The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 220: 207: Coronation Ceremony and Shipbuilding Plan

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.

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!”