In the late spring of 1910 King Edward VII sickened of bronchitis and died on May 6th. The ILN devoted four special numbers to this tragic event from the announcement of the King’s illness to his burial in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. A special double number,
‘The Death of King Edward VII’, was issued on May 14th
(Appendix list no. 50). Its pages record the illness of the King, the announcement of his death to both private individuals and the public, mourning scenes in the Capital and provincial cities and pictures of the death chamber. A subsidiary section of the magazine commemorates the accession of King George V. The cover of this issue, in purples and greys, shows representative members of the Empire with heads bowed before a draped tomb surrounded by wreaths. Figures include a Canadian trapper, a Zulu warrior, a turbaned Indian an Australian farmer and a New Zealand Maori. The central picture is surrounded by laurel and bay sprigs and nourning crepe. As a supplement there was presented a drawing, ‘King Edward on his Death-Bed’, published by special permission of the Queen. The magazine is number 3708, vol. 136 (pages 701-756), measures 30 x 42 cm and was priced at one shilling.
The following week’s issue (May 21st) entitled
‘The Lying-in-State of King Edward VII’
(Appendix list no. 51) shows i11ustrations of the private lying-in-state in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace awl the public lying-in-state in Westminster Hall, mourners from home and overseas and pictures of the Royal vault. Again a section is devoted to the proclamation of King George V. This issue also contains ‘The Last Token’ from a drawing specially approved for publication by Queen Alexandra, ‘Silent Sorrow’, Miss Maud Earl’s painting of the King’s favourite terrier, Caesar, and Mr. A. Forestier’s four page drawing of the service at the time of the Lying-in-State at Westminster. The cover of this issue, in dark blue, depicts a Grenadier Guard with head bowed and arms reversed watching over the Royal coffin hidden by wreaths, drapes and curtains. This issue is number 3709, vol. 136 (pages 757-812) measures 30 x 42 cm and was priced at one shilling.
The funeral itself is fully covered in the next ordinary issue of the magazine on May 28th
(number 3710, vol. 136, pages 813-852, priced at Sixpence) (Appendix list no. 52). The ‘mourning’ nature of this issue is indicated only by the black title of the magazine above the usual advertising matter.
However, previous to this issue, on May 24th, the ILN produced another in its series of panoramic numbers. This one is entitled
‘The Funeral Procession of King Edward VII’
(Appendix list no. 53). The 24 pages show the whole of the procession, including the bearing of the coffin from Westminster Hall, the gun-carriage, the leading mourners, the cortege passing Marble Arch and Hyde Park, the arrival of the coffin at Paddington Station, the procession through Windsor and the lowering of the coffin into the vaults beneath St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
The purple cover of this issue shows Britannia standing before the draped coffin holding a wreath in one hand and a reversed trident in the other. On the coffin are the Royal insignia and surrounding it, in attitudes of prayer, are humble representatives of the late King’s subjects — a British sailor, a Canadian Indian and a Zulu warrior. The background shows the white Cliffs of Dover and a line of battleships firing a salute.
