ABSTRACT
1 May 1851. Extraordinary excitement in London. Around Hyde Park the atmosphere is festive. A motley crowd gathers in the spring sunshine – respectable citizens in top hats, working men in cloth caps, tradesmen in their Sunday best, foreigners from all over Europe. Smart turn-outs pass by, and soon high society and all the celebrities are there. Suddenly a party makes its way through the vast assemblage amid loud cheers – it’s the Queen! In great state Victoria, accompanied by Prince Albert, arrives at this splendid show which England has put on – the Great Exhibition of London. Silver trumpets sound out under the vault of the Crystal Palace. A solemn prayer invokes ‘the ties of peace and friendship among nations’, and the sovereign slowly tours the stands of the Exhibition amid the palm-trees and the flowers and the unfurled flags of all nations to the continuous applause of the crowds.
