Chapter 56 Conversation After the Funeral

At about 3 pm, the hearse officially arrived outside Windsor Castle and continued along the long walkway of Windsor Castle.

This is the last section of the road to enter Windsor Castle, and thousands of British people gathered on both sides of the long road to wait.

Under 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 for the funeral was St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, which is a church often used by royal family members for weddings, baptisms and funerals.

The burial ceremony was presided over by David Connor, Bishop of St. George's Chapel. Because the burial ceremony was only open to invitation, only nearly 400 guests attended the burial ceremony.

The main participants of the ceremony were current and former staff of the royal family and private estates, which actually symbolized the tradition that the queen's reign had ended.

The royal crown, the monarch's orb and the scepter, which symbolize the royal power, were removed from the top of the coffin by the crown jeweler, and Queen Victoria separated from her crown for the last time.

Then, under the leadership of Edward VII, all members of the British royal family sang hymns in St. George's Chapel. Arthur was naturally among them.

After the last hymn, the Guards placed the flag on the coffin. They were also the highest-level guard of honor for the monarch's travel etiquette.

Finally, the church sang blessings and God Bless My King again, sending Queen Victoria into the Royal Mausoleum of Mausolus and burying her next to Prince Albert.

So far, Queen Victoria's funeral has officially ended. At the same time, it also announced the end of the era of Queen Victoria's rule, and Britain is about to usher in a new era of Edward VII's rule.

Because it has been determined that Edward VII will rule Britain, Edward's official title at this time should be Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India.

As Queen Victoria's coffin entered the mausoleum, at this time, the focus of the audience has slowly shifted to Edward VII.

As the current king of Britain and the helmsman of the British Empire, Edward can rely on the remaining prestige of Queen Victoria to control a considerable part of the right to speak and power in Britain.

And Edward's attitude and words and deeds will also determine the policies and actions of the British government in the future.

As the world's number one empire, all countries are waiting for Britain, and are waiting for Britain to take sides in the current European situation.

However, Edward VII was extremely low-key at the funeral. No matter who approached him, Edward VII remained serious and refused everyone's approach.

The crowd had no choice but to disperse, but they did not leave Britain.

Because seven days later, there was another grand ceremony waiting for everyone to attend, which was Edward VII's coronation ceremony.

These people will witness the change of British regime and the rotation of old and new people today and seven days later.

Arthur was mixed in, 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, it was William II, who had not seen each other for a month since the Isle of Wight.

William II was also low-key today, one because the protagonists today could only be Queen Victoria and the British royal family, and the other was that he was in Britain, and his own attention was indeed not as good as Edward VII.

However, William II did not care about these. On the contrary, the fewer people on the scene paid attention to William II, the more relaxed William II was.

"Cousin William, it's been a long time since we last met." Arthur smiled and saluted in response.

The previous farewell team could only be composed of members of the British royal family, so even though William II was the emperor, he could only wait at Windsor Castle.

"Arthur, how about having 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 after another.

One was the emperor of the German Empire, and the other was the noble duke who was specially protected by Queen Victoria's will. The departure of William II and Arthur attracted the attention of many people, including Edward VII.

Edward VII watched the two leave like good friends, with a deep light in his eyes flashing, and then he talked to the guests around him as if nothing had happened.

The restaurant William II booked was in a private manor on the outskirts of London and was not open to the public.

This is a restaurant that belongs only to the princes and nobles. Obviously, its owner is William II.

It has to be said that the luxury of Western monarchs and nobles is only one of many private restaurants, and even the top restaurants that beat the three-star tires in the future are only one of them. They can only come a few times a year.

After asking Arthur about his taste and preferences, the kitchen of the restaurant began to get busy, preparing lunch for William II and Arthur.

As for ordering food, it does not exist in such a restaurant.

After letting the guards leave, William II looked at Arthur with a smile and said, "Arthur, I didn't expect that my grandmother cared about you so much. At the last moment of her life, the first thing she mentioned was to give you British New Guinea and New Zealand."

Arthur smiled and shook his head, saying, "Compared with these two territories, I hope my grandmother will not leave."

"Okay, let's not talk about such a heavy topic, Arthur. Grandma is gone, but life has to go on, right? After Australia has British New Guinea and New Zealand, it can already be called the hegemon of the South Pacific and establish regional hegemony." William II smiled and changed the subject.

"You've said too much, cousin William. There is no regional hegemony. Australia has a little say in Oceania at best. There are small colonies of the great powers around it, and the Dutch East Indies protected by various countries is in the north. It can only stay in Oceania to develop, which has nothing to do with the word hegemony." Arthur shook his head and denied it.

Giving Australia another ten years or even more time to develop, there may be hope to establish regional hegemony in Oceania and Southeast Asia.

But if it is only now, Australia is just a weak regime whose colonies have just become independent countries, and what it can barely guarantee is only its own independence.

"Arthur, how is the negotiation with Uncle Edward? Has Britain agreed to give Australia a lot of aid?" William II got to the point and asked curiously.

In terms of ancestry, 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 integration and evolution, a new nation was finally formed.

After Arthur's integration of Australia's six colonies, the concept of Australians has become very vague, and it can also refer to all citizens of Australia.

If it is based on this meaning, more than half of Australians are of British descent, and the vast majority of Australians have British ancestry.

Second update, please support! Recently, the number of words in each chapter has been increasing, and I hope that two chapters can reach 5,000 words. Please support, your support is the biggest motivation for the author to write. In addition, thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, thank you!