Rise of Australia

Chapter 56 The Conversation After the Funeral
At around three o'clock in the afternoon, the hearse officially arrived outside Windsor Castle and continued along the long promenade of Windsor Castle.

This is the last section of the road into 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 enclosure of Windsor Castle and disappeared from the eyes of all British people.

The final funeral was held at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, a church often used by members of the royal family for weddings, baptisms and funerals.

The burial was presided over by David Connor, bishop of St. George's Church. Because the burial was by invitation only, only nearly [-] guests attended the burial.

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

Queen Victoria was separated from her crown for the last time as the royal crown, the Sovereign Orb and the scepter were removed from the top of the coffin by the crown jewelers.

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

After the last hymn, the battalion of the Regiment of the Guards, the highest-ranking guard of honor dedicated to the sovereign's traveling ceremonial duties, places the battalion flag on the coffin.

Finally, the church sang blessings and God bless the king again, sending Queen Victoria into the Royal Mausolus Mausoleum, where she was buried next to Prince Albert.

At this point, Queen Victoria's funeral is officially over. At the same time, it also announces 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.

Edward VII's official title at this time should be King of England and Edward VII, Emperor of India, since it had already been determined that the title of Edward VII would be used to rule England.

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 the United Kingdom and the helm of the British Empire, Edward can rely on the remnant prestige of Queen Victoria to control a considerable part of the right to speak and power in the United Kingdom.

And Edward's attitude, words and deeds will also determine the next British government's policies and actions.

As the current number one British Empire in the world, all countries are waiting for the UK, and they are all waiting for the UK to stand in line regarding the current situation in Europe.

However, Edward VII was extremely low-key at the funeral. Regardless of the conversation and contact with anyone, Edward VII maintained an unsmiling attitude and refused everyone's intimacy.

The crowd had no choice but to disperse one after another, but they did not leave the UK.

Because seven days later, there is still a grander ceremony waiting for everyone to participate, that is, the coronation ceremony of Edward VII.

Today and seven days from now, these people will witness the change of British regime, and the rotation of the old and the new.

Arthur was among them, and just 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 hadn't seen him for a month since leaving the Isle of Wight.

William II is also low-key today. First, because the protagonists today can only be Queen Victoria and the British royal family. Second, he is in the UK, and his attention is indeed not as good as that of Edward VII.

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

"Cousin William, it's been a long time." Arthur responded with a smile and saluted.

The previous send-off team could only be composed of members of the British royal family, so even if 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 plans to discuss matters with Arthur right now.

"Of course." Arthur nodded, and followed William II out of Windsor Palace.

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

Edward VII watched the two leave like friends, a deep light flashed in his eyes, and then he talked with the surrounding guests as if nothing happened.

The restaurant set by William II is in a private estate outside London and is not open to the public.

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

It has to be said that the luxury of Western monarchs and nobles, the top restaurant that kills the three-star tires in later generations is only one of the many private restaurants, and they don't even come a few times a year.

After inquiring about Arthur's taste and preferences, the kitchen in the restaurant began to get busy preparing lunch for William II and Arthur.

As for ordering food, it simply 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 my grandmother to care about you so much. At the last moment of her life, the first thing she mentioned was actually Give you British New Guinea and New Zealand."

Arthur shook his head with a smile, and said, "Compared with these two territories, I hope grandma will not leave."

"Okay, let's not talk about such a heavy topic, Arthur. Grandma left, but life has to go on, doesn't it? After Australia has British New Guinea and New Zealand, it can already claim to be the hegemony of the South Pacific and establish regional hegemony Already." William II changed the subject with a smile.

"I've said that, Cousin William. Where is the regional hegemony? At best, Australia has a say in places like Oceania, surrounded by small colonies of great powers, and to the north is the Dutch East Indies, which is protected by various countries. I can only rest assured Staying in Oceania for development has nothing to do with the word hegemony." Arthur shook his head and denied it.

Given another decade or more for Australia to develop, there may be hope for regional hegemony in Oceania and Southeast Asia.

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

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

In terms of ancestry, Australia is undoubtedly closer to the United Kingdom.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 the six Australian colonies, the concept of Australians has become very vague, and it can also refer to all citizens of Australia.

If you look at it in this sense, more than half of Australians are of British descent, and the vast majority of Australians have British ancestry.

　The second update, please support!Recently, the number of words in each chapter is increasing, and I will strive to reach [-] words in two chapters.Please support, everyone's support is the biggest motivation for the author's codeword.In addition, thank you for your monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)