The Lion and the Unicorn: Gladstone vs Disraeli

by Richard Aldous

Gladstone’s final resting place was to be the Abbey’s North Transept, popularly known as ‘Statesman’s Aisle’. Here the bodies of William Pitt, Charles James Fox and Palmerston were buried. Memorials had been raised to Canning and Peel, both heroes to Gladstone. At the head of the grave stood the grieving widow, Catherine, ‘erect … with her expression half dreaming and half wild, but triumphant’. She watched as her husband’s mortal remains were lowered into the earth, while John Henry Newman’s ‘Praise to the Holiest in the Height’ was sung. Afterwards Catherine prayed on her knees beside the grave. Then she stood to receive the condolences of the pallbearers. In another break with tradition the Prince of Wales came to her to offer commiseration, which he demonstrated very publicly by kissing the widow’s hand. As the congregation thronged out of the Abbey afterwards to Schubert’s Marche Solennelle most seemed to agree that the straightforward service, with Mrs Gladstone at its heart, had been a fitting tribute. But amid the reverential chatter – discussing the service, reminiscing about the deceased, and reflecting on his place in history – there was also a quiet, oft-repeated sense of amazement tinged with ironic amusement. Gathorne Hardy – Lord Cranbrook – felt compelled to record this immediately in his diary on returning home that afternoon: ‘Just back from the simple, solemn and impressive service over Gladstone’s grave,’ he wrote in astonishment, ‘at the foot of Disrae...