A corgi’s lament for his lost Queen in a charming modern sequel

Edward VII’s funeral in May 1910 drew the largest gathering of European royalty there ever was or ever would be.

But the mourner walking in a place of honor directly behind the coffin was not one of the nine kings present, but a wire fox terrier named Caesar, Edward’s four-legged friend.

Edward’s volatile cousin, the German Emperor Wilhelm II, would have found it an unforgivable insult to play second fiddle to a dog. But most who saw or read of Caesar’s dignified last journey with his master were greatly moved.

And when a short book appeared shortly after, supposedly written by the 12-year-old Caesar himself, it quickly became a bestseller.

Entitled Where’s Master?, it chronicled the dog’s grief and loneliness at being unable to locate the king in the immediate aftermath of his death, and represented a nation’s grief over the loss of a hugely popular monarch.

The actual author remained anonymous. In fact, his name was Ernest Hodder-Williams and he ran one of the most powerful publishing houses in Edwardian England, Hodder & Stoughton.

Now his second cousin, Jamie Hodder-Williams, inspired by the charm and spectacular success of Ernest’s story 112 years ago, is about to write Where’s Ma’am? to publish, by Muick (pronounced Mick).

Muick was one of the Queen’s two corgis (the other being Sandy) who were kept on a leash by a pair of footmen and obediently watched as the hearse carrying her coffin passed under the Round Tower of Windsor Castle. It was a sight to melt the most stony hearts.

The parallels between the two books, even beyond the strikingly similar covers, are intentional. The 1910 book began: ‘Where is master? I’ve been chasing him high and low for days. I can’t find Master anywhere and I’m so lonely.’

Similarly, Where’s Miss? starts: ‘Where is she? I’ve been looking for ages and I can’t find her anywhere. She’s not reading in the library, sitting at her desk, or resting on the soft green couch we share in the afternoons when we’re both tired.’

There are other similarities in the old-fashioned font and the large font, but Where’s Ma’am? definitely reflects modern views on death and bereavement.

Edward VII’s funeral in May 1910 drew the largest gathering of European royalty there ever was or ever would be. But the mourner walking in a place of honor directly behind the coffin was not one of the nine kings present, but a wire fox terrier named Caesar, Edward’s devoted four-legged friend

“It’s about the dog coming to terms with its loss and getting through the grief, helped by talking to Emma, ​​the Queen’s pony,” explains Jamie, who was Hodder & Stoughton’s longtime CEO until earlier this year, when he left for Bedford founded Square Publishers.

Where’s Ma’am?, his company’s first publication, is sweetly written by Helen Coyle, with beautiful illustrations by Madeleine Floyd, but the idea—at the height of this summer’s Platinum Jubilee celebration—came from Jamie himself.

“I was on vacation with my family. There was a lot of kingship in the air, so we talked about that first book, and how it might be interesting, when the time came, to recreate its spirit.”

Jamie never knew his great-great-granduncle, who died in 1941, but it’s safe to assume that, looking down, Ernest would be tickled by a family effort fueled by what was initially a bit of whimsy.

Ernest Hodder-Williams was at the King’s funeral and like everyone else (except the Emperor) was greatly moved by the sight of Caesar leading the mourners. But Ernest caught a cold that day, which turned into the flu. Bedridden, he decided to make up a story from Caesar’s point of view.

He wrote it mainly to amuse his wife Ethel. She liked to say “Where’s master?” to their family dog. So that’s what he called it, putting a poignant reminder in Caesar’s mouth of “marching before the kings” at the funeral. “I don’t have a pedigree,” the dog narrator added. ‘I am not of high birth. But I loved him, and I was faithful to him, and he cared not how lowly or lowly man or beast was, as long as they tried their best and were faithful.’

There are other similarities in the old-fashioned font and the large font, but Where’s Ma’am? definitely reflects modern views on death and bereavement

When Ernest recovered, he had only printed four copies of Where’s Master? He gave one to his wife (who was crying), two to friends, and had the fourth sent to Buckingham Palace, with a note asking the king’s widow, Queen Alexandra, to read it.

A stern message came back, directing the author to reveal his source. A Sandringham gardener was suspected of leaking information about the late Sovereign’s routine, but Ernest insisted there had been no informer.

Still, the book included references that really could have been penned by Caesar, as well as a recollection of a trip to Biarritz that allowed Caesar to have another sharp cry about Anglo-French relations – and Ernest to take a playful look at the English mentality. of time.

He bares his teeth at a French poodle and is admonished. ‘What a typical Englishman you are, Caesar,’ says the king affectionately. “You can’t meet a foreigner without grunting and strutting around like the whole world was created just for you.”

The palace found Where’s Master? maybe not fun at first, but readers loved the sentimentality of it. Ernest’s friends encouraged him to give it a larger print run, so he had another 500 copies printed, which sold out virtually overnight. By Christmas 1910 the book had reached its 15th edition; it had sold more than 150,000 copies.

The palace noticed its immense popularity and overcame all the initial offenses. In September 1910, Ernest received a letter from Queen Alexandra’s private secretary, Charlotte Knollys, thanking him for stimulating the public interest and assuring him that he had evoked Caesar’s grief with admirable accuracy.

When he returned to Sandringham (the late king’s favorite abode), the characterful little terrier had indeed been roaming the great house, desperate for his royal master.

It is said that after the king’s death, his old mistress Alice Keppel (great-grandmother of Camilla, the queen consort) asked Queen Alexandra what would become of Caesar.

Alexandra probably hadn’t been the dog’s biggest fan, but he remained in the royal household – with his collar inscribed “I am Caesar.” I belong to the King’ – until his own death in April 1914. There is still a statuette of him, commissioned by Edward of the House of Faberge, in the Royal Collection.

As for Muick, named by the Queen after Loch Muick on the Balmoral estate, he was a gift from Prince Andrew, reportedly meant to keep her company when Prince Philip was hospitalized in February last year.

He now lives at Royal Lodge with Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, who has spoken of the ‘great honour’ of giving Muick and Sandy a home and integrating them with the five Norfolk terriers they already had.

“The carpet moves when I move,” Sarah has said, “but I’m used to it now.”

We have to assume that Muick has gotten used to life without his dead mistress. But where is madam? will strike a chord with dog lovers everywhere. And with the US rights already sold to HarperCollins, the first signs are that it could work just as well even for Jamie Hodder-Williams as Where’s Master? did for his great-uncle Ernest more than a century ago.

Where’s Ma’am will be published by Bedford Square Publishers on November 24 for £9.99.