The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 59: Isle of Wight Treaty

Outside the church, tens of thousands of people braved the cold, damp weather to wait.

To not miss the coronation of Edward VII, at least a hundred people set up tents by the side of the tree-lined avenue in front of Buckingham Palace the night before, staying overnight.

The price of seats on the simply constructed viewing stands rose to over ten pounds, with the best spots overlooking the road costing even up to hundreds of pounds per seat.

After Edward VII delivered his coronation speech, the Archbishop of Canterbury lifted the St. Edward’s Crown high before putting it on the head of the undisputed king.

The St. Edward’s Crown, made of gold and adorned with numerous diamonds, is the oldest and most valuable crown of the British royal family, exclusively used for the coronation of monarchs.

There is another crown similar to St. Edward’s Crown, the Imperial State Crown, which is only worn during ceremonies and for ceremonial purposes.

“Long live the King!”

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert, the British people present began to cheer for the new British monarch.

After the grand coronation ceremony came Edward VII’s first banquet as king. This banquet was large in scale, attended not only by the royal families from other countries who had participated in the funeral and coronation ceremony, but also by the grand nobility and upper echelons of Britain to offer their blessings and congratulations to Edward VII.

Being the sole protagonist of this banquet, the main theme of the event focused on congratulating Edward VII, leaving Arthur rather bored.

After having a simple conversation with Edward VII and expressing his “heartfelt” congratulations, Arthur found a slightly quieter corner and sat down alone.

Perhaps anticipating this situation, William II did not attend the banquet, instead sending Crown Prince William as his representative.

After meeting with Arthur that day, William II returned to Berlin.

Fortunately, the banquet did not last long, lasting only about two hours from eight o’clock to just after ten o’clock.

Barely enduring the two-hour event, Arthur quietly returned to his room as the banquet ended.

Although Arthur wanted to ask Edward VII about the time of their negotiations with the British government, seeing the crowd of congratulatory guests surrounding Edward VII at the banquet, Arthur could only give up helplessly.

Unexpectedly, Arthur received good news the very next afternoon: on December 10th, just two days later, the British government had decided to begin discussions and negotiations with the Australian diplomatic visiting group regarding assistance plans.

This was good news for Arthur; the sooner he could finalize the treaties with both Britain and Germany, the better.

Staying in Britain indefinitely was not the solution, as Australia was in need of rapid development, requiring Arthur’s personal presence.

Time passed quickly, and December 10th arrived in the blink of an eye.

After two days of extensive preparation, the Australian diplomatic visiting group officially visited Whitehall in Westminster District, London, where various government offices were located such as the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Privy Council, the Ministry of Finance, and others.

The negotiations took place in the conference room of the Prime Minister’s Office, with officials from both sides attending the meeting including one Prime Minister, six ministers, and more than forty important department officials.

As King Edward VII had delegated the decision-making power to the British government, it would not be appropriate for Arthur to personally participate; he could only let the diplomatic visiting group take full responsibility.

This was also a clever move by Edward VII. If both monarchs were to be present, as Arthur’s uncle, Edward VII would have to concede several points.

As it stood, Edward VII had delegated negotiation rights to the British government; and since Edward VII did not appear in person, it would not be appropriate for Arthur to appear in such a diplomatic setting either.

After all, as a member of the royal family and a distinguished Duke, it would be detrimental to his dignity and the image of the nobility and the royal family to participate in such negotiations.

However, if Arthur did not show up, the Australian diplomatic visiting team, in terms of position, status, and number of people, would not be on par with the British officials, putting them at a disadvantage.

Arthur had made arrangements in advance. Ultimately, the outcome of the negotiations depended on the efforts of all members of the diplomatic visiting group.

As Arthur anxiously awaited, the sounds of negotiation echoed through the Prime Minister’s Office. Disagreements occasionally arose but were quickly resolved.

Around eight o’clock in the evening, a knock on Arthur’s door brought familiar voices: “Your Highness, we’ve come to an agreement!”

The door was opened by three ministers of the visiting group. Their faces showed excitement, indicating that the negotiations had gone smoothly and the agreed terms met their expectations.

“Tell me, what are the results of the negotiation?” Arthur asked emotionlessly after sitting down in his office and having the royal guard serve coffee to everyone.

“Overall, the negotiations went smoothly, Your Highness,” said an excited foreign minister, Andrew.

As diplomatic means were required, Andrew had been appointed head of the visiting group, with Minister Pierre and Minister Kent assisting as deputy heads.

“Were our demands met? Has the aid plan been signed formally?” Arthur nodded indifferently, before continuing his questions.

“We’ve pretty much gotten everything we wanted, Your Highness. Today, we’ve discussed all the details of the treaty with the British government and agreed to formally sign the treaty tomorrow and start its implementation the day after for a period of ten years,” said Minister Andrew with a smile.

The ten-year term was decided by Queen Victoria, and neither Britain nor Australia had any intention to change it.

For Britain, they did not want to take on any long-term unconditional support, as this would still incur costs in silver and gold.

For Australia, however, ten years of aid was entirely acceptable. After all, greed had its limits, and both Arthur and the officials were satisfied with this timeframe.

How much funding can the aid treaty provide us each year? How much industrial equipment and talent can be provided? Was the immigration issue discussed during the negotiations?” Arthur continued asking.

Australia needed support in many areas, especially in addressing immigration, which was the biggest challenge for Australia before its rise.

Whether it was developing industries or building infrastructure, a large amount of labor and population was required.

For a country like Australia with a population of less than four million, the only way to get enough development was to attract a large number of immigrants from Europe, and increase Australia’s population as much as possible..