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 Embedded Artificial Intelligence
Devices, Embedded Systems, and Industrial
Applications
RIVER PUBLISHERS SERIES IN COMMUNICATIONS AND
NETWORKING
Series Editors:
ABBAS JAMALIPOUR
The University of Sydney
Australia

MARINA RUGGIERI
University of Rome Tor Vergata
Italy

The “River Publishers Series in Communications and Networking” is a series of

comprehensive academic and professional books which focus on communication and network
systems. Topics range from the theory and use of systems involving all terminals, computers,
and information processors to wired and wireless networks and network layouts, protocols,
architectures, and implementations. Also covered are developments stemming from new
market demands in systems, products, and technologies such as personal communications
services, multimedia systems, enterprise networks, and optical communications.
The series includes research monographs, edited volumes, handbooks and textbooks,
providing professionals, researchers, educators, and advanced students in the field with an
invaluable insight into the latest research and developments.
Topics included in this series include:­
• Communication theory
• Multimedia systems
• Network architecture
• Optical communications
• Personal communication services
• Telecoms networks
• Wifi network protocols

For a list of other books in this series, visit www.riverpublishers.com

 Embedded Artificial Intelligence
Devices, Embedded Systems, and Industrial
Applications

Editors

Ovidiu Vermesan
SINTEF, Norway

Mario Diaz Nava

STMicroelectronics, France

Björn Debaillie
imec, Belgium

River Publishers
 Published 2023 by River Publishers
River Publishers
Alsbjergvej 10, 9260 Gistrup, Denmark
www.riverpublishers.com

Distributed exclusively by Routledge

4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Embedded Artificial Intelligence / by Ovidiu Vermesan, Mario Diaz Nava,

Björn Debaillie.

© 2023 River Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval systems, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior
written permission of the publishers.

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa

business

ISBN 978-87-7022-821-3 (print)

ISBN 978-10-0088-191-2 (online)
ISBN 978-1-003-39444-0 (ebook master)

While every effort is made to provide dependable information, the

publisher, authors, and editors cannot be held responsible for any errors
or omissions.
 Dedication

“The question is not whether intelligent machines can have any emotions, but
whether machines can be intelligent without any emotions.”

– Marvin Minsky

“Our ultimate objective is to make programs that learn from their experience
as effectively as humans do. We shall. . . say that a program has common sense
if it automatically deduces for itself a sufficiently wide class of immediate
consequences of anything it is told and what it already knows.”

– John McCarthy

“It is customary to offer a grain of comfort, in the form of a statement that

some peculiarly human characteristic could never be imitated by a machine.
I cannot offer any such comfort, for I believe that no such bounds can be set.”

– Alan Turing

Acknowledgement

The editors would like to thank all the contributors for their support in the
planning and preparation of this book. The recommendations and opinions
expressed in the book are those of the editors, authors, and contributors
and do not necessarily represent those of any organizations, employers, or
companies.

Ovidiu Vermesan
Mario Diaz Nava
Björn Debaillie
 Contents

Preface ix

Editors Biography xiii

List of Figures xv

List of Tables xxiii

1. Power Optimized Wafermap Classification for Semiconductor

Process Monitoring 1
Ana Pinzari, Thomas Baumela, Liliana Andrade, Marcello
Coppola, and Frédéric Pétrot

2. Low-power Analog In-memory Computing Neuromorphic

Circuits 15
Roland Müller, Bijoy Kundu, Elmar Herzer, Claudia Schuhmann,
and Loreto Mateu

3. Tools and Methodologies for Edge-AI Mixed-Signal Inference

Accelerators 25
Loreto Mateu, Johannes Leugering, Roland Müller, Yogesh
Patil, Maen Mallah, Marco Breiling, and Ferdinand Pscheidl

4. Low-Power Vertically Stacked One Time Programmable

Multi-bit IGZO-Based BEOL Compatible Ferroelectric TFT
Memory Devices with Lifelong Retention for Monolithic 3D­
Inference Engine Applications 37
Sourav De, Sunanda Thunder, David Lehninger, Michael P.M.
Jank, Maximilian Lederer, Yannick Raffel, Konrad Seidel,
and Thomas Kämpfe

vii
viii Contents

5. Generating Trust in Hardware through Physical Inspection 45

Bernhard Lippmann, Matthias Ludwig, and Horst Gieser

6. Meeting the Latency and Energy Constraints on Timing-

critical Edge-AI Systems 61
Ivan Miro-Panades, Inna Kucher, Vincent Lorrain,
and Alexandre Valentian

7. Sub-mW Neuromorphic SNN Audio Processing Applications

with Rockpool and Xylo 69
Hannah Bos and Dylan Muir

8. An Embedding Workflow for Tiny Neural Networks on Arm

Cortex-M0(+) Cores 79
Jianyu Zhao, Cecilia Carbonelli, and Wolfgang Furtner

9. Edge AI Platforms for Predictive Maintenance in Industrial

Applications 89
Ovidiu Vermesan and Marcello Coppola

10. Food Ingredients Recognition Through Multi-label Learning 105

Rameez Ismail and Zhaorui Yuan

Index 117
 Preface

Embedded Artificial Intelligence

Embedded edge artificial intelligence (AI) reduces latency, increases the
speed of processing tasks, and reduces bandwidth requirements by reducing
the among of data transmitted, and costs by introducing cost-effective and
efficient low power hardware solutions allowing processing data locally.
New embedded AI techniques offer high data security, decreasing the
risks to sensitive and confidential data and increasing the dependability of
autonomous technologies.
Embedded edge devices are becoming more and more complex,
heterogeneous, and powerful as they incorporate a combination of hardware
components like central processing units (CPUs), microcontroller processing
units (MCUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processors
(DSPs), image signal processors (ISPs), neural processing units (NPUs),
field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated
circuits (ASICs) and other accelerators to perform multiple forms of machine
learning (ML), deep learning (DL) and spiking neural network (SNN)
algorithms. Embedded edge devices with dedicated accelerators can perform
matrix multiplication significantly faster than CPUs, and ML/DL algorithms
implemented in AI frameworks and edge AI platforms can efficiently exploit
these hardware components.
Processing pipelines, toolchains, and flexible edge AI software
architectures can provide specific system-on-a-chip (SoC), system-on­
module (SoM) and application types for optimised run-time support.
These tools can facilitate the full exploitation of heterogeneous SoC/SoM
capabilities for ML/DL and maximise component reuse at the edge.
The book offers complete coverage of the topics presented at the
International Workshop on Embedded Artificial Intelligence (EAI) - Devices,
Systems, and Industrial Applications" in Milan, Italy 19 September 2022,
as part of the ESSCIRC/ESSDERC 2022 European Solid-state Circuits and
Devices Conference held in Milan, Italy, combining ideas and concepts

ix
x Preface

developed by researchers and practitioners working on creating edge AI

methods, techniques, and tools for industrial applications.
The book explores the challenges faced by AI technologies embedded
into electronic systems and applied to various industrial sectors by
highlighting essential topics, such as embedded AI for semiconductor
manufacturing; trustworthiness, verification, validation and benchmarking
of AI systems and technologies; the design of novel AI-based hardware
architectures; neuromorphic implementations; edge AI platforms; and AI-
based workflows deployments on hardware.
This book is a valuable resource for researchers, post-graduate students,
practitioners and technology developers interested in gaining insight into
embedded AI, ML, DL, SNN and the technology trends advancing intelligent
processing at the edge. It covers several embedded AI research topics and is
structured into ten articles. A brief introduction of each article is discussed in
the following paragraphs.
Ana Pinzari, Thomas Baumela, Liliana Andrade, Marcello Copolla
and Frédéric Pétrot: “Power Optimised Wafermap Classification for
Semiconductor Process Monitoring” introduce a power efficient neural
network architecture specifically designed for embedded system boards that
includes microcontroller and edge tensor processing units. Experiments show
that the analysis of the control of wafers can be achieved in real-time with an
accuracy of 99.9% (float) and 97.3% (8-bit integer) using less than 2W.
Roland Müller, Bijoy Kundu, Elmar Herzer, Claudia Schuhmann and
Loreto Mateu: “Low-Power Analog In-memory Computing Neuromorphic
Circuits” present the ASIC design and validation results of a neuromorphic
circuits comprising synaptic weights and neurons. This design includes batch
normalization, activation function, and offset cancelation circuits. The ASIC
shows excellent results: 12 nJ per inference with 5μs latency.
Loreto Mateu, Johannes Leugering, Roland Müller, Yogesh Patil, Maen
Mallah, Marco Breiling and Ferdinand Pscheidl: “Tools and Methodologies
for Edge-AI Mixed-Signal Inference Accelerators" present how a toolchain
to facilitate design, training, and deployment of artificial neural networks in
dedicated hardware accelerators allows to optimize and verify the hardware
design, reach the targeted KPIs, and reduce the time-to-market.
Sourav De, Sunanda Thunder, David Lehninger, Michael P.M. Jank,
Maximilian Lederer, Yannick Raffel, Konrad Seidel, and Thomas Kämpfe:
“Low-Power Vertically Stacked One Time Programmable Multi-bit IGZO-
Based BEOL Compatible Ferroelectric TFT Memory Devices with Lifelong
Retention for Monolithic 3D-Inference Engine Applications” discuss and
 Preface xi

demonstrate an IGZO-based one-time programmable FeFET memory device

with multilevel coding and lifelong retention capability. The synaptic device
shows to achieve 97% for inference-only application with MNIST data and
an accuracy degradation of only 1.5% over 10 years. The proposed inference
engine also showed superior energy efficiency and cell area.
Bernhard Lippmann, Matthias Ludwig, and Horst Gieser: “Generating
Trust in Hardware through Physical Inspection” address the image processing
methods for physical inspection within the semiconductor manufacturing
process and physical layout to provide trustworthiness in the produced
microelectronics hardware. The results are presented for a 28nm process
including a proposed quantitative trust evaluation scheme based on feature
similarities.
Ivan Miro-Panades, Inna Kucher, Vincent Lorrain, and Alexandre
Valentian: “Meeting the Latency and Energy Constraints on Timing-critical
Edge-AI Systems” explore a novel architectural approach to overcome such
limitations by using the attention mechanism of the human brain. The
energy-efficient design includes a small NN topology (i.e., MobileNet-V1)
to be completely integrable on-chip; heavily quantized (4b) weights and
activations, and fixed bio-inspired extraction layers in order to limit the
embedded memory capacity to 600kB.
Hannah Bos and Dylan Muir: “Sub-mW Neuromorphic SNN Audio
Processing Applications with Rockpool and Xylo” apply a new SNN
architecture designed for temporal signal processing, using a pyramid of
synaptic time constants to extract signal features at a range of temporal
scales. The architecture was demonstrated on an ambient audio classification
task, deployed to the Xylo SNN inference processor in streaming mode. The
application achieves high accuracy (98 %) and low latency (100 ms) at low
power (<100μW dynamic inference power).
Jianyu Zhao, Cecilia Carbonelli and Wolfgang Furtner: “An Embedding
Workflow for Tiny Neural Networks on ARM Cortex-M0(+) Cores” provide
a description and propose an end-to-end embedding workflow focused on tiny
neural network deployment on Arm® Cortex® -M0(+) cores. With this, up to
73.9% of the memory footprint could be reduced. While reducing the manual
effort of network embedding to the minimum, the workflow remains flexible
enough to allow for customizable bit shifts and different layer combinations.
Ovidiu Vermesan and Marcello Copolla: “Edge AI Platforms for
Predictive Maintenance in Industrial Applications” provide an assessment
and comparative analysis of several existing edge AI platforms and workflows
including some of the most essential architectural elements of differentiation
xii Preface

(AEDs) in edge AI-based industrial applications, such as analytic capabilities

in the time and frequency domains, features visualisation and exploration,
microcontroller (Arm® Cortex® -M cores) emulator and live tests, support
for ML, DL, and using ML core capabilities implemented in the sensors.
Rameez Ismail and Zhaorui Yuan: “Food Ingredients Recognition
Through Multi-label Learning” describe deep multi-label learning approaches
and related models to detect an arbitrary number of ingredients in a dish
image. With an average precision score of 78.4% using a challenging dataset
(Nutrition5K), this approach forms a strong baseline for future exploration.
 Editors Biography

Ovidiu Vermesan holds a PhD degree in microelectronics and a Master

of International Business (MIB) degree. He is Chief Scientist at SINTEF
Digital, Oslo, Norway. His research interests are in smart systems integration,
mixed-signal embedded electronics, analogue neural networks, edge artificial
intelligence and cognitive communication systems. Dr. Vermesan received
SINTEF’s 2003 award for research excellence for his work on the
implementation of a biometric sensor system. He is currently working
on projects addressing nanoelectronics, integrated sensor/actuator systems,
communication, cyber–physical systems (CPSs) and Industrial Internet of
Things (IIoT), with applications in green mobility, energy, autonomous
systems, and smart cities. He has authored or co-authored over 100 technical
articles, conference/workshop papers and holds several patents. He is
actively involved in the activities of European partnership for Key Digital
Technologies (KDT). He has coordinated and managed various national, EU
and other international projects related to smart sensor systems, integrated
electronics, electromobility and intelligent autonomous systems such as
E3 Car, POLLUX, CASTOR, IoE, MIRANDELA, IoF2020, AUTOPILOT,
AutoDrive, ArchitectECA2030, AI4DI, AI4CSM. Dr. Vermesan actively
participates in national, Horizon Europe and other international initiatives by
coordinating the technical activities and managing the various projects. He is
the coordinator of the IoT European Research Cluster (IERC) and a member
of the board of the Alliance for Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI). He
is currently the technical co-coordinator of the Artificial Intelligence for
Digitising Industry (AI4DI) project.

Mario Diaz Nava has a Ph.D, and M.S. both in computer science,
from Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France, and B.S. in
communications and electronics engineering from Instituto Politecnico
National, Mexico. He has worked in STMicroelectronics since 1990. He has
occupied different positions (Designer, Architect, Design Manager, Project
Leader, Program Manager) in various STMicroelectronics research and

xiii
xiv Editors Biography

development organisations. His selected project experience is related to the

specifications and design of communication circuits (ATM, VDSL, Ultra­
wideband), digital and analogue design methodologies, system architecture
and program management. He currently has the position of ST Grenoble
R&D Cooperative Programs Manager, and he has actively participated, for
the last five years, in several H2020 IoT projects (ACTIVATE, IoF2020,
Brain-IoT), working in key areas such as Security and Privacy, Smart
Farming, IoT System modelling, and edge computing. He is currently leading
the ANDANTE project devoted to developing neuromorphic ASICS for
efficient AI/ML solutions at the edge. He has published more than 35 articles
in these areas. He is currently a member of the Technical Expert Group of the
PENTA/Xecs European Eureka cluster and a Chapter chair member of the
ECSEL/KDT Strategic Research Innovation Agenda. He is an IEEE member.
He participated in the standardisation of several communication technologies
in the ATM Forum, ETSI, ANSI and ITU-T standardisation bodies.

Björn Debaillie leads imec’s collaborative R&D activities on cutting-edge

IoT technologies in imec. As program manager, he is responsible for
the operational management across programs and projects, and focusses
on strategic collaborations and partnerships, innovation management, and
public funding policies. As chief of staff, he is responsible for executive
finance and operations management and transformations. Björn coordinates
semiconductor-oriented public funded projects and seeds new initiatives on
high-speed communications and neuromorphic sensing. He currently leads
the 35M=C TEMPO project on neuromorphic hardware technologies, enabling
low-power chips for computation-intensive AI applications (www.tempo­
ecsel.eu). Björn holds patents and authored international papers published
in various journals and conference proceedings. He also received several
awards, was elected as IEEE Senior Member and is acting in a wide range
of expert boards, technical program committees, and scientific/strategic think
tanks.
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 “I remember the happy afternoon I spent at White Lodge a few
days before the marriage. We were a large and merry party,
including the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and some time
was spent in looking at the numerous presents. Tea was served on
the lawn under the copper beech, and the dear Princess sat at the
head of the table making tea for all; on one side of her was a pile of
telegrams received, while on the other, scattered about amongst the
cups, were packets of telegraph forms. Messages were constantly
being delivered, and the Princess and the Duke as quickly wrote out
the replies; no word of complaint was uttered at these incessant
interruptions. Her Royal Highness’s amiable readiness to accede to
the many appeals for a place from which to see the bridal procession
was wonderful. Princess Mary begged me to visit her the day after
the marriage, and her eyes filled with tears as she spoke of parting
from ‘her precious child.’ Much, however, as I wished to accept the
suggestion, I did not do so, but implored the Princess to take the
rest that I knew she so urgently needed.”
The qualities both of head and of heart possessed by Prince
George’s bride were, at any rate partially, realised by the nation. An
incident that occurred at St. Moritz in 1894 is not so well known. The
Duchess of Teck and her daughter were on a visit there when a fire
broke out which entirely destroyed several shops and houses, and
threatened destruction to the lower village. Both the Princess and
her mother took active steps to rescue the goods from burning,
carrying out the things in their arms. They were the first to go
among the sufferers by the fire offering words of consolation, and
started a subscription in their aid.
After a very short engagement, the marriage took place in the
Chapel-Royal, St. James’s, on 6th July, in the presence of all the
Royal family, as well as the present Emperor of Russia and the King
and Queen of Denmark. King Edward naturally took a prominent part
in supervising all the arrangements, and was much gratified by the
outburst of popular enthusiasm which greeted his son’s union with
the daughter of the universally-beloved Duchess of Teck.
 It is interesting to note how frequently, ever since the marriage,
the King has associated his heir with himself in the performance of
his public duties, while the constant companionship of father and
son is a striking testimony to their complete sympathy with one
another.
The following year was notable for two Royal marriages in the
King’s immediate circle, and for a bereavement which touched both
His Majesty and the Queen in their closest family affections. The
King went to Coburg in April to be present at the wedding of his
niece, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and his
nephew, the Grand Duke of Hesse, the only son of the lamented
Princess Alice. The occasion brought together a remarkable number
of prominent members of Royal Houses, including Queen Victoria
and the German Emperor, and was rendered additionally memorable
by the fact that the engagement of the present Tsar of Russia to the
bridegroom’s sister was then publicly announced.
The King, who was on this occasion accompanied by Queen
Alexandra, went to St. Petersburg in August for the wedding of the
Grand Duchess Xenia, which was celebrated with all the lavish
magnificence of Russian Court ceremonies.
Although the Tsar was not then in his usual robust health, there
was nothing to indicate how soon the King and Queen were to be
recalled to Russia on a far different mission. To their lasting sorrow,
the summons to the Tsar’s death-bed at Livadia arrived too late for
them to be present at the last. Their Majesties left London on 31st
October, immediately on receipt of an urgent message from the
Tsaritsa, and had proceeded as far as Vienna when the news was
broken to them that all was over. They, however, continued their
melancholy journey, which was much delayed by bad weather, in
order that they might be with the widowed Empress and her son
through the terrible strain of the return to St. Petersburg, and the
ordeal of the funeral ceremonies.
The King’s fifty-third birthday was spent at Livadia, and for the
first time since his birth the anniversary celebrations in London and
at Sandringham did not take place.
When the funeral cortège reached St. Petersburg, Prince George
joined his parents, and together they attended the elaborate
obsequies of the Emperor, and the very quiet wedding of the young
Tsar and Princess Alix of Hesse, which followed a few days later. The
King remained in Russia for the Queen’s birthday, and left with his
son the following day, while Her Majesty stayed behind to support
her sister, the Empress Alexander.
The relations between England and Russia after the King’s return
became noticeably more cordial, and there is no doubt that this was
owing in a large measure to His Majesty’s personal exertions, and
the sympathy which he and his son displayed with the Russian
people in their great sorrow.
During this year of 1894 the King exhibited his usual complaisance
in attending various local ceremonies. Among these may be
mentioned the opening of the Tower Bridge by the King and Queen,
on behalf of Queen Victoria, in June; while in July their Majesties
attended the Welsh Eisteddfod at Carnarvon, where they were
received with great enthusiasm. A special session was held, at which
the King was initiated as “Iorweth Dywysog” (Edward the Prince),
Queen Alexandra as “Hoffder Prydain” (Britain’s Delight), and the
Princess Victoria as “Buddug” (the modern Welsh form of Boadicea).
The King was always willing to emphasise his connection with the
Principality from which he then took his title, and when the long-
desired University of Wales became an accomplished fact, he readily
consented to be its first Chancellor. His Majesty was installed in this
office at Aberystwyth in June 1896, and his first act as Chancellor
was to confer an honorary degree on Queen Alexandra. At the
luncheon which followed, the King’s health was proposed by Mr.
Gladstone.
In the following month, the marriage of Princess Maud to Prince
Charles of Denmark took place in the chapel of Buckingham Palace
in the presence of Queen Victoria and the Royal families of the two
countries.
Archbishop Benson officiated at the wedding, and he gives the
following charming description of the ceremony in his diary:—
“Married the Princess Maud to Prince Charles of Denmark. The
brightest of the Princesses, and almost as young as when I
confirmed her. He is a tall, gallant-looking sailor. Hope he will make
her happy. The Chapel and old conservatory ineffectually disguised
by church furniture—all well arranged, and the banquet also. The
whole very royally done. The group of great peers of the Queen’s
Household afterwards was striking, as were the greater peers also in
Chapel, and Mr. Gladstone decidedly ageing and paling, though they
say he is well. The Queen was the wonderful sight—so vigorous. In
the Bow Room afterwards, where fifty Royalties signed the book, she
called me to her, and I knelt and kissed her hand, and she talked
very spiritedly a few minutes. As soon as it was over an Indian
servant wheeled in her chair to take her out; she instantly waved it
back. ‘Behind the door,’ she said, and walked all across the room
with her stick most gallantly.”
The month of May was naturally a very busy one for the King and
Queen. On the 22nd their Majesties, representing Queen Victoria,
opened the new Blackwall tunnel in State, the East End of London
giving them a right Royal reception. On this occasion His Majesty
was presented with one of the heaviest gold medals ever struck in
England, weighing 12 ounces, and bearing on the reverse a
representation of the tunnel in perspective. On the 26th His Majesty
opened the new Medical School of Guy’s Hospital; on the 27th the
King and Queen, with their son and two of their daughters, opened
the Royal Military Tournament; on the 28th, at the request of Queen
Victoria, the King and Queen, accompanied by Princess Victoria, laid
the first stone of the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital in the City
Road; on the 29th the King and Queen, with their son and two of
their daughters, went down to Canterbury to open the restored
Chapter-house of the Cathedral, and in the evening the King dined
with the past and present officers of the Norfolk Artillery Militia, of
which he is honorary colonel. On the 31st the King held a levée at
St. James’s Palace, and in the evening dined with the 1st Guards
Club.

The King in theUndress Uniform of

an Admiral of the Fleet

From a Photograph taken in 1897

by Mullins, Ryde

This is a short summary, which does not pretend to be by any

means exhaustive of His Majesty’s engagements for a very few days,
but it brings out perhaps more vividly than a detailed list could
possibly do the whole-hearted manner in which the King threw
himself into the great tide of national rejoicing which reached its
flood in that memorable June of 1897.
King Edward, for a variety of reasons, took a much greater part in
the Diamond Jubilee festivities of 1897 than he did in those of ten
years before. All the arrangements were submitted for his approval
as well as Queen Victoria’s, and it was largely owing to his
conspicuous organising ability that everything went off with such
triumphant success. Both the King and Queen Alexandra associated
themselves in a special manner with the occasion, the former by his
Hospital Fund for London, and the latter by her thoughtful scheme of
providing one good dinner for the very poorest. The Hospital Fund
greatly benefited by the sale of a special stamp, the design of which
was selected by the King himself.
King Edward, who had been made an honorary Admiral of the
Fleet at the Golden Jubilee of 1887, represented his mother at the
magnificent naval review at Spithead, which was generally agreed to
be, in its way, the finest spectacle of all that the Jubilee festivities
afforded. Many foreign warships were sent by other countries as
tokens of international courtesy. Towards the officers of these
vessels the King displayed all his wonted cordiality; and in the
arrangements for their entertainment his efforts were heartily
seconded by Viscount Goschen, then First Lord of the Admiralty, and
the other naval authorities. The spectacle of so vast a concourse of
British vessels was rendered doubly impressive by the knowledge
that it had been assembled without weakening in the slightest
degree the squadrons on the numerous British naval stations all over
the world. There was much point in the remark said to have been
made by the United States Special Ambassador to the First Lord: “I
guess, sir, this makes for peace!”
On the eventful morning of the 22nd June, when the Jubilee
honours were announced, it was found that Queen Victoria, while
conferring some mark of her favour on each of her sons, had
created a new and special dignity for the Heir-Apparent. The
announcement was made in the following terms:—
“The Queen has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of Her
Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, to appoint Field-Marshal His Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales, K.G., G.C.B., to be Great Master and
Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the
Bath.”
 That this distinction was very gratifying to the King was
significantly shown in the following month, when he gave a great
banquet at St. James’s Palace to the Knights Grand Cross of the
Order of the Bath in celebration of his appointment. It was an
absolutely unique gathering of men who had rendered distinguished
service to the State, in statesmanship, in diplomacy, in the
profession of arms, in the navy, and in the departments of civil
administration.
Since his accession, His Majesty has appointed his brother, the
Duke of Connaught, to succeed him as Great Master of the Order of
the Bath.
By command of Queen Victoria, the King held a State reception
and investiture at St. James’s Palace on 21st July, when he received
on behalf of Her Majesty a large number of Diamond Jubilee
addresses and invested the newly-created Companions of the Orders
of the Bath, the Star of India, St. Michael and St. George, and the
Indian Empire, and on the same day His Majesty also opened the
new Tate Gallery at Millbank.
It was in this month that His Majesty was elected to the fellowship
of the Royal College of Physicians of London at a comitia of the
College—an honour which he valued highly. As a non-medical fellow
the King had had only three predecessors, the Marquis of Dorchester
in 1658, the Duke of Manchester in 1717, and the Duke of Richmond
in 1729. The Royal diploma was, it is understood, specially
composed for the occasion, and did not give the new fellow
complete freedom to practise in his new profession! Later on, His
Majesty was destined to experience in his own person the
marvellous benefits which modern surgery has placed at the service
of suffering humanity.
 The King as Grand Master of the
Knights-Hospitallers of Malta, at the
Duchess of Devonshire’s Ball

From a Photograph by Lafayette

The rest of the Diamond Jubilee year was spent in comparative

quietude by the King and Queen Alexandra, although His Majesty
took an active part in the exceptionally brilliant season. He attended,
among other great functions, the Fancy Dress Ball given by the
Duchess of Devonshire, wearing on this occasion the splendid
costume of the Grand Master of the Knights-Hospitallers of Malta.
King Edward and Queen Alexandra left Marlborough House on
10th August for Bayreuth, and His Majesty arrived at Marienbad on
the 18th, travelling incognito as Lord Renfrew. Her Majesty went to
Bernstorff to visit her parents, and was joined there early in
September by the King. His Majesty afterwards visited the Empress
Frederick at Cronberg, and returned to Marlborough House on 25th
September, while Her Majesty prolonged her stay in Denmark till
October.
On 16th October the King stood as sponsor at the christening of
the infant son and heir of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough—an
interesting occasion, for His Majesty had been godfather to the Duke
himself some twenty-five years before.
This summer was also rendered memorable for the visit paid by
the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to Ireland. Their Royal
Highnesses spent a fortnight there, stopping with the Lord-
Lieutenant, Earl Cadogan, in Dublin; afterwards visiting some of the
great houses of the Irish nobility, and seeing a great deal of the
lovely scenery for which Ireland is famous, including Killarney, from
which the Duke takes the title of Baron.
In Dublin the Duke of Cornwall and York and the ever-popular
Lord Roberts were installed with great pomp and ceremony as
Knights of the Order of St. Patrick. The Duke wore the same sword
which his father had used when he was installed some three-and-
twenty years before.
 The Duke of Cornwall and York in his Robes as a
Knight of St. Patrick

From a Photograph by Lafayette

His Royal Highness on the termination of the visit wrote the

following letter to Lord Cadogan, the Lord-Lieutenant:—
“Mount Stewart, Newtownards, Co. Down,
8th September 1897.
“Dear Lord Cadogan—I cannot leave Ireland without
expressing to you, on behalf of the Duchess of York
and myself, our very sincere appreciation of the warm
and enthusiastic welcome which has been accorded to
 us during our visit by all classes and in all parts of the
country.
“Nothing could have exceeded the kindness and
hospitality which have been shown to us, and the
agreeable impressions which we have derived from our
visit can never be effaced from our memory. I regret
that the limited time at our disposal rendered it
impossible for us to see many districts in a country
which contains so much that is beautiful and
interesting. I hope, however, that we may have further
opportunities of improving our acquaintance with the
people of Ireland and with the country of which they
are so justly proud.—Believe me, very sincerely yours,
“George.”
Their Royal Highnesses came home by way of Scotland, visiting
Glasgow, where they performed several ceremonial functions, and
staying with Lord Rosebery at Dalmeny for two nights. They then
went to Ness Castle and on to Guisachan for fishing and deer-
stalking as the guests of Lord and Lady Tweedmouth, and ultimately
visited Queen Victoria at Balmoral.
This Royal visit to Ireland exhibited in a striking manner the extent
to which party passions had been allayed in the distressful country.
The Duke and Duchess had everywhere a respectful and frequently
an enthusiastic reception; and in almost every address received by
their Royal Highnesses the desirability of establishing a Royal
residence in Ireland was pointedly referred to. The profound effect
of the visit was seen a month or two later, when, on the death of the
lamented Duchess of Teck, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of
Dublin telegraphed their condolences, both officially and privately,
not to the Duke of Teck, as might have been expected, but to the
Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. On this mournful occasion,
also, the Corporation of “rebel” Cork passed a resolution of
sympathy.
 The Duchess of Cornwall and York

From a Photograph by Chancellor, Dublin

The death of the Duchess of Teck on 27th October was a terrible

blow to the King and Queen Alexandra. In the previous April the
Duchess had undergone a severe operation with the magnificent
courage characteristic of her, and as soon as she was able to receive
visitors the very first who came was King Edward. Her Royal
Highness seemed quite to have conquered her malady. She went up
to London from White Lodge in June, and bore her part in many of
the Diamond Jubilee rejoicings. No one who saw the Jubilee
procession will ever forget the people’s welcome to the Duchess of
Teck—great in the West End, but greatest of all in the poorer parts
of London, and second only to the reception accorded to Queen
Victoria herself. The Duchess attended the Garden Party at
Buckingham Palace, and at the Duchess of Devonshire’s ball she
appeared as the Electress Sophia. Visits to Northumberland and
Westmoreland followed, but towards the end of October, when Her
Royal Highness had returned to White Lodge, the illness returned.
The surgeons again operated successfully, but the patient could not
rally from the shock.
There had been practically no warning, so that the news came
with equal suddenness both to the Royal Family and the nation. King
Edward and Queen Alexandra immediately hurried up from
Sandringham, and afterwards, at the deeply impressive funeral in St.
George’s Chapel, Windsor, His Majesty represented his Royal mother.
This bereavement was the more terrible from its utter
unexpectedness, and, as has been so singularly often the case in our
Royal Family, it happened in the autumn. Princess Mary, who stood
in the relation of second cousin to King Edward, was, although
belonging technically to the same generation as Queen Victoria, but
a few years older than His Majesty, and the most affectionate and
close relations had always existed between them, a fact shown on
many occasions throughout their joint lives, and nowhere more
strikingly than in the great satisfaction expressed by both the King
and Queen Alexandra at the marriage of their only surviving son to
the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Teck.
Earlier in the autumn an attempt was made to use the King’s great
personal prestige and popularity in order to bring to a close the
struggle between masters and men in the engineering trade. The
writer received the following reply:—
“Marlborough House, Pall Mall, S.W.,
8th October 1897.
“Dear Sir—I am directed by the Prince of Wales to
acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th inst.,
and to inform you, in reply, that, while he deeply
deplores the disastrous state of affairs in the
 engineering industry, he feels that it would not be right
or proper for him to attempt in any way to interfere or
to mix himself up in them. His Royal Highness regrets
that he is unable to act on your suggestion.—I am, Sir,
your obedient servant,
“Francis Knollys.”
Towards the end of November the King visited Durham, and in his
reply to the inevitable address gave some interesting reminiscences
of the late Bishop of the diocese. He said:—
“Dr. Lightfoot, who was transferred from his theological studies in
the University of Cambridge to undertake the administration of a
large and important diocese, evinced a powerful personality of
character through the brilliancy of his intellect, his profound learning,
his earnest piety, and a capacity for organisation so remarkable as
almost to appear intuitive.… I may mention that I myself was
personally acquainted with Bishop Lightfoot when I was an
undergraduate at Cambridge, and I wish to add my own testimony
to the admiration and regard with which he inspired all who, like
myself, had the advantage of knowing him.”
On 21st December Queen Alexandra received a grateful address
from the chairmen of the sixty local committees who were entrusted
with the management of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee dinner fund
for the poor of London, and so ended this eventful year.
 CHAPTER XVIII
LATER YEARS—A SERIOUS ACCIDENT TO THE
KING—GRADUAL RECOVERY—THE ATTEMPT
ON THE KING’S LIFE

The year 1898, destined to bring His Majesty a serious accident

and a tedious convalescence, opened uneventfully. On New Year’s
Day the King accepted the post of Patron of the Fourth International
Congress of Zoology, which had arranged to meet at Cambridge in
August. In January, too, the Brixton branch of the Social Democratic
Federation sent to the King a proposal that the Government should
organise a system of State maintenance of the underfed London
school children. In reply, Sir F. Knollys wrote:—
“His Royal Highness directs me to assure you that he feels the
greatest sympathy for the large number of underfed and half-starved
children living in London, and although he is afraid he does not feel
himself at liberty to support your particular proposal, it will give him
much pleasure to send a donation to the London Schools Dinner
Association, which he understands is doing very good work in the
required direction.”
In March the King went to Cannes, and saw President Faure in
Paris on his way thither. On 10th March His Majesty laid the first
stone of a new jetty at Cannes in the midst of a brilliant assemblage.
He said, speaking to the Mayor:—
“You know what pleasure it gives me to spend a few weeks in
your beautiful country, where I always meet with a hospitable
reception.… In laying the first stone of the new jetty, in accordance
with your kind wish, I desire to tell you especially how touched I was
at your having thought of giving it my name. I trust that the very
wise and unanimous impulse given by you to yachting at Cannes will
not fail of its effect. You can safely rely upon my support, for I am
sincerely glad to see this friendly competition between our two
countries developed, and, as you have so well said, I hope with you
that this ceremony may be a fresh pledge of cordial relations
between France and Great Britain.”
To M. Leroux, Prefect of the Alpes Maritimes, His Majesty said:—
“I am touched by the sentiments which, in the name of the
Government of the Republic, you have just expressed. I sincerely
hope that France may long enjoy the benefits of the Government
which you represent, and that the cordial relations between France
and Great Britain may continue for the good of humanity. I am,
indeed, happy to be able to lend my co-operation to this hospitable
country, for which I wish the greatest prosperity.”
On 25th April His Majesty opened the Royal Photographic Society’s
International Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. The Society was
founded in 1853 under the auspices of Queen Victoria and the Prince
Consort. The King naturally took special interest in the exhibit of his
Hospital Fund for London, which included photographs of the “Roll of
Ministering Children.” This roll comprised so many portraits of the
King’s descendants that His Majesty drily observed that he seemed
to be surrounded by grandchildren.
This spring His Majesty was much occupied with the preparations
for the Paris Exhibition of 1900. He was Chairman of both the
executive and the finance committee of the Royal Commission which
was appointed to see that Great Britain was adequately represented.
On 18th May the King reviewed the Lancashire Hussars at
Birkdale, it being the jubilee of this yeomanry regiment, and also
visited Southport and Wigan. On 20th May he reviewed the Royal
Bucks Hussars in Howe Park.
The death of Mr. Gladstone caused much sorrow both to His
Majesty and to Queen Alexandra, who had frequently demonstrated
the regard in which they held the veteran statesman and his devoted
wife. At the funeral of Mr. Gladstone in the Abbey on 28th May 1898
the King was the chief pall-bearer with his son, the Duke of Cornwall
and York, and at the close of the service, with the other pall-bearers,
they kissed the hand of Mrs. Gladstone. Queen Alexandra and the
Duchess of Cornwall and York were present at the service.
Soon afterwards their Majesties lost another old friend, and
curiously enough a devoted follower of Mr. Gladstone, namely, the
first Lord Playfair, so long known as Sir Lyon Playfair, who had taught
the King science in His Majesty’s student days at Edinburgh.
On 31st May the London Gazette published the following, which
was naturally of much interest to the King:—
“The Queen has been pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great
Seal, to declare that the children of the eldest son of any Prince of
Wales shall have, and at all times hold and enjoy, the style, title, and
attribute of ‘Royal Highness.’”
On 8th June Queen Alexandra presented prizes in the Albert Hall
to the boys of the Royal Masonic Institution at Woodgreen. His
Majesty, in acknowledging a vote of thanks to her, said:—
“Though the Princess has set a good example, as the wife of a
Freemason, in not attempting to discover the secrets of our craft, I
think she has taken a philanthropic interest in all that concerns our
works.”
Three days later the King opened the Reading University Extension
Hospital and inspected the Royal Berkshire Hospital, afterwards
going on a visit to his old friends Lord and Lady Wantage at
Lockinge. On 18th June the King distributed the prizes at Wellington
College, and on 21st June, accompanied by the Queen, he laid the
foundation stone of the new buildings of the North London or
University College Hospital.
A week later the King paid a visit to Lord and Lady Warwick, and
much enjoyed driving in motor cars, then a comparatively novel form
of conveyance. During the visit Lady Warwick drove the King to
Barford to call upon Mr. Joseph Arch, M.P., in his cottage. His Majesty
had a high opinion of Mr. Arch, who had risen by his own exertions
from a very humble origin, and at that time represented the electoral
division of Norfolk in which Sandringham is situated.

The Duke of Connaught

The Late Duke of Saxe-Coburg

Queen Victoria

The German Emperor

The Empress Frederick

King Edward VII.

From a Photograph by J. Russell and Sons

On 7th July the King, with the Duke of Sparta, who was on a visit
to this country, attended the presentation of colours by Queen
Victoria to the 3rd Coldstream Guards at Aldershot.
The King met with a serious accident on 18th July while at
Waddesdon Manor, Bucks, on a visit to Baron Ferdinand de
Rothschild. His Majesty slipped in descending a staircase and
sustained a fracture of the knee-cap, but was able to travel to
Marlborough House the same afternoon. Not much progress was
made, however, and on the 19th Sir William MacCormac and Sir
Francis Laking decided to call in the famous surgeon, Sir Thomas
Smith, who had undoubtedly prolonged the Duchess of Teck’s life. It
is interesting to note that the Röntgen rays were employed to
ascertain the extent of the injury, probably the first occasion of their
being used for a Royal patient. Rest was compulsory, and though it
must have been irksome in the extreme to one of the King’s active
habits, yet nothing could exceed the cheerfulness displayed by the
patient.
On the 21st Lord Lister, the “father” of antiseptic surgery, was
called in, and with characteristic consideration, in view of the anxiety
exhibited by the whole Empire, the King authorised the publication
of a detailed statement regarding the accident.
From this it appeared that he missed his footing while coming
down the spiral staircase at Waddesdon Manor, and in the sudden
severe effort made to save himself from falling sustained a fracture
of the left patella. “About one-fifth of the bone, somewhat crescentic
in shape, was torn away, along with the tendinous insertion of the
quadriceps extensor, and the gap between the fragments amounted
to a little more than two inches.” Sir W. MacCormac and Sir Francis
Laking concluded their statement by the remark that the illustrious
patient “is bearing the enforced restraint with exemplary patience
and good temper.” Of course what every one feared was some
permanent lameness or weakness of the limb, but this, as will be
seen from what follows, was fortunately averted.
Queen Alexandra was unremitting in her attentions to the invalid,
and was with difficulty prevailed upon to leave his room for
necessary air and exercise. On the 23rd Mr. Alfred Fripp, Surgeon-in-
ordinary, who was away on his honeymoon at the time the accident
occurred, joined the other medical attendants, who in consultation
decided that the patient might attend the Cowes Regatta on board
the Royal yacht Osborne. It was hoped that the change of scene
would facilitate recovery, and the decision was also naturally
gratifying to Queen Victoria, who was then in residence at Osborne,
and wished to be near her son.
On Sunday, the 24th, the patient was connected by electrophone
with St. Michael’s, Chester Square, and heard his honorary chaplain,
Canon Fleming, refer to the accident and the national anxiety it had
caused. In the evening the invalid heard a sacred concert, also
through the electrophone.
The Sultan was greatly concerned at the news of the accident,
and even offered to send the well-known Turkish surgeon, Djemal
Pasha, to attend on the patient.
It was characteristic of the King’s kindly consideration that before
leaving London for Cowes he sent a gold scarf-pin, set with
emeralds, and a letter of thanks to Dr. Shaw, the local practitioner
who had attended him at Waddesdon immediately after the
accident.
On 30th July the King, accompanied by the Queen, Princess
Victoria, and Prince Nicholas and Princess Marie of Greece, left
London for Cowes. Sir F. Laking and Mr. Fripp were in medical
attendance, and the transport to Paddington, and thence by the
Queen’s train to Portsmouth Jetty, was accomplished with complete
comfort and safety. The patient was carried by bluejackets in his
invalid’s chair on board the Osborne, and it is needless to say that
the “handy men” did their work to perfection, with masculine
strength allied to womanly tenderness. On the 31st Queen Victoria
visited the patient and found him in excellent spirits and making
good progress.
The Queen of Denmark fell seriously ill at this time, and as King
Edward was going on so well, Queen Alexandra left on 3rd August
for Copenhagen, attended by Miss Knollys and Sir Francis Laking.
Princess Victoria remained with her father.
On the 6th it was announced that no further bulletins would be
issued, as the King’s progress was so satisfactory. Queen Victoria
paid him frequent visits, and on the 12th Lord Rosebery was his
guest. The Osborne often went for short cruises, sometimes as far
as the Needles, and the King was much gratified to have his son and
daughter-in-law with him, as well as his grandchildren, the little
Princes Edward and Albert.
At length on the 23rd the Osborne left for a longer cruise in the
Channel, the programme including visits to Plymouth and Torquay.
Mr. Fripp was in medical charge. This did the patient great good, and
at some of the places at which the yacht touched he was able to
obtain carriage exercise, four of the Osborne’s bluejackets having
been drilled as a carrying party. His Majesty thoroughly realised that
complete recovery must not only be a matter of time, but must also
depend on strict obedience to the doctors’ orders, and, as the event
proved, he showed himself a model patient in every way. Queen
Victoria’s anxiety about her son abated, and she was able to leave
for Balmoral on 31st August. The patient particularly enjoyed the
opportunity of entertaining his friends on board the yacht, including
the Portuguese Minister and Mr. Christopher Sykes. He paid a long
visit to Mount Edgcumbe, landing and driving in the park.
On 2nd September the Osborne returned to Cowes, and on the
following day the patient was allowed to stand up for the first time
and to walk very carefully a distance of three feet.
The health of the Queen of Denmark continued to give great
anxiety to His Majesty, and the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and
York, with little Prince Edward, left England for Copenhagen to be
present at the celebration of the aged Queen’s birthday, which
seemed only too likely to be the last that she would ever spend on
earth.
On the 8th the King was able to visit Osborne—of course in an
invalid chair. On the 12th it was announced that a considerable
degree of mobility had been obtained in the knee joint, and on the
14th the patient, accompanied by Princess Victoria, left for Balmoral.
 At this time, in spite of the tiresome restraints imposed on him by
his accident, the King did another of those graceful little actions
which have helped so much to strengthen his hold over the
affections of his subjects all over the world. Some time before this
His Majesty had assisted Sir James Woodhead, then Mayor of Cape
Town, to procure a mace for the city, made of oak from the timbers
of Nelson’s flagship, the Victory. Unfortunately, the piece of wood
sent out proved to be so much decayed as to be practically useless.
Another application was made to the King, who again interested
himself in the kindest manner in the matter, with the result that a
fairly sound piece of wood was despatched, and the grateful council
of Cape Town passed a unanimous resolution of thanks to their
Royal benefactor. It is not a very important incident, but it illustrates
His Majesty’s willingness not only to take trouble, but to go on taking
trouble.
The King derived the greatest benefit from the splendid air of
Deeside, and about the middle of September Mr. Fripp, his Surgeon-
in-ordinary, was able to return to London. While His Majesty was in
Scotland Lord Crawford celebrated the quincentenary of his earldom,
and the King sent him the following kindly telegram:—
“Allow me to offer you my sincerest congratulations on the 500th
anniversary of the creating of your title.—Albert Edward.”
On 23rd September the King left Balmoral to stay with the Duke
and Duchess of Fife at Mar Lodge, and on the 27th the recovery of
His Majesty was, so to speak, officially marked by the announcement
in the London Gazette that Queen Victoria had appointed Sir William
MacCormac and Sir Francis Laking to be Knight-Commanders, and
Mr. Fripp and Fleet-Surgeon Delmege to be Members of the Royal
Victorian Order, “in recognition of their services in connection with
the recent accident met with by His Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales.”
All this time the condition of the venerable Queen of Denmark had
been fluctuating, now an improvement and now a relapse being
reported. At last the end came on 29th September, and the Balmoral
Court Circular, in recording the mournful event, announced:—
“The Queen’s beloved daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, was
in constant attendance on her mother, to whom she was devotedly
attached.”
The utmost sympathy was shown by all classes with King Edward
and Queen Alexandra in this terrible bereavement. The King was
represented at the funeral by his son, and the Duke of Cambridge
represented Queen Victoria. Queen Alexandra of course remained at
Copenhagen for the last sad rites.
On 16th October the King returned to London, the only trace of
his accident being a very slight limp, which was soon got rid of, and
on the 28th His Majesty received Lord Kitchener, who had come
home with all the laurels of Omdurman. On 1st November Queen
Alexandra and her son returned from Copenhagen, and their
Majesties soon afterwards paid a short visit to Sandringham. Before
the end of November the Lancet was able to assure the public that
the King’s recovery was complete, and His Majesty showed his
gratitude to Sir William MacCormac by his presence when, in the
following February, the eminent surgeon delivered the Hunterian
Oration at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
On 6th February 1899 another sad bereavement befell the King in
the death of Prince Alfred, the only son of his brother, the Duke of
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
The King soon returned to his active public life. On 2nd March His
Majesty presided at a meeting held at Marlborough House to
establish the League of Mercy, the purpose of which was to promote
more systematic contributions to his Hospital Fund for London. On
8th July the King reviewed some 26,000 Metropolitan Volunteers on
the Horse Guards Parade. Queen Alexandra watched the review, and
her son and the Duke of Connaught marched past at the head of the
corps of which they are honorary colonels. On 20th July the King
and Queen opened the new buildings of the Alexandra Hospital for
Children with Hip Disease in Bloomsbury, and on the following day
their Majesties entertained 1200 hospital nurses at Marlborough
House at a garden party in connection with the Royal National
Pension Fund for Nurses. On 22nd July the King, who was
accompanied by his son and daughter-in-law, was an interested
spectator of the International University Sports, when the
representatives of Oxford and Cambridge beat the champions of
Harvard and Yale by five events to four. In September His Majesty
presented new colours to the 1st Gordon Highlanders at Ballater.
 The King with the Ladies Duff

From a Photograph by Messrs. Downey

The autumn of 1899 was signalised by the visit which was paid to this
country by the German Emperor and Empress, who were accompanied
by two of their sons, Prince Augustus William and Prince Oscar. Their
Imperial Majesties were royally entertained at Windsor by Queen
Victoria, to whom they had come to pay their respects, a great State
banquet being the chief among the festivities. King Edward naturally
took a prominent part in the reception of the German Emperor, who
particularly enjoyed some capital shooting on his uncle’s estate at
Sandringham. At the time of His Imperial Majesty’s visit, the British arms
in South Africa were not meeting with conspicuous success, and various
political motives were freely attributed to the Kaiser, but the mass of the
British people were content to take the event for what it seemed to be—
namely, a tribute of respect to the venerated British Sovereign on the
part of her grandson. Queen Victoria took the opportunity to appoint the
Kaiser an honorary G.C.V.O., and to confer various grades of the same
decoration on the members of His Imperial Majesty’s suite, which
included more than one eminent German statesman.
The year 1900 was perhaps the most eventful in King Edward’s life,
for it saw the first attempt that had ever been made to kill him. Queen
Victoria’s memorable visit to Ireland began on the very same day on
which this dastardly attempt was perpetrated. Her Majesty landed at
Kingstown on the morning of Wednesday, 4th April, and made her State
entry into Dublin. Meanwhile King Edward and Queen Alexandra left
England for Copenhagen. As the train by which they were travelling to
Denmark was leaving the Nord Station at Brussels in the evening, a
youth named Sipido jumped on the footboard of the Royal carriage and
fired two shots from a revolver into the saloon. Fortunately they
completely missed the King, who behaved with the utmost coolness, and
as quickly as possible telegraphed a reassuring message to his Royal
mother.
Sipido, who was of course instantly arrested, declared that he had
intended “to kill the Prince because His Royal Highness had caused
thousands of men to be slaughtered in South Africa.” There is no doubt
that the youth’s mind had become infuriated, partly by Anarchist
doctrines, partly by reading the abominable libels which for some time
had been circulated in the disreputable Continental journals regarding
the conduct of the war in South Africa. Unfortunately it has to be
recorded that not disreputable journals alone were guilty. For instance,
the issue of the Kladderadatsch, the German Punch, published just
before the attack on the King, contained a paragraph of the grossest
and most insulting character, completing a series of abominably
scurrilous attacks on His Majesty.
 Widespread indignation was aroused, not only in the British Empire,
but also throughout the Continent, and the King and Queen were the
recipients of many thousands of telegrams of sympathy and
congratulation on His Majesty’s happy escape. The King expressed a
wish to have the bullet, and after the trial it was sent to him. It is
significant of His Majesty’s kindly thought that he sent to M. Crocius, the
stationmaster who seized Sipido, a valuable scarf-pin as an
acknowledgment. M. Crocius also received the Royal Victorian Order and
a letter of thanks from Queen Victoria.
The King and Queen returned to London from Denmark on 20th April,
and their arrival was made the occasion of a really remarkable popular
demonstration. A few days later the Press was requested to publish the
following graceful acknowledgment from His Majesty:—
“Marlborough House, Pall Mall, S.W.
“I have been deeply touched by the numerous
expressions of sympathy and goodwill addressed to me
on the occasion of the providential escape of the Princess
of Wales and myself from the danger we have lately
passed through.
“From every quarter of the globe, from the Queen’s
subjects throughout the world, as well as from the
representatives and inhabitants of foreign countries, have
these manifestations of sympathy proceeded, and on my
return to this country I received a welcome so
spontaneous and hearty that I felt I was the recipient of a
most gratifying tribute of genuine goodwill.
“Such proofs of kind and generous feeling are naturally
most highly prized by me, and will for ever be cherished
in my memory.
“Albert Edward.”
The subsequent history of Sipido throws a curious light on Belgian
notions of justice. He was placed on trial before the Brabant Assize
Court on 2nd July, and admitted his guilt, acknowledging that the
attempt was not meant as a joke. Although the jury on the 5th brought
in a verdict of “guilty,” the Court acquitted the prisoner on the ground
that he was “irresponsible,” but ordered him to be placed at the disposal
of the Government till he attained the age of twenty-one. The Belgian
Government, however, did not prevent him from fleeing to Paris, where
he had relatives. Mr. Balfour stated in the House of Commons that the
British Government had informed the Belgian Government that they
considered the result of the proceedings to be a grave and most
unfortunate miscarriage of justice. In excuse for not detaining Sipido,
the Belgian Government pleaded that the youth could not be arrested
during the three days’ interval to which he was entitled for deciding
whether he should lodge an appeal. But this deceived no one, for it was
not an illegal arrest which was desired, but ordinary police surveillance.
Sipido did appeal against the sentence of the Assize Court, but the
Brussels Court of Cassation rejected the appeal towards the end of
September. The Belgian Government ultimately obtained the extradition
of the youth from the French Government, and he arrived in Brussels in
charge of the police on 27th October.
The death of his brother, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Duke
of Edinburgh), in the summer of 1900, was a bitter grief to the King,
who was present with the German Emperor at the funeral. The
succession to the principality had been the subject of a family
arrangement on the death of the heir, Prince Alfred, in 1899. The King
himself had of course long ago renounced his rights, and the next heir,
the Duke of Connaught, on behalf of himself and his son, Prince Arthur,
did the same, with certain reservations. The duchy therefore passed to
the young Duke of Albany, only son of the late Prince Leopold, who was
then a boy in Mr. Benson’s house at Eton.
On New Year’s Day 1901 the King was much gratified by the
promotion of his son and heir to be Rear-Admiral, the more so as the
Duke had fairly earned this advancement as judged by the ordinary
standards of promotion in the Navy. The position to which His Royal
Highness was raised by the death of his elder brother of course
rendered it impossible for him thenceforward to be so closely associated
with the sea service as, for example, his uncle, the Duke of Edinburgh,
had been, and the step in rank was no doubt conferred in anticipation of
the Duke’s approaching visit to Australia to inaugurate the Federal
Parliament. The promotion was followed, a day or two afterwards, by
the appointment of the Duke to be Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Marine
Forces.
Dr. Creighton, Bishop of London, died on 14th January, and the King,
who was so soon to need the deepest sympathy himself, wrote a long
and touching letter of sympathy to the bereaved widow.

Sandringham from the Grounds

Photograph by Ralph, Dersingham

 CHAPTER XIX
THE KING AS A COUNTRY SQUIRE

Sandringham is so closely associated in the public mind with King

Edward and Queen Alexandra, whose country home it was for so many
years, and is still to be from time to time, that no apology is needed for
devoting to it a special chapter.
When King Edward was about to set up a separate establishment,
Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort instructed some of their most
trusted friends to look out for a suitable country estate for the Heir-
Apparent. At one moment it was proposed to buy Newstead Abbey, but
its Byronic associations caused it to be purchased as soon as it came
into the market. Eynsham, in Oxfordshire, an estate belonging to Lord
Macclesfield, also came under consideration, as well as Elveden, in
Suffolk, and Hatherop, in Gloucestershire. Lord Palmerston seems to
have suggested Sandringham, which at that time belonged to his
stepson, Mr. Spencer Cowper, and accordingly the Norfolk estate was
bought for £220,000.
The estate consisted of eight thousand acres, the nominal rental being
about £7000 a year, but everything about Sandringham was at that time
in very bad order. The house was small and dilapidated, and the
shooting and outlying portions of the estate had been utterly neglected.
It is said that the whole rental has been expended on the property
during the last thirty-five or forty years, and a very considerable sum
has also been spent on the new house, the new gardens, the park, and
the home farms. Every kind of improvement has been carried out,
gradually but steadily, and now it may be considered a model estate
from every point of view. One of the first institutions set up by the King
was an admirable village club, entirely built at His Majesty’s own
expense. The regulations enforced are based on what is called Dr.
Arnold’s system, and give the maximum of freedom to the members.
 The old mansion, which was small and inconvenient, was pulled
down, and the present house was erected on a more suitable site, from
the designs of Mr. Humbert. The work was not completed till 1871. The
new mansion is a very pretty gabled building, and though commodious
enough, it will not compare in point of size with many of the “stately
homes of England.” On the inner wall of the vestibule, above the hall
door, is set a tablet bearing, in Old English characters, the inscription:
“This house was built by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and Alexandra,
his wife, in the year of Our Lord, 1870.”
The Royal host and hostess, as well as their family and their guests,
are wont to spend much of their time in the great hall, a really beautiful
apartment, with a lofty ceiling of open oak work. Many family souvenirs
are gathered here, including a fine painting of Queen Alexandra’s
birthplace, portraits of the King and Queen of Denmark, two miniature
cannon, which were given by Napoleon III. to the King and to his sister,
the Empress Frederick, and a number of family portraits and
photographs. Facing the main entrance is the head of a wild bull,
belonging to the famous Chillingham herd, which was shot by the King
in 1872. Underneath are Sir Walter Scott’s lines:—

Fierce on the hunter’s quiver’d band

He rolls his eyes of swarthy glow,
Spurns with black hoof and horn the sand,
And tosses high his mane of snow.

Though Sandringham can boast of no wild cattle, yet the King has
been for many years a breeder of shorthorns and Southdown sheep on
a large scale, and it is difficult to estimate the benefits which his
example in this respect has conferred on the great agricultural industry.
His Majesty has always been a very keen competitor at the various
national and local shows, and he took his duties as President of the
Royal Agricultural Society very seriously. All the Norfolk shows, from the
flower show to the poultry show, are patronised by their Majesties; and
in this, as in so many other matters, the Squire of Sandringham sets an
excellent example to those round him. The Allotments Act was
practically anticipated at Sandringham, and the tenants of His Majesty
know that he interprets very generously any Act telling in their favour.
 The Royal Agricultural Society held its annual meeting in Dublin in
1871, when the King, who was accompanied by the Duke of Connaught
and Princess Louise (Duchess of Argyll), and the Duke of Argyll, paid
one of his visits to Ireland. At the annual banquet of the Society His
Majesty spoke in terms which demonstrate in the clearest manner his
interest in agriculture and his sense of its importance in promoting the
prosperity of the nation at large. He said, in the course of an unusually
long speech:—
“The theme before me—prosperity to Ireland—is one that might be
enlarged upon greatly. No one wishes more sincerely than I do
prosperity to this country. No one in the large assemblage which crowds
this hall, and no one outside this hall, could more largely wish for the
prosperity of Ireland which is so dear to them.… I may say that what
will do more than anything else towards making a country prosperous is
the extension of its agriculture. It was with great pleasure that I
accepted the position of President of the Royal Agricultural Society, and
it afforded me great pleasure to be present at the Show to-day. My
brother has already alluded in his speech to the fine animals we saw,
and I may add that I feel sure that in no other part of the United
Kingdom could a more creditable Show be held than that which was
opened near Dublin this morning. During the last four years there has
been a great improvement in every respect in the shows of the Royal
Agricultural Societies.…
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