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Alexandra of Denmark with her coronation pages

1 of 4 portraits of Frederick William Burton Conyngham, 6th Marquess Conyngham

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© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Alexandra of Denmark with her coronation pages

by W. & D. Downey
albumen cabinet card, 9 August 1902
3 5/8 in. x 5 7/8 in. (93 mm x 149 mm) image size
Given by Jane Souter Hipkins, 1930
Photographs Collection
NPG x33258

Artistback to top

  • W. & D. Downey (active 1855-1940), Photographers. Artist or producer associated with 938 portraits.

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  • Pepper, Terence, High Society: Photographs 1897-1914, 1998 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 30 January to 21 June 1998), p. 28 Read entry

    The six pages, from left to right, are: Lionel Arthur Henry Seymour Dawson-Damer, 6th Earl of Portarlington; Maurice, 6th Duke of Leinster; George Francis Augustus Venables-Vernon, 8th Baron Vernon; Frederick William Burton Conyngham, 6th Marquess Conyngham; Eric James Desmond, 5th Earl of Caledon; and Arthur Herbert Tennyson Somers Cocks, 6th Baron Somers. The Coronation was planned for 26 June 1902 but had to be postponed because of Edward’s acute appendicitis; it eventually took place on 9 August. At the moment of Alexandra’s crowning, all the peeresses raised their coronets, one of the most spectacular moments of the service. Her dress of golden gauze was embroidered by the women of India, a country to which she felt a great attachment but was unable to visit.

  • Rolley, Katrina; Aish, Caroline, Fashion in Photographs 1900-1920, 1992, p. 36

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Events of 1902back to top

Current affairs

Prime Minister Lord Salisbury resigns and is replaced by his nephew, Balfour, who this year introduces the Education Act, which controversially hands control of secondary education from school boards to Local Education Authorities.
Arthur Griffith, leader of the Society of Gaels, introduces a policy of 'Sinn Fein' at a Society meeting in Dublin, which includes passive resistance to the British and the establishment of an Irish ruling council.

Art and science

Joseph Conrad publishes his short story The Heart of Darkness, a powerful critique of European imperialism. Based on his experiences in Africa, the narrative follows Charles Marlow's journey into the Belgian Congo in search of the mysterious trader Kurtz.
In New York, Alfred Stieglitz founds the Photo-Secession movement, a group of US photographers influenced by the Pictoralist movement, seeking recognition of photography as art in its own terms.

International

The first Aswan Dam is opened on the Nile, at the time the world's largest dam. The gravity dam, 1900m long and 54m high, was designed by Sir William Willcocks and built by engineers including Sir John Aird, whose firm John Aird & Company was the main contractor.
The Boer War ends after the Boers accept their loss of independence under the Treaty of Vereeniging, bringing the Boer republics under British control.

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