Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll to Louise's youngest sister, Beatrice. Louise and Beatrice were now neighbours both at Kensington Palace and Osborne. Upon Queen Victoria's death, Louise entered the social circle of her brother, the new King Edward VII, with whom she had much in common, including smoking. She had an obsession with physical fitness, and if she was sneered at for this, she would retort by saying: "Never mind, I'll outlive you all." Meanwhile, Louise's husband, 9th Duke of Argyll since 1900, took his seat in the House of Lords. The Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, offered him the office of Governor-General of Australia that
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom given away by her uncle, Albert's brother Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and was flanked by four bridesmaids: her younger sisters, Princesses Helena, Louise and Beatrice, as well as Louis's sister Princess Anna. For the ceremony, Alice wore a white dress with a veil of Honiton lace, and wore a tiara designed by Prince Albert, but was required to wear black mourning clothes before and after the ceremony. The Queen, sitting in an armchair, struggled to hold back her tears, and was shielded from view by the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred, her second son, who cried