Page:King Edward VII, his life & reign; the record of a noble career 1.djvu/37

 him from the nurse and placed him in the arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury, from whom he received, through the good taste of his parents, the simple name "Albert Edward", after his father and maternal grandfather, instead of the long string of appellations often bestowed on royal infants. The chief sponsor was, as we have seen, the King of Prussia, and the other sponsors were the old Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cambridge (as proxy for the Duchess of Saxe-Gotha), the Princess Augusta of Cambridge (representing the Princess Sophia), Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg, and the Duchess of Kent as proxy for the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg. There was a full choral service, and, at Prince Albert's desire, no anthem was sung, although one had been expressly composed for the occasion by Mr. (afterwards Sir George J.) Elvey. The Prince had remarked that, if there were an anthem to end the service, all would go out criticizing the music. He wished to have, instead, "something we all know—something in which we can all join—something devotional". The ceremony accordingly concluded with the "Hallelujah Chorus" and the overture to Handel's oratorio Esther.

The King of Prussia was afterwards invested, as an extra, foreign knight, with the Order of the Garter by the Queen, at a "chapter" held for the purpose; and he conferred the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle on the Prince of Wales. In 1844 the Emperor of Russia gave the young prince the Grand Cross of St. Andrew. The Queen, in her journal, wrote concerning the christening ceremony: "It is impossible to describe how beautiful and imposing the whole scene was in the fine old chapel, with the banners, the music, and the light shining on the altar."

There was a great banquet, in the evening, in St. George's Hall, with a grand display of gold and silver plate. In the middle of the table was a massive gold or silver-gilt vessel, described as "more like a bath than anything else, holding thirty dozen of wine". This vast receptacle, the sight of which astonished the King of Prussia, was filled with mulled claret. The healths drunk, as proposed in succession by the Lord Steward, were " His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales", "The King of Prussia", "The