] ordered all the clocks at Sandringham to run half an hour fast to create more time for shooting. This so-called tradition of Sandringham Time continued until 1936"

A Foley Bone China mug, again with the incorrect date.
[From my own collection] 

"[The King] was regarded worldwide as an arbiter of men's fashions. He made wearing tweed, Homburg hats and Norfolk jackets fashionable, and popularised the wearing of black ties with dinner jackets, instead of white tie and tails"

A wall plaque given by Ambrose Edmund Butler J.P., The Lord Mayor
 of Leeds, to the 80,000 children of the City of Leeds. It was made for the
retail firm of JH Awmack, Leeds and bears the previous coronation date.
[From my own collection]

"Alexandra did not attend her son's coronation in 1911 since it was not customary for a crowned Queen to attend the coronation of another King or Queen, but otherwise continued the public side of her life, devoting time to her charitable causes [such as] Alexandra Rose Day"

One side of a stereoscopic photo of HM King Edward VII with his
Grandchildren taken at Balmoral Castle in Scotland a few weeks after
the Coronation in 1902. The children are (L to R) HRH Prince Edward,
Prince Henry, Princess Victoria, and HRH Prince George.
[From my own collection]

"Usually, Edward's outbursts of temper were short-lived, and "after he had let himself go ... [he would] smooth matters by being especially nice"

A Foley bone china enamelled cup and saucer, again with the
incorrect date.
[From my own collection]

"To lose our eldest son [Prince Albert Victor in 1892], is one of those calamities one can never really get over"... and the King also writing to Queen Victoria, "[I would] have given my life for him, as I put no value on mine". Queen Alexandra wrote, "I have buried my angel and with him my happiness."

The reverse of the above Foley bone china duo.
[From my own collection]

"[Queen Alexandra's] generosity was a source of embarrassment to her financial advisers. Whenever she received a letter soliciting money, a cheque would be sent by the next post, regardless of the authenticity of the mendicant and without having the case investigated." Though she was not always extravagant [she had her old stockings darned for re-use and her old dresses were recycled as furniture covers], she would dismiss protests about her heavy spending with a wave of a hand or by claiming that she had not heard."

A "Coronation" 22 carat gold £5 Sovereign minted by the Royal
Mint to commemorate the Coronation in 1902.
The Sovereign's Head appears on the reverse.
[From my own collection] 

"William the Great [speaking of his militaristic Nephew Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany] needs to learn that he is living at the end of the nineteenth century and not in the Middle Ages."

Aluminium Medal presented, I believe, to children
who were attending School in Scotland in 1902. This
medal features in my previous Blog,
"In Defense of Scotland's National Rights and Honour"
[From my own collection] 

"Edward's affability and popularity, as well as his use of family connections, assisted Britain [during his reign] in building European alliances".

The commemorative card presented by the Governor of New Zealand to all
children attending Schools in New Zealand at the time of the Coronation.
This particular card was presented to my Uncle who was attending the
small country school of Heddon Bush in rural Southland.
[From my own collection]

"Edward was rarely interested in politics, although his views on some issues were notably liberal for the time... On other matters he was less progressive: he did not, for example, favour giving votes to women... He was also opposed to Irish Home Rule, instead preferring a form of dual monarchy."

King Edward VII, 1902.
An oil painting by Luke Fildes in the
National Portrait Gallery, London.
[Source : Wikipedia]

Bibliography :

- Wikipedia

- Unless otherwise stated all images are from my own collection but may be freely copied for non-commercial purposes provided a link is given back to this page.