The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-17 00:00:00

THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT.

Yesterday evening Lord Sydney (the Lord Cham-
berlain) issued his instructions for the funeral. The
custom, which remained in force up to the burial of
William IV., of interring members of the Royal
family by torchlight, has for many years been dis-
continued, and will not be resumed on this melan-
choly occasion. The funeral will take place on
Monday next, the 23d inst., and at about the same
hour of the day as when the Duchess of Kent was
buried—between 11 and 12 o'clock in the forenoon.
In accordance with the custom usually followed of
late years, the funeral will not be a state one, nor
will the remains of his Royal Highness lie in state.
All these details, however, have been entrusted to
Messrs. Banting, who have for so many years
conducted the Royal and public funerals in this
country. But, few and simple as are the rites which
mark these solemn occasions, a great amount of pre-
paration is necessary beforehand. St. George's
Chapel, Windsor, where the interment will take
place, has to be draped and carpeted with black, the
Royal vault to be opened, and time allowed for the
arrival of the representatives of foreign Courts who
will be deputed to attend on this occasion. All
these arrangements have been carefully considered,
and the shortest possible time in which they can be
completed is by the date we have mentioned. At
the funeral his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
will act as chief mourner, supported by the Duke of
Cambridge and by the Crown Prince of Prussia.
The remains will be laid in the Royal vault. There
are two vaults beneath St. George's Chapel—the
Glocester and the Royal vault. The former was
finally built up after the interment of her Royal
Highness the Duchess of Glocester, the last
member of that branch of the House of Hanover.
The Royal vault is kept apart exclusively for the
coffins of the immediate members of the reigning
family. Three gates close the entrance to this
final resting-place of departed Royalty, the keys
of which are kept by the Sovereign, the Lord Cham-
berlain, and the Dean of the Chapels Royal. Except
for the burial of the Queen Dowager, who was laid
by the side of her royal husband. this vault has not
been opened since the death of William IV., and
the descriptions which were put forth by some of
our contemporaries as the place in which the coffin
of the Duchess of Kent was temporarily deposited
in this mausoleum were purely imaginary. The
royal vault was never opened on that occasion at
all, and the coffin only remained at the entrance to
the first gate till the mausoleum at Frogmore was
completed. During yesterday the inner shell and
leaden coffin which will enclose the remains of the
Prince Consort were forwarded to Windsor. Accord-
ing to custom, the body will be interred in four
coffins, the inner one or shell being of polished
mahogany cased outside with lead, then an outer
plain, but very massive coffin of mahogany ; over
all comes the State coffin or case, of crimson velvet
and with massive silver gilt ornaments. On the
leaden coffin is to be a silver plate, engraved with
the style and titles of the deceased Prince. The
outer mahogany coffin will simply bear a plate with
his name and the date of his birth and death. On
the State coffin will be the customary silver gilt
plate bearing an inscription similar to that on the
leaden coffin.

Yesterday a notice was issued to the Fellows of
the Royal Horticultural Society that, in conse-
quence of the death of his Royal Highness the Pre-
sident of the Society, the gardens will remain closed
till after the funeral. We are also requested to state
that, in consequence of this great national calamity,
the " Winter Speeches" will not be delivered at St.
Paul's School on the day fixed, viz., Thursday, Dec.
19. The Master and Wardens of the Merchant
Tailors' Company (of which the late Prince Consort
was an honorary member) have also requested us to
state that the meeting of the school for the public
examination and speeches on this day (Tuesday)
and the entertainment at the Hall, will not take
place.
According to present arrangements her Majesty,
with the Princesses Alice and Helena, will not leave
Windsor till to morrow (Wednesday) morning.
From all parts of the country intelligence has
been received of the deep sympathy manifested for
the Royal family under their recent bereavement,
The news of the sad event, widely circulated by
telegram on Sunday morning, appears to have been
referred to from the pulpit in almost every church,
at least during the afternoon service.

The Moniteur, after announcing the sad event,
adds :—This sad event, this most sudden and pre-
mature death, plunges into sorrow the august Queen
of England, the royal family of England, and the
English nation. The Emperor, the imperial family,
and the whole of France associate themselves with
all their sympathies to their regrets and sorrows.
The .Debats says ;—The mournful and premature
event which has befallen the Queen and the royal
family, in the midst of the gravest political difficul-
ties, will be keenly felt, not only in England, but
throughout Europe. In France especially, where
Prince Albert has left personal recollections, public
opinion will, we are confident, unite in the private
but severe grief into which this great misfortune
has plunged Queen Victoria, the constant and faith-
ful ally of France.
The Siecle observes :—ln a difficult position
Prince Albert won the esteem of the English nation
and,the sympathy of all those who, artists, literary
men, inventors, scientific men, form the party in
England of intellectual progress, in which the de-
ceased Prince was specially interested. Frankly
accepting the subordinate part of the Sovereign's
husband, he sought in learning and the protection
of the arts and of industry an employment useful
to his new country of that intellectual activity which
he was prevented by the traditional susceptibilities
of the nation from applying to political affairs.
His elevated tastes, the dignity of his character
(says La Presse), obtained for the deceased Prince
a well-deserved popularity.
The Independancc Beige has the following com-
ments :—Although placed in a position more subor-
dinate, but not less difficult, than that of a reign.