The African King at Edward VII’s Coronation
King Lewanika’s invitation to the coronation of Edward VII was intended to stabilise British relations with the Barotse nation. Instead, it exposed the cracks in the imperial veneer.
In March 1902 King Lewanika of Barotseland and his entourage took to the Zambezi River on a royal flotilla bound for London. From his capital, Lealui (today in western Zambia), Lewanika began a two-month journey to take his seat at the coronation of Edward VII in Westminster Abbey. He travelled downriver towards the Victoria Falls, overland by oxen-drawn wagon to Bulawayo, by rail to Cape Town, and over sea to Southampton. Arriving in England on 24 May 1902, Lewanika was met by a letter from Joseph Chamberlain, secretary of state for the Colonies:
The King is pleased that you have come so many thousands of miles from your own country to accept his invitation to attend the Coronation, with the representatives of his dominions from all parts of the earth.
That is how the British press and public would see Lewanika’s presence: as a loyal subject from the depths of empire whose journey to the metropole was made to pay homage from himself and his people. Reportage of the visit was extensive. Somewhere between Lealui and London, The Times heralded his arrival:
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