sympathize with me
in the irreparable loss we have all sustained. I need hardly say
that my constant endeavour will be always to walk in her footsteps.
In undertaking the heavy load which now devolves upon me I am fully
determined to be a constitutional Sovereign in the strictest sense
of the word, and, so long as there is breath in my body, to work
for the good and amelioration of my people.

I have resolved to be known by the name of Edward, which has been
borne by six of my ancestors. In doing so I do not undervalue the
name of Albert, which I inherit from my ever to-be-lamented, great
and wise father, who by universal consent is I think, and
deservedly, known by the name of Albert the Good, and I desire that
his name should stand alone. In conclusion, I trust to Parliament
and the nation to support me in the arduous duties which now
devolve upon me by inheritance, and to which I am determined to
devote my whole strength during the remainder of my life."

After the oath of allegiance had been taken by those present, the
proclamation announcing the accession of the new Monarch was signed by
the Duke of York--now also Duke of Cornwall,--the Duke of Connaught, the
Duke of Cambridge, Prince Christian, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the
Lord Chancellor, the Lord Mayor of London, and the other Privy
Councillors present. The Houses of Parliament met shortly afterwards and
the members took the oath of allegiance, while all around the Empire the
same ceremony was being gone through in varied tongues and many forms
and strangely differing surroundings. There was wide-spread interest in
His Majesty's choice of a name, and the designation of Edward VII. was
almost universally approved--the exceptions being in certain Scotch
contentions that the numeral could not properly apply to Scotland as a
part of Great Britain. The name itself reads well in English history.
Edward the Confessor, though not included in the Norman chronology, was
a Saxon ruler of high attainments, admirable character and wise laws.
Edward I, was not only a successful soldier and the conqueror of wild
and warlike Wales, but a statesman who did much to establish unity and
peace amongst his people. Edward II. was remarkable chiefly for the
thrashing which the Scots gave him at Bannockburn while Edward III. was
the hero of Crecy, the winner of half of France, and a brave and able
ruler. E