d at the age of sixty-eight; by far the greater part of his long life
had been spent preparing, as Prince of Wales, for the throne he filled
so short a time. He was well over middle age before he became king.

King Edward's eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, had died before him
after he had grown to manhood. He had never been strong. So the only
remaining son became our King, George V. Long before this, after the
death of his brother, he had married a distant cousin, 'Princess May,'
now our beloved Queen Mary; and, before their grandfather's death in
1910, all the royal children at present living had been born. Prince
Edward was seventeen when he was made Prince of Wales in 1911.

So they all took part in the coronation of their parents. A very gallant
figure was the fair young Prince of Wales in his magnificent dress. But
he was not then known to the Empire as he is now when he has travelled
thousands of miles to visit his father's dominions in the uttermost
parts of the earth.

Coronations do not happen very frequently and for this one people came
from immense distances and from many foreign countries.

When did the people begin gathering up in the streets to see the King on
his way to be crowned? No one can certainly tell, but it was before the
daylight dawned on June 22, 1911. In the darkness of the night the
police marched to their positions in hundreds, and the soldiers who were
to line the route that the King and Queen would traverse made their
appearance. But even before the soldiers and the policemen took up their
stations came shadowy forms, who crept up to good places in the glimmer
of the street-lamps as they blew in the night wind. These were people
who were so anxious to see the procession that they would gladly wait
all night in the streets, so as to get a good view on the day itself.
They gathered and gathered, and when the first rays of morning dawned
every inch of pavement which commanded a front view was full already,
and those who came after six o'clock could hardly find standing room.
Unfortunately, the day was not brilliantly fine as the first one had
been, but dull and cloudy. Hours went by before carriages containing
the princes and princesses began to pass toward the great Abbey where
the ceremony was to be, and though the people cheered a little at the
sight of them they were not very enthusiastic, for they were waiting
breathlessly to see the King and Queen, and princes and princesses did
no