Visit of H.R.H. Princess Louise to Blackburn (1905)
Visit of H.R.H. Princess Louise to Blackburn (1905)
A majestic Blackpool monument to Queen Victoria is unveiled by Princess Louise.
An artist and sculptor herself, and the first member of the royal family to exhibit at the Royal Academy, Princess Louise made an apt choice to unveil a statue to her late mother, Queen Victoria, on Blackburn's Boulevard. Mitchell & Kenyon's cameras captured the large formal procession, plus close-up shots of the Princess (known for her dislike of royal protocol) chatting happily to her hosts.
Unusually, the filmmakers apparently had at least two, and perhaps several cameras in action on the day. In the first scenes of the unveiling, the statue is out of shot and we barely notice the Princess's hand tugging the cord, only the audience's reaction to it. In the following scene we see the same moment captured in long-shot, with the camera filming the previous scene visible to the left of the statue.
From the collection
The Great and the Good
Royals, military heroes and sportsmen compete in the Edwardian fame game.
Mitchell and Kenyon's films suggest a company that was most at ease filming ordinary people at work and play. But the Edwardian era, just as today, had its public figures who could draw an audience - and audiences were M&K's business.
Edwardian celebrity culture was narrower than today's: headed by the King and other royals, followed by military heroes of the Boer War, politicians and a host of mayors and other local dignitaries. But an increasingly professionalised world of sport was already making its own stars: early signs of the new celebrity order of the later 20th century.
37 videos in this collection
1
Funeral of Queen Victoria (1901)
2
Joseph Chamberlain at Home (1902)
3
Return of Kitchener (1902)
4
The King's Ride in the Isle of Man (1902)
5
Princess Louise at Liverpool (1906)
6
Arthur Mold Bowling to A.N.Hornby (1901)
7
Prince of Siam in Liverpool (1901)
8
Lord Mayor of Cork Arriving For Official Opening of Cork Exhibition (1902)
9
Wigan Coronation Celebrations and Street Scenes (1902)
10
Wigan Mayoral Coronation Procession (1902)
11
Chorley Coronation Processions (1911)
12
Royal Proclamation of Death of Queen Victoria, Blackburn (1901)
13
Police Annual Inspection at Birchfields Park (1901)
14
Coronation Festivities at Accrington (1902)
15
Visit of H.R.H. Princess Louise to Blackburn (1905)
16
St George's Day Procession in Liverpool (1901)
17
Clitheroe Coronation Procession (1911)
18
Royal Visit to Manchester, Owens College (1902)
19
Great Harwood Coronation Celebrations (1911)
20
His Worship the Mayor Leaving Lancaster Town Hall (1902)
21
Arrival of VIP For Official Opening of Cork Exhibition (1902)
22
Lord Roberts Presenting Medals to Boer War Volunteers in Liverpool (1901)
23
Visit of the Duke of Connaught C.I.C. Forces in Ireland and Prince Henry of Prussia to Cork Exhibition (1902)
24
Funeral of the Late Captain of the Mexborough Fire Brigade (1902)
25
Leeds Mayoral Procession For the Coronation Celebrations (1902)
26
Trade Procession at Opening of Cork Exhibition (1902)
27
Funeral Procession in Edinburgh (1901)
28
Oddfellows Procession in St Helens (c.1901)
29
Royal Visit to Bangor (1902)
30
Procession of Firemen, Nelson (c.1902)
31
Hollow Drift Children's Procession, Durham (1902)
32
Birmingham University Procession on Degree Day (1901)
33
Wainwright Conservative Club, Blackpool (c.1906)
34
Royal Visit to Rhyl (1902)
35
Visit of Sir George Cotton at Accrington (1902)
36
Funeral of Canon Morrissey in Burnley (1903)
37
Funeral in Manchester (1904)
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