Chapter 814 813 [The Crowning of the King of England]
The Chinese emperor likes all nations to come to court, and the same goes for the British king.
The coronation of King George VI was the last scene of the British Empire before sunset. Navies from 18 countries around the world, plus 145 warships from the British Commonwealth, participated in the ship review ceremony for the coronation of the British King, performing an unprecedented world naval event in Spithead Strait.
Germany, France, the United States, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, Spain... and even the Cuban Navy sent a cruiser to add to the fun. Isn’t it just the coming of all nations to the DPRK?
According to Chiang Kai-shek's plan, China should also send a warship over, but unfortunately it did not happen due to various reasons.
The entire British Commonwealth and its colonies have been immersed in joy these days, with lights and colors everywhere, quite like the Chinese New Year.
In fact, George VI ascended the throne at the end of last year, but he was only an uncrowned king. The newly enthroned British king needs to pay allegiance to the pope or archbishop before he can truly be crowned and wear the crown, which has both political and religious affirmation.
Zhou Hexuan and Vivien Leigh got up early in the morning and immediately went separate ways.
Zhou Hexuan was going to the Chinese Embassy in the UK to meet up with members of the special envoy, and then rush to Westminster Abbey together as the Chinese envoy. Vivien Leigh and her father Ornish took their daughter to attend the coronation ceremony. They were special guests of the royal family.
"Brother Mingcheng, long time no see!" Ambassador Guo Taiqi greeted with a smile.
Zhou Hexuan laughed loudly and joked: "Brother Baodong, you have gained weight. It seems that you are doing well in the UK."
Guo Taiqi still looks like a coquettish guy, and he is dressed particularly coquettishly today. His dress is studded with gold spikes, and the glittering gold can blind people. His current status is not only the ambassador to the UK, but also the deputy envoy of the Chinese Special Envoy, and the protagonist is the envoy Kong Xiangxi.
Kong Xiangxi appeared with his wife Song Ailing on his arm, restrained his smile and lectured: "Today is the grand day for the coronation of the King of England. Royal families and diplomats from various countries will be present. Britain is a country of etiquette, and China is also a country of etiquette. Please do not lose your etiquette. . Please check your appearance and dress again, and set off for Westminster Abbey on time in fifteen minutes."
Although there are more than 30 people in the entire mission, there are only 12 people including Zhou Hexuan who are qualified to attend the coronation ceremony. Kong Xiangxi's eldest daughter and second son were only ordinary members of the delegation and had not received invitations. They were not even able to attend the coronation banquet on the third day.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly, and the Chinese special envoy set off in a mighty manner.
The streets of London were already filled with citizens who spontaneously came to congratulate him. Many of them slept on the street on simple folding beds last night. Now they could put away their beds and stay in place to welcome the arrival of the king's chariot.
Police across London are taking action to call on citizens not to crowd, otherwise vehicles will not be able to pass at all.
Kong Xiangxi was sitting in the car, holding Soong Ailing's hand, looking at the dark crowd on both sides and sighing: "It is really rare for the King of England to be so loved by the people."
I love you so much!
Zhou Hexuan sneered at this. A stuttering prince who had just succeeded to the throne had never done anything good for the country or the people. How could he be loved by the people? These British people spontaneously ran to celebrate. Seven points were for watching the excitement, and the remaining three points were just respect for the status of "king".
When everyone came to Westminster Abbey, they did not go in directly, but were arranged to wait in a special area outside the church. In addition to the Chinese special envoy, there were also royal members from various Eurasian countries, diplomatic missions from various countries, and many specially invited guests.
After waiting for about half an hour, loud cheers came from the distance.
In the middle of the long honor guard, King George VI and the Queen were seen arriving in a golden carriage with eight white horses. The carriage gleamed golden in the sunlight, and even the wheels were covered with gold. This was the king's golden carriage specially made for the coronation ceremony.
King George VI seemed very nervous. He couldn't sleep all night last night and only had two bites of breakfast. At this moment, his whole body was shaking and chilling. He was smiling and waving to the people like a puppet on strings.
The king and queen, accompanied by palace attendants, were led into the cathedral by the clergy, and the guests who watched the ceremony also entered and took their seats.
After a series of ceremonies, George VI was invited to sit down on an oak chair. That oak chair was placed there by King Edward of England during the Middle Ages. All British kings have sat in the chair for their coronations.
The priest brought an eagle-shaped holy oil bottle, which contained holy oil added with orange, rose, cinnamon, musk and ambergris. The Archbishop of Canterbury picked up a ladle inlaid with filigree, took out the holy oil from the bottle, and anointed the king's hands, chest and head.
This is the central part of the entire coronation ceremony, called "anointing."
While performing the anointing ceremony, the King solemnly swore to the world that he would rely on Almighty God to obtain the will, strength and ability needed to serve his people fairly and safely.
The Archbishop of Canterbury then placed a crown on George VI's head, expressing God's recognition of the King of England, and the coronation ceremony finally came to an end. (After reading the chapter, I would like to add that after the King of England is crowned, he automatically becomes the Pope of England, and the Archbishop must in turn pay homage to the King of England.)
There is a saying in the West: If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.
Let’s not think about the extended meaning, we can understand it literally. The crown currently on George VI's head weighs at least five kilograms. It is only worn on special occasions. If it is worn on a regular basis, it is purely to cause trouble for the neck.
This crown, like the previous oak chair, is a relic of St. Edward, the medieval King of England. During the previous revolution in England, Charles I was beheaded by a click, and the crown was almost melted and minted into gold coins.
St. Edward's crown originally weighed more than four pounds. Every subsequent British king was crowned, and jewels were added to the crown. Now a ruby, now a sapphire, now a diamond. By the time George VI was coronated, the crown contained 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies.
The crown is really heavy.
Zhou Hexuan watched the entire coronation ceremony, had a simple meal at noon, and the coronation naval parade in the afternoon.
Everyone was invited to the king's flagship, a formation of several British aircraft carriers, passing through the wide sea. Then came more than 100 warships of various types, as well as naval vessels from 18 countries around the world, forming various formations in various ways and firing salutes like crazy.
"All nations are coming to court, really all nations are coming to court!" Kong Xiangxi sighed with envy.
Chen Shaokuan looked extremely disappointed. As the Minister of the Chinese Navy, he should be commanding his warships to be inspected by the King of England at this time, rather than standing with the diplomats and watching from a distance. Even a country as big as Cuba has sent warships to participate in the naval parade. Why can Chinese warships only stay in their own seaports?
Zhou Hexuan's focus was somewhat different. He looked at the warships of the United States, France, Britain, Germany and the Soviet Union, but what he was thinking about was the war a few years later. The warships from various countries in front of us are so harmonious, it will be really interesting to fight each other.
Especially the Soviet Red Navy, which is a strange service whose combat effectiveness explodes after landing.
The naval parade ended in the afternoon, and there was another large-scale symphony performance in the evening. Zhou Hexuan and the others had no chance to talk to the King of England.
It was not until the third day of the coronation that King George VI held a coronation banquet at Buckingham Palace and finally began to formally receive foreign envoys. Just like the ancient Chinese emperor receiving foreign envoys, this thing was also very cumbersome, except that he did not kowtow to the emperor to thank him.
Envoys from each country were brought to congratulate King George VI. The Chinese envoy was relatively far behind, but fortunately it was not at the bottom.
12 members of the Chinese mission came forward. British Foreign Minister Eden introduced: "Your Majesty the King, this is Mr. Kong Xiangxi, China's Minister of Finance. He unifies China's finances, organizes China's tax system, reforms China's currency, and restores China's international credibility. Balances China's government budget and is a great financial expert! This is Mr. Kong's wife, the beautiful and generous Ms. Song Ailing."
King George VI took a breath habitually and said with a smile: "Happy... welcome Chinese friends to the UK."
Kong Xiangxi stepped forward to shake hands and said: "I wish Mr. King good health and the friendship between China and Britain will last forever."
"Thank you." King George VI didn't stutter in his words of thanks, and he probably had already practiced them.
British Foreign Minister Eden added: "This is Mr. Zhou Hexuan, the deputy envoy of the Chinese Special Envoy, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and an internationally renowned scholar. Mr. Zhou..."
King George VI interrupted: "No further introduction is needed, I... Zhou and I are... old friends."
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Hello, Mr. King, I wish you a long-lasting national destiny."
"No...you don't have to be so outgoing, just call me by my name." George VI said with a smile.
"Okay, Bertie," Zhou Hexuan stepped forward to hug and patted George VI on the shoulder. "Don't be too nervous. You can handle it."
"Thank you," said King George VI.
Kong Xiangxi and Song Ailing looked on with great surprise. They had only heard that Zhou Hexuan and the King of England were friends, but they did not expect that the relationship was so close. "Bertie" is the nickname of George VI, which can also be said to be a nickname. Most people would not dare to call him this.
Kong Xiangxi also thought of his recent trip to Germany. As soon as they arrived in Germany and met Hitler, the first thing the Führer said was: "Isn't Zhou coming?"
And in Sweden, when Kong Xiangxi communicated with the Swedish Crown Prince, the Swedish Crown Prince talked about Zhou Hexuan the most.
This friendship is too broad!
When he came to the banquet table, Kong Xiangxi whispered to Zhou Hexuan: "Mr. Zhou, you have such a close relationship with the King of England, can you persuade Britain to provide loans to China?"
Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said: "It's a bit difficult. As you know, the King of England does not care about politics, he is just a symbolic head of state."
"Then forget it." Kong Xiangxi said disappointedly.
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "I can help you contact Mr. Norman, the president of the Bank of England."
"You also have a relationship with Mr. Norman?" Kong Xiangxi said in shock.
Zhou Hexuan was speechless: "I was the one who found Norman during the last silver crisis. Otherwise, how could the British investigation team arrive in China so quickly?"
"That's it." Kong Xiangxi looked at it carefully, feeling increasingly that Zhou Hexuan was unfathomable.