The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 220: Chapter 207: Coronation Ceremony and Shipbuilding Plan

While the shipbuilding experts were busily exploring the strategy cruisers that Arthur had proposed, Arthur himself was busy preparing for his own coronation ceremony.

Previously, when he became the Duke of Australia, due to Arthur being far away in the British Empire, and the recent assassination attempt on Duke Arthur at the time, a coronation ceremony was not held. Instead, a banquet was held with members of the royal family and Queen Victoria, and the nation was informed.

Now that he has become the king of Audalasia and is the first king, it is necessary to hold a grand coronation ceremony, allowing Australians and New Zealanders to participate.

There’s good news, after more than three years of construction, the Sydney Palace can now officially be used.

Arthur scheduled the coronation ceremony for October, primarily to hold this grand ceremony at the new Sydney Palace.

After more than six years of lengthy development, Australasia also needs to gain more prestige and influence in the international community.

Therefore, for Arthur’s coronation ceremony, the Australian Government invited almost all independent nations in the world, all monarchical states in Europe are on the invite list.

Naturally, there was no need to discuss the powerful nations. Even on the distant shore of the Pacific, the United States received an invitation from Australasia.

After the powers such as the German Empire, the Tsardom of Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the British Empire, and so on, agreed to Australasia’s invitation one after another, the major monarchical countries in Europe also responded quickly, expressing that they would send royal family members to attend the coronation ceremony.

This also signifies that the Kingdom of Australasia has been widely recognized by the world, and Arthur’s reign has received approval from the European nobility.

On October 11, 1906, Arthur’s coronation ceremony officially began.

The real coronation ceremony was held privately, and those who could watch were mostly nobles from various countries and high-ranking officials from Australia.

In order to demonstrate rule by law, Arthur specifically invited the Archbishop of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to crown Arthur.

Unbeknownst to himself, Arthur had accumulated many titles. Not only was he crowned as the King of Australasia, he also had two dukedom titles for Australia and New Zealand.

After receiving a series of blessings from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur successfully donned the crown, officially becoming the first king of Australasia.

At the same time as Arthur was crowned, around the square outside, a total of ten guns were fired in celebration. This number represents the 10 administrative regions of Australasia, including the Capital Territory and the New Guinea Colony.

After that, all the people present moved outside to the square, where Arthur would read his coronation declaration. Then, led by the Prime Minister, government officials and MPs of the Kingdom of Australasia would swear allegiance to Arthur together.

Because this part of the ceremony was held outside in the square, the reaction of the crowd in the square became very important.

If the crowd could give a good response, or even pledge allegiance along with these officials, then this would become a good tale of a monarchy’s coronation.

But if the crowd in the square did not have much of a response, this would become an embarrassing coronation.

Fortunately, Arthur was confident in his civilian support rate, and the second scenario would absolutely not happen in Australasia.

“Members of Parliament, ladies, and gentlemen. I am pleased to become the ruler of this great nation in front of all of you.” Arthur, wearing a crown carefully designed by his personal jeweller, walked to the already prepared loudspeaker with a smile on his face, and said with a laugh.

“Australasia is a great kingdom formed by Australia and New Zealand, bearing the great mission and goal of the rise of Australia and New Zealand together. I keenly realize the responsibilities and heavy duties that this goal places on me, and I will do my utmost to fulfil these responsibilities and goals with the support of all MPs, all government officers, and all the citizens of the kingdom, and guide Australasia towards harmonious prosperity.”

“I, Arthur, King of Australasia, Duke of Australia and New Zealand and Protector of New Guinea, promise to all my subjects that I will uphold the interests of all kingdoms and territories and cherish all the citizens of the kingdoms and territories. I, along with my MPs, officers, and loyal soldiers, will defend this country and all its citizens until the last moment. Long live Australasia! Long live Saxe-Coburg-Gotha!”

The fact proves that Australian civilians are still very easy to please. After Arthur personally promised to defend the country and its citizens, cheers and shouts from all Australians and New Zealanders filled the square.

“May God witness, I will protect the interests of every Australasian citizen as King of Australasia, even if it costs a heavy price. May God bless me to faithfully fulfill my promise, long live Australasia!”

Arthur’s coronation proclamation was, in fact, not at all lengthy, spanning over ten minutes in actual speech time.

Yet, what Arthur voiced was precisely what the people of Australasia wished to hear. Who wouldn’t want a monarch that genuinely cares about the interests of the people?

Indeed, it is even more critical considering Arthur had already demonstrated through his deeds that his words are not empty promises, but commitments he intends to fulfill.

No matter what the nobility and officials of other countries may think, the people of Australasia were extremely content. They pledged loyalty to their young king and struggled for the dream of Australasia’s rise, even willing to lay down their lives.

After the proclamation was complete, the pledge of loyalty to Arthur by Australasian parliamentarians and officials followed.

The crowd pledging their loyalty included all members of the Royal Parliament and the House of Representatives, and even the State Parliament members of each state.

Of course, in reality, the state parliament members did not have the privilege to come forward to take the oath personally, but they had to stand below the stage and take the pledge with the rest of the parliament members on stage.

This instance portrays the strength of the monarchy in Australasia. Be it parliament members or officials; their primary loyalty lies with Arthur.

At the commencement of the loyalty pledge, foreign guests saw for the first time the extent of Arthur’s support in Australia.

Keep in mind that the crowd surrounding the square almost exceeded eighty thousand. Factoring in those outside the square, the total count might even break through a hundred thousand.

However, most people present were taking the oath, expressing their loyalty and approval for this young king.

A scene like this one isn’t often seen in many European countries, even in authoritarian countries like the Russian Empire, not even when artificially created.

Even though Australasia’s population is currently not that large, the displayed potential has already exceeded what their population size would typically have, causing many European countries to reconsider the rising power of Australasia.

Throughout the entire oath-taking segment, Arthur sat solemnly on the throne. The object of the oath gradually transitioned from Australasian officials and parliament members to all present Australasians.

“This will be a terrifying country!” exclaimed a noble from a small European monarchial country, stupefied and inevitably verbalizing his apprehension after a while.

His remarks were met with endorsement from many, as Australasia, with just a population of over six million, already displayed astonishing potential.

And if Australasia’s population operates on a scale of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions? Could this be the advent of an island nation challenging the status of the great powers?

After the oath-taking segment concluded, a significant portion of the coronation ceremony had transpired.

According to European tradition, all that would remain would be an expansive banquet for foreign guests in the evening.

This grand banquet facilitates the new monarch in expanding their foreign relations, forging better ties with nobility and rulers of other nations.

Arthur, of course, had this in mind and planned to host an extravagant celebratory banquet in the Sydney Palace.

But before that, Arthur believed it essential to let the atmosphere reach its climax at the coronation.

“Citizens, in this grand moment, I wish to represent the Australasian Kingdom Government and announce a significant national decision,” Arthur remarked mysteriously from the stage after the oath-taking ceremony, rather than leading everyone back to the Sydney Palace for rest as planned.

Arthur’s words quickly caught the attention of all Australians and foreign guests. They all wanted to know what Arthur was to say and its potential impact.

“Citizens, Australasia is an enormous nation spanning the entire Oceania, with Australia as its mainland, New Zealand—a collection of large and small islands, and several overseas islands and territories. To protect our interests in every territory and maintain Australasia’s stability and peace, the Australasian Cabinet Government has resolved to embark on a massive shipbuilding program over the next ten years. To secure our overseas interests with a sufficient fleet, Australasia will launch at least two battleships, ten medium cruisers, and three other main warships in ten years, forming a large fleet with five large main warships, ten medium protective warships, and several dozen small cruising warships. This massive shipbuilding project will be completed in ten years. To achieve this grand plan, the Australasian Government will utilize at least 50 million Australian dollars, divided into several stages. Australasia’s sea must be protected by Australasia’s own strength, that’s a mandate for the rise of Australasia. Nobody can harm the Australian people’s interests unless they can walk over the dead bodies and wreckage of Australian soldiers and fleets!”