Souvenir of the Programme of the return of the Prince of Wales from His Australian Tour

Souvenir programme published to commemorate the return to London of the Prince of Wales from his tour of Australia on Monday 11th October 1920. Printed on light blue thin card the cover includes a crude line drawing of the Prince together with the programme title. Inside the folded sheet is printed a timetable of the procession from Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace to be taken by the Prince on his arrival at the station where he was met by the King and Queen and various officials including the Lord Mayor. The programme encourages Londoners to turn out en masse for the procession and anticipates 'London will offer heartiest congratulations to the Prince of Wales on the remarkable success of his tour to the Dominions Overseas. He will find an enthusiastic welcome awaiting him on his return on Monday 11th October' 'The Prince will ride in an open carriage in order to give the people an opportunity of greeting him'. Such penny (1d) souvenir programmes were quickly and cheaply mass printed for all popular ceremonial events that took place in London in the early 20th century. They were primarily sold to spectators lining the route by street hawkers moving amongst the mass crowds. Ceremony and pageantry was very much a feature of the confident imperial capital and reinforced London's role as capital of the world's wealthiest and most powerful empire. Londoners were encouraged, as clearly noted in this programme, to support these shows of imperial domination, images of which were sent around the world, by providing a ready made flag waving, patriotic crowd. Such programmes as this were thus not only produced as souvenirs but also to inform Londoners where and when the events were taking place.