Needless to say, the Queen played her part in the
splendid ceremony to perfection. Her noble bearing had in it no touch of pride or of aloofness, and the beauty of her person was well set off by the magnificence of her robes. To those who did not actually witness the ceremony it may seem some- what trivial to refer specially to the Queen's train. Yet, in truth, as will be admitted by all who were in the Abbey, the train gave a touch of splendour without rival in that pageant of gorgeous costume. The trains of the Princesses and of the great ladies of the Court were in the same way a most striking part of the ceremonial. The robes generally, indeed, played no small part in the scene. The robes and coronets of the Peers and Peeresses sound in description as somewhat ridiculous, but when worn and in the mass they gave a note of warm colour which greatly added to the splendour of the Coronation. The same must be said of the robes of the Knights Grand Cross of the Bath and other Orders. Yet striking as were the robes, there was also a won- derful contrast afforded by the one man without robes in attend- ance on the King's person. Mr. Balfour, the Prime Minister, had of course no right to wear any robes, though, as Lord Privy Seal, he attended his Majesty. His dress was simply that of an ordinary Cabinet Minister. The wearers of the military and diplomatic uniforms of all kinds no doubt added an element of colour and picturesqueness, but it cannot be said that ceremonially they showed anything like as effectively as did the robed figures. The dark-blue robes of
the Knights of the Garter seemed somewhat sombre, but they were most striking.
