Two versions of coronation services, known as ordines (from the Latin ordo meaning “order”) or recensions, survive from before the Norman Conquest. It is not known if the first recension was ever used in England, and it was the second recension which was used by Edgar in 973 and by subsequent Anglo-Saxon and early Norman kings.[1]
A third recension was probably compiled during the reign of Henry I and was used at the coronation of his successor, Stephen, in 1135. While retaining the most important elements of the Anglo-Saxon rite, it may have borrowed from the consecration of the Holy Roman Emperor from the Pontificale Romano-Germanicum, a book of German liturgy compiled in Mainz in 961, thus bringing the English tradition into line with continental practice.[2] It remained in use until the coronation of Edward II in 1308 when the fourth recension was first used, having been compiled over several preceding decades. Although influenced by its French counterpart, the new ordo focussed on the balance between the monarch and his nobles and on the oath, neither of which concerned the absolutist French kings.[3] One manuscript of this recension is the Liber Regalis at Westminster Abbey which has come to be regarded as the definitive version.
WIKIPEDIA
CORONATION OF THE BRITISH MONARCH/HISTORY/ENGLISH CORONATIONS
Two versions of coronation services, known as ordines (from the Latin ordo meaning “order”) or recensions, survive from before the Norman Conquest. It is not known if the first recension was ever used in England, and it was the second recension which was used by Edgar in 973 and by subsequent Anglo-Saxon and early Norman kings.[1]
A third recension was probably compiled during the reign of Henry I and was used at the coronation of his successor, Stephen, in 1135. While retaining the most important elements of the Anglo-Saxon rite, it may have borrowed from the consecration of the Holy Roman Emperor from the Pontificale Romano-Germanicum, a book of German liturgy compiled in Mainz in 961, thus bringing the English tradition into line with continental practice.[2] It remained in use until the coronation of Edward II in 1308 when the fourth recension was first used, having been compiled over several preceding decades. Although influenced by its French counterpart, the new ordo focussed on the balance between the monarch and his nobles and on the oath, neither of which concerned the absolutist French kings.[3] One manuscript of this recension is the Liber Regalis at Westminster Abbey which has come to be regarded as the definitive version.
WIKIPEDIA
CORONATION OF THE BRITISH MONARCH/HISTORY/ENGLISH CORONATIONS
The silver-gilt spoon has an oval bowl, divided into two lobes, engraved with acanthus scrolls. The bowl is joined to the stem by a stylised monster’s head, behind which the stem flattens into a roundel, flanked by four pearls, and a band of interlaced scrolling, with another monster’s head; the end of the tapering stem is spirally twisted, and terminates in a flattened knop.
The spoon is first recorded in 1349 as preserved among St Edward’s Regalia in Westminster Abbey. Already at this date it is described as a spoon of ‘antique forme’. Stylistically it seems to relate to the twelfth century and is therefore a remarkable survival – the only piece of royal goldsmiths’ work to survive from that century. It was possibly supplied to Henry II or Richard I.
It is unclear from the 1349 inventory whether the spoon at this date was part of the chapel plate or simply a secular object. However, it was clearly never intended for eating or stirring. Its divided bowl and length suggest that it always had a ceremonial purpose, and its presence among the regalia means that it has always been associated with coronations. It may originally have been used for mixing wine and water in a chalice, but it was certainly used for anointing the sovereign during the coronation of James I in 1603, and at every subsequent coronation. One suggestion is that the divided bowl was designed in this fashion so that the archbishop might dip two fingertips into the holy oil.
The spoon remained among the regalia until 1649, when it was sold off (rather than melted down like the other items). It was purchased by a Mr Kynnersley, Yeoman of Charles I’s Wardrobe, for 16 shillings. Kynnersley returned the spoon to Charles II, for use at the coronation in 1661, when the small pearls were added to its decoration. It has remained in use ever since.
The anointing is the most sacred part of the coronation ceremony, and takes place before the investiture and crowning. The Archbishop pours holy oil from the Ampulla (or vessel) into the spoon, and anoints the sovereign on the hands, breast and head. The tradition goes back to the Old Testament which describes the anointing of Solomon by Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet. Anointing was one of the medieval holy sacraments and it emphasised the spiritual status of the sovereign. Until the seventeenth century the sovereign was considered to be appointed directly by God and this was confirmed by the ceremony of anointing. Although the monarch is no longer considered divine in the same way, the ceremony of Coronation also confirms the monarch as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Provenance
Possibly made for Henry II or Richard I. First recorded in the Royal Collection in 1349
END OF THE ARTICLE
[27]
” 39Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”
KINGS 1:39
THE BIBLE
OLD TESTIMONY
1 KINGS 1
https://www.bible.com/bible/114/1KI.1.NKJV
1Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. 2Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” 3So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.
5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6(And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. Hismother had borne him after Absalom.) 7Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. 8But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.
9And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. 10But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother.
11So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? 12Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, “Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne“? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 14Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”
15So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 16And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”
17Then she said to him, “My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ 18So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. 19He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. 20And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”
22And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. 23So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 24And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? 25For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. 27Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
David Proclaims Solomon King
28Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. 29And the king took an oath and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, 30just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”
31Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever!”
32And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. 33The king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon. 34There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ 35Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”
36Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. 37As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”
38So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 39Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” 40And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemedto split with their sound.
41Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” 42While he was still speaking, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for you are a prominent man, and bring good news.”
43Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. 45So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. 46Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. 47And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed himself on the bed. 48Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see it!’ ”
49So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.
50Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”
52Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
After months weeks of anticipation, King Charles’ coronation has happened. By now, we all feel pretty up to speed on the day’s biggest symbols: the 700-year-old chair, the crowns, and the king’s gilded carriages to name a few. However, the one element we were surprised by wasthe screen used in the anointing ceremony.
The concept of the anointing screen isn’t exactly new. Since this portion of the coronation symbolizes the monarch’s divine right to the throne, it’s typically done away from the public—and, of course, the millions of viewers watching on live television at home. But, while the late Queen Elizabeth II used a canopy to get some privacy, King Charles kicked things up a notch with a full-blown screen.
Designed by iconographer Aidan Hart and managed by the Royal School of Needlework, the screen took inspiration from the stained glass sanctuary window in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace, which was gifted by the Livery Companies to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. According to the Royal Family, King Charles personally selected the design inspo.
With the monarchy’s cipher at the bottom—to represent the king’s position as servant to the people—the screen boasts 56 leaves to pay homage to the British Commonwealth’s 56 member states.
Of course, the easter eggs go beyond what meets the eye. The screen itself features a mix of hand and digital embroidery, hitting the sweet spot between the royal lineage’s long-standing history and tradition and today’s more modern methods. From the sustainably sourced threads to the wool backdrop—which was sourced from Australia and New Zealand, but milled in the United Kingdom—it’s safe to say Mother Nature would approve.
Oak poles made from a windblown tree at Windsor Estate supported the screen so King Charles could grab some much-needed privacy. And the perfect finishing touch? Two mounted two eagles, which were cast in bronze and gilded in gold leaf. The Royal Family notes that the eagle was featured on Queen Elizabeth’s coronation canopies as well—a small nod to his family’s history but executed on the new king’s terms.
END OF THE ARTICLE
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Notes 28 and 29/Lord and King
King Edgar (the Peaceful) was the first king of ‘all England’ – including the kingdoms of Scotland, Mercia, and Wessex, and his coronation at an Anglo-Saxon abbey as a divine ruler recognized by God set the precedence for all future Kings and Queens of England. Now archaeologists believe they may have found the location of the lost abbey in Bath.
Edgar was the brother of Eadwig and son of Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury. He was the father of Ethelred the Unready and Edward the Martyr, both future kings of England, and he himself ascended to the throne of England following the death of his brother in 959 AD. Edgar was later crowned in 973 AD, in a long-lost Anglo-Saxon abbey in Bath; which might now have been discovered by archaeologists excavating in the ancient English city.
Unearthing an Anglo-Saxon Abbey
Bath Abbey was always thought of as having been located upon a much earlier Anglo-Saxon monastery, but no evidence was ever found to support this idea. However, two structures were discovered during primary renovation works as part of Bath Abbey’s £19.3 million (25.2 million USD) Footprint project and a team of archaeologists from Wessex Archaeology discovered to the south of the modern-day Abbey what a Daily Mail article describes as “Semi-circular relics dating to between the 8th and 10th century AD.”
Plaster samples taken from the remains tested positive for charcoal and they were sent to Queen’s University, Belfast for radiocarbon dating, which determined they were from “AD 780-970 and AD 670-770”. These results are why the researchers believe they might have found the site of King Edgar’s coronation – Bath’s lost Anglo-Saxon monastery . And speaking of the discovery to the Daily Mail the Reverend Canon Guy Bridgewater at Bath Abbey said this is a “really exciting find.”
King Edgar’s Unification of a Broken Nation
Following the death of his older brother in 959 AD, Edgar had been crowned King of Wessex at Kingston-upon-Thames, but by 973 AD he wished for his expanding Anglo-Saxon kingship to be marked with a grand coronation ceremony on the Mercian-Wessex border at Bath.
Edgar planned his own coronation ceremony with his advisor St Dunstan, the Archbishop of Canterbury , and emphasized that he was being crowned king under the will of God and as the first King of England because he united the warring kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria into one political entity.
An entry in Early British Kingdoms says that after his coronation at Bath, Edgar flexed his military power by marching his army northwards, gathering Viking warriors , and that his navy joined him in Chester where the northern kings assembled to submit to his overlordship. And while history remembers Edgar as “a good king” under the will of God, in reality, his conquests were not only of agricultural terrain, important sea channels, and trade routes, but also of women, as Edgar had a blistering sexual appetite which gave rise to a number of shocking stories.
When the Little Head Rules the Big One…
An example of Edgar’s out of control desire for sexual conquest is found in Early British Kingdoms , which says that soon after ascending the throne Edgar became smitten by the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman of Hampshire and he traveled there demanding that she slept with him. In their daughter’s place the girl’s parents sent a maidservant to join the King and after a night of “unbridled passion” the girl ran away explaining that she had to start work before the rest of the household arose. In what chroniclers say was a “mad fury,” the King confiscated all his hosts’ lands and made his bed-fellow their mistress.
The peaceful and horny King Edgar died two years after the coronation at Bath on July 8, 975 AD and he was buried in St. Dunstan’s abbey at Glastonbury (Somerset) where he was revered as a saint.
One can only imagine his canonization occurred as a result of the stability his monastic reforms brought to England rather than his ungodly sexual conquests! It seems that King Edgar, like many men who become kings, thought that cash and power means they can just go around meeting women and whenever they like: “Grab them by the …” Thank goodness that attitude died out a long time ago.
The coronation ceremony of the British monarchy as we know it today involves many elements that have been a part of the pageantry ever since the 11th century. Such features of the ceremony carried out in Westminster Abbey since 1066 have been maintained by successive monarchs right down to Queen Elizabeth II (r. 1952-2022) and her coronation on 2 June 1953, as all rulers were keen to show they were part of a long-standing tradition.
The essential purpose of the British coronation ceremony is to see the monarch swear an oath to uphold the Church and rule with honour, wisdom and mercy. The monarch is anointed with holy oil and given a sword, orb, ring, sceptre and, finally, a crown. Then all the nobles and clergy present swear loyalty to their sovereign. The new monarch next embarks on a procession to be presented to the people and finally – although nowadays it has gone out of fashion – there was a great feast of celebration, a function now replaced by live television.
Origins
The earliest English coronation that is recorded in detail, although it was certainly not the first, is the crowning of the Anglo-Saxon king Edgar (r. 959-975 CE) in Bath in 953 CE. Early English kings may even have settled for an ornate helmet rather than a crown but with the arrival of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-1087 CE), a tradition began of holding a lavish coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. William was himself crowned there on Christmas Day 1066 CE. Subsequent kings and queens, all keen to maintain a link with history and emphasise their legitimacy for the role, repeated many of the ceremonial elements which are still a part of the coronation ceremony today. Each monarch would add a little something to the ceremony, but in its essentials, a combination of religious and secular rituals, it has remained unchanged for a thousand years.
The Ceremony
In the Middle Ages, monarchs prepared for their big day by bathing, a ritual act of purification conducted on the eve of the coronation in the Tower of London. This was followed by a vigil in the Tower’s chapel. Both of these acts were typical of the process by which a squire became a medieval knight. A tradition also began in 1399 CE where the monarch invested a number of new knights on the coronation eve, who became known as the Knights of Bath (and from 1725 CE, members of the order of that name).
The first public act of the coronation spectacle was the procession which took the monarch to Westminster Abbey and allowed as many people as possible to view the proceedings. The star of the show wore red parliamentary robes at this point while musicians and flag-bearers accompanied the main carriage from the Tower of London (or Buckingham Palace in more modern times) to its final destination. From 1685 CE, the procession started closer to Westminster Abbey. On arrival, a group of dignitaries follow the monarch bearing the various precious objects from the British Crown Jewels which will be used later during the ceremony. A bodyguard of sergeants-at-arms, each member of which carries a ceremonial mace (a reminder that protection was their primary aim), then escorts the monarch up the aisle of the Abbey.
Trumpets blare and drums beat as a line of dignitaries follows their monarch to a podium, three of them bearing a sword each. These swords are the Sword of Temporal Justice, Sword of Spiritual Justice, and the blunt Sword of Mercy (aka ‘Curtana’); all are survivors of the destruction of the Crown Jewels in 1649 CE (see below). Music has always played an important role in coronations with some pieces being a permanent fixture such as George Frederick Handel’s Zadok the Priest, played at all ceremonies since 1727 CE. The congregation then shouts their acceptance and loyalty to the monarch who now wears magnificent robes of silk and gold. The robe worn by Elizabeth II is the golden Imperial Mantle, and she also wore a stole embroidered with symbols of the British nations and plants from the Commonwealth. The monarch is now seated on the chair known as King Edward’s Chair, made c. 1300 CE, and the audience settles down for the ceremony to begin proper.
Anointing the Monarch
Another item which survives from the pre-1649 CE regalia is the coronation spoon. This is used to anoint the monarch with holy oil at the start of the ceremony. As the monarch is regarded as chosen by God to rule, their coronation ceremony had several features similar to the consecration of a bishop. In this case, the anointing is done by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who pours a small quantity of oil onto the monarch’s head, chest, and palms.
The oil used at the coronation of Henry IV of England (r. 1399-1413 CE) in 1399 CE was believed to have been miraculously given to the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket (in office 1162-1170 CE) by the Virgin Mary. This wondrous oil had only recently been discovered hidden away in one of the darker corners of the Tower of London’s cellars. The oil, whatever its real origin, was a useful add-on in Henry’s search to legitimise his usurpation of the throne from Richard II of England (r. 1377-1399 CE). Despite Henry IV’s best-laid plans, his coronation did suffer a mishap when he dropped the gold coin which he was supposed to ceremoniously offer to God. The coin rolled away and was never seen again, an ill omen of the rebellions that would ruin his reign. Nevertheless, Becket’s sacred oil was used at several coronations thereafter.
Symbols of Power
As traditionally a monarch was also a knight, the coronation ceremony involves symbols associated with that rank such as golden spurs, armills (bracelets), and a sword. The two swords which are presented to the monarch at coronations are the Sword of State, which dates to 1678 CE, and the Jewelled Sword of Offering, which was first used by George IV of England (r. 1820-1830 CE) for his coronation in 1821 CE. The archbishop presents these swords and proclaims the following:
With the sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy Church of God, help and defend widows and orphans, restore the things that are gone to decay, maintain the things that are restored, punish and reform what is amiss, and confirm what is in good order.
(Holmes, 5)
The monarch is then given the Sovereign’s Orb which is topped by a cross and so symbolic of the Christian monarch’s domination of the secular world. It is placed in the sovereign’s left hand. The hollow gold orb, set with pearls, precious stones and a large amethyst beneath the cross, was made in 1661 CE and has been used in every coronation since then.
The monarch is next given the ‘Ring of Kingly Dignity’, placed on their third finger of the left hand (where a wedding ring is traditionally worn). The one used today, the Sovereign’s Ring, was originally made in 1831 CE for William IV of England (r. 1830-1837 CE) and has a cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) in rubies (thought to represent dignity) against a blue background of a single sapphire. A mix-up during the coronation of Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901 CE) resulted in the ring being too tight and the queen later wrote that the archbishop had great trouble putting it on and she removing it later.
The monarch is now given a sceptre and staff or rod, traditional symbols of royal power and justice. The Sovereign’s Sceptre (aka King’s Sceptre) was first made in 1685 CE, with modifications being added subsequently. Today, it has the 530-carat Cullinan I diamond, also known as the First Star of Africa, sparkling at the top of it.
Crowning Moment
The climax of the entire ceremony is, of course, the actual crowning of the seated monarch. The crown used is usually Saint Edward’s Crown (and if an alternative is used, it still carries this name). The crown is named after Edward the Confessor (r. 1042-1066 CE) and was made when Henry III of England (r. 1216-1272 CE), a fan of the saint, fancied new regalia for his coronation. It is likely that parts of a more ancient Anglo-Saxon gold crown were incorporated into this new version. Unfortunately, most of the British Crown Jewels, including the crown, were destroyed, broken up or sold off in 1649 CE following the execution of Charles I of England (r. 1600-1649 CE) and the (what turned out to be) temporary abolishment of the monarchy.
The 1660 CE Restoration of the monarchy necessitated the production of new regalia which would be put into immediate use at the coronation of Charles II of England in 1661 CE (r. 1660-1685 CE). Although it is not clear exactly by what means they were found or reacquired, many of the precious stones that survived the old regalia were incorporated into the new Crown Jewels of the 17th century CE and the new St. Edward’s Crown. It is this crown which has been used in coronations ever since. It is gold and weighs 2.3 kilos (5 lbs). As the crown is so heavy, after the actual crowning it is usually replaced by another lighter crown such as the Imperial State Crown. Curiously, the St. Edward’s Crown was only ever filled with hired gems when it was needed for a coronation and not until 1911 CE did it receive permanent settings.
The Imperial State Crown was created for the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838 CE as a lighter alternative to St. Edward’s Crown. It is a spectacular crown and contains over 2,800 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, four rubies, and 269 pearls. Amongst these are the central Black Prince’s Ruby (actually a balas or spinel), below it the 317-carat Cullinan II diamond (aka Second Star of Africa), as well as the 104-carat oval-cut Stuart Sapphire and Saint Edward’s Sapphire (set in the top cross). The latter sapphire, an octagonal rose cut stone, is said to have been taken from the ring of Edward the Confessor making it the oldest item in all of the Crown Jewels.
Finally, the monarch’s consort also receives a crown during the ceremony. The most famous of these today is the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Made of platinum in 1937 CE, it contains the 105.60-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond from India, given to Queen Victoria as part of the peace treaty which ended the Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845-49 CE). The great diamond is said to bring luck to a female wearer and bad luck to a male one, hence it has only appeared in various Queen consort crowns.
The final dramatic act in this royal drama involves the monarch’s nobles paying homage and swearing allegiance to their sovereign. Everyone dons their own crowns and coronets if they have the right to wear them and the whole congregation acclaims their new monarch by shouting ‘God Save the King/Queen’. The bells of Westminster Abbey ring out and there is simultaneously a 62-gun salute from the Tower of London. The monarch moves to sit on a throne on a raised platform and then receives homage from certain high-ranking clergy and nobles who kiss their hand. Finally, the monarch may issue a general pardon of those found guilty of wrong-doing under their predecessor and sometimes throws coins or medals into the assembly.
Procession
The monarch then leaves Westminster Abbey, now wearing purple imperial robes, and is transported in a golden carriage through the streets so that they may be presented to their people. Finally, the monarch arrives at Westminster Hall where a great feast used to be held. A fixture of medieval coronations, these were an opportunity for a monarch to shower some grace and favour on their most important subjects. Medieval coronation feasts could be huge affairs with up to 5,000 dishes served. We know that the guests at the coronation feast of Edward II of England (r. 1307-1327 CE) in 1308 CE managed to down 1,000 casks of wine. Exotic dishes were prepared and often sculpted into weird and wonderful forms, all served on solid gold dishes, chalices, wine fountains, punch bowls and salt cellars for the added entertainment of the guests. When it was all over, the commoners were allowed in to eat the leftovers. The last coronation feast was held in 1821 CE.
Instead of feasts we now have live television. In the mid-20th century CE, the coronation of Elizabeth II ignited the imagination of a nation. The ceremony was watched by some 20 million people and for the vast majority of them, it was the first event they ever watched on television. One can imagine the next coronation will be live-streamed around the world giving a view better than the people in Westminster Abbey itself with its notoriously bad sightlines. As the famed diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703 CE) noted on Charles II’s coronation in 1661 CE: “I sat from past 4 until 11 before the King came in…the King passed through all the ceremonies of the Coronation, which to my great grief I and most in the Abbey could not see” (Dixon-Smith, 46). Fortunately, with ever superior camera technology we can look forward to a superb throne-side view of the next coronation, whenever that may be.
END OF THE ARTICLE
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Notes 30 and 31/Lord and King
As we approach the big day, Buckingham Palace has been revealing more details about the events that will unfold as Britain crowns a new monarch for the first time in more than 70 years.
The last coronation that took place was that of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Since her death in September 2022, King Charles ascended the throne and the royal family has seen several role changes.
Past coronations have involved a number of traditional rituals. However, it is understood that Charles wishes to have a more modern ceremony and may forego some of the lengthier rituals.
A statement from Buckingham Palace said that His Majesty’s coronation will “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry”.
The King will not forego the most sacred part of the ceremony: the anointing of the sovereign. This tradition is so sacred that it was hidden from public view during Queen Elizabeth’s own anointing – and it has been revealed that Charles will do the same.
The holy oil that was traditionally used for coronations past contained civet oil, from the glands of the small mammals, and ambergris from whale intestines. The formula was used at Queen Elizabeth’s ceremony and is hundreds of years old.
However, the holy oil that will be used at Charles’ coronation is vegan-friendly, in order to reflect modern anti-animal cruelty sentiments. It is made with olive oil, pressed just outside Bethlehem, and perfumed with essential oils such as sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber and orange blossom.
The “chrism oil” uses olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives, a mountain ridge to the east of Jerusalem’s Old City.
The mysterious anointing ceremony, known as the Act of Consecration, will take place before the investiture and crowning, and is carried out by the Archbishop. At Charles’s coronation, the Archbishop of Canterbury will be the one to anoint the King.
According to the Royal Collection Trust, the Archbishop will pour holy oil from the Ampulla (vessel) into the Coronation Spoon, a silver-gilt spoon with an oval bowl and decorated with pearls and engravings. The Ampulla is a solid gold flask in the shape of an eagle, believed to have been crafted in 1661 for the coronation of Charles II.
Westminster Abbey, where the coronation will be held, describes the ampulla and spoon as “the most important” objects used in the ceremony. They have both been used for hundreds of years, with the spoon first recorded in 1349. It is the only piece of royal goldsmith’s work to survive from the 12th century.
The Archbishop will dip two fingers into the holy oil and anoint the sovereign on the hands, breast and head. This is a tradition that dates back to the Old Testament, in which the anointing of Solomon by Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet is written.
“Anointing was one of the medieval holy sacraments and it emphasised the spiritual status of the sovereign,” the RCT writes on its website.
The monarch was considered to have been appointed directly by God until the 17th century, a holy role that was confirmed by the anointing. Although monarchs are no longer considered to be divine, the anointing ceremony continues to confirm the monarch as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
During Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, she sat in the Coronation Chair while a gold canopy was held above her by four Knights of the Garter. Hers was the first coronation to have ever been televised, but when the moment of anointing arrived, the canopy was moved to block the Queen from public view.
According to the BBC, as he anointed her, the Archbishop said: “Be thy head anointed with holy oil: as kings, priests, and prophets were anointed. And as Solomon was anointed king by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, so be you anointed, blessed and consecrated Queen over the Peoples, whom the Lord thy God hath given thee to rule and govern.”
It is likely the same words will be uttered during Charles’ anointing, replacing the words “Queen over the Peoples” with “King over the Peoples”.
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THE INDEPENDENT
CORONATION HOLY OIL: WHAT HAPPENED IN KING CHARLES III’S ANOINTING CEREMONY?
This part of the ceremony is said to be one of the most sacred of the day’s rituals but will reflect modern anti-animal cruelty sentiments, according to a statement published by Buckingham Palace.
Previous versions of the “holy oil” have included civet oil, from the glands of small mammals, and ambergris from the intestines of whales.
This oil was used at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and is based on a formula that has been used for hundreds of years.
The altered formula for the holy oil for King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla’s coronation reflects concerns about animal cruelty and the need to protect wildlife.
The new formula is made with olive oil, pressed just outside Bethlehem. It has been perfumed with essential oils including sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber, as well as orange blossom.
The “chrism oil” was created using olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives, a mountain ridge to the east of Jerusalem’s Old City, a place that holds religious importance to Christians.
The anointing of the King is reminiscent of a christening or the ordination into religious orders, with the monarch being symbolically touched with holy oil on the head, chest and hands.
King Charles III has reportedly officially invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to his and the Queen Consort’s coronation this spring.
It comes after reports that the King may offer the couple a suite of rooms in Buckingham Palace that previously belonged to the Duke of York, after asking them to vacate their UK residence, Frogmore Cottage.
It is understood that the King has instead offered the keys to Frogmore Cottage to his disgraced brother, Prince Andrew, who is said to be “resisting” any attempt to move him out of his current home, the Royal Lodge.
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Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Notes 32 and 33/Lord and King
Despite centuries of past precedents, each monarch brings their own personal touch to their coronation, whether it’s spending lavishly or sticking to a budget, commissioning new music or new Crown Jewels, or, more recently, inviting television cameras into Westminster Abbey”
On May 6, the coronation of King Charles III will take place at London’s Westminster Abbey. It’s a tradition that’s shaped the history of the monarchy from medieval to modern times—but the ceremony hasn’t always gone according to plan…
A Thousand Years of Coronations
On May 6, King Charles III will be crowned in Westminster Abbey with his consort, Queen Camilla. While Charles became King at the moment of the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Sept. 8, 2022, the coronation ceremony serves to symbolize the monarch’s lifelong commitment to the roles of sovereign and supreme Governor of the Church of England. At the event, King Charles III will be crowned King of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms (including Canada). He’ll be anointed with holy oil, and will swear to govern as a constitutional monarch according to the laws decided in parliament.
While key traditions associated with modern royal weddings, christenings and jubilees date from Queen Victoria’s reign in the 19th century, the coronation service is much older. It was written by St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury in AD 973, and Westminster Abbey has been the setting for coronations since 1066. Charles III will be the 40th monarch to be crowned there.
Despite centuries of past precedents, each monarch brings their own personal touch to their coronation, whether it’s spending lavishly or sticking to a budget, commissioning new music or new Crown Jewels, or, more recently, inviting television cameras into Westminster Abbey. Here are 12 memorable British royal coronations that shaped the history of the monarchy from medieval to modern times—including a few that did not go according to plan.
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (1953)
Coronation on Television
The accession of the 25-year-old Queen Elizabeth II on Feb. 6, 1952, symbolized the beginning of “a new Elizabethan age” after the austerity of the Second World War. The decision to invite television cameras into Westminster Abbey to film the whole ceremony (except for the sacred anointing of the monarch) on June 2, 1953, seemed to bring the monarchy into the modern age, allowing audiences around the world to feel as though they were part of this landmark event. More than 250-million people watched on television as Queen Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms, many purchasing television sets for the first time for the occasion and hosting coronation parties. In Westminster Abbey, the four-year-old future King Charles III attended the ceremony, seated between his aunt, Princess Margaret, and grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
While 16 months passed between Elizabeth II’s accession and coronation, her father, King George VI, didn’t have nearly so long to wait. When Edward VIII abdicated to marry the twice-divorced American Wallis Simpson, George VI succeeded his brother as King, and was crowned just five months later on Dec. 11, 1936—the day originally scheduled for Edward’s coronation. Under the circumstances, the coronation followed past traditions to emphasize continuity, but there were a few significant departures. For the first time, the coronation was broadcast on the radio and film footage was shown in cinema newsreels. The coronation oath also changed to reflect the equal status of the United Kingdom and Dominions following the 1926 Balfour Declaration and 1931 Statute of Westminster. George VI swore “to govern the peoples of Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa, of your Possessions and the other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, and of your Empire of India, according to their respective laws and customs”—setting the tone for the development of the modern Commonwealth.
St. Edward’s Crown has been used at coronations since 1661, but it wasn’t permanently set with precious stones until much more recently. (Instead, gems were loaned by jewellers to decorate the crown for individual coronations, then returned after the ceremony.) For his 1911 coronation, King George V and his consort, Queen Mary, arranged for the crown to be permanently set with 444 precious stones. Queen Mary purchased an Art Deco-inspired crown for her own crowning as Queen consort, and this will be used to crown Queen Camilla at Charles III’s coronation.
George V’s coronation was also notable for the additional events planned around the coronation to showcase the British Empire and the Royal Navy. There was a Coronation Naval Review of the Fleet, which attracted a quarter-million spectators, and a Festival of Empire, which included “Inter-Empire Championships,” the forerunner of the modern Commonwealth Games.
When Queen Victoria’s eldest son succeeded to throne in 1901 as King Edward VII at the age of 59, planning his coronation was a challenge. So much time had passed since Victoria’s coronation in 1838 that few people remembered how the ceremony should unfold. Luckily, Victoria’s elderly cousin, Princess Augusta of Cambridge was on hand to provide valuable insights for the planning committee.
Once the plans were in place, they were derailed by a medical emergency. Just two days before the planned coronation on June 26, 1902, Edward VII underwent an emergency operation for appendicitis on a table in the music room of Buckingham Palace. The coronation was rescheduled to Aug. 9. Despite his uncertain health, Edward VII refused suggestions that the ceremony, including the anointing, be condensed, stating, “If I am going to be done, I am going to be done properly.”
The coronation of the 19-year-old Queen Victoria on June 28, 1838, took place without a rehearsal, resulting in numerous mishaps. When the Queen entered St. Edward’s chapel in Westminster Abbey, she found half-eaten sandwiches and empty bottles of wine on the altar, which had been enjoyed by guests involved in the ceremony including Prime Minister Lord Melbourne. An 82-year-old peer named Lord Rolle stumbled on the steps before the throne while paying homage to the Queen and rolled backward, regaining his footing with the Queen’s assistance. Queen Victoria noted another uncomfortable moment in her journal: “The Archbishop had (most awkwardly) put the [coronation] ring on the wrong finger, and the consequence was that I had the greatest difficulty to take it off again, which I at last did with great pain.”
The young Queen’s calm demeanour and good humour during all these unfortunate moments endeared her to the public. Throughout her long reign, Victoria would ensure royal ceremonies were better organized, introducing innovations that continue to the present day.
Queen Victoria’s uncle, William IV, was a retired naval officer who had no interest in royal ceremony. Over the course of his seven-year reign, he repeatedly tried to give away Buckingham Palace. (Neither the navy nor parliament was interested.) After first questioning whether a coronation was necessary at all, William ultimately conceded to a simplified ceremony. He agreed to travel to Westminster Abbey in the gold state coach (above) commissioned for the coronation of his father, King George III, but he refused to allow a coronation banquet and wore his admiral’s uniform rather than ceremonial dress. Tory members of parliament who objected to the comparative absence of pomp and circumstance nicknamed the ceremony,“The Half-Crown Nation.”
William IV’s determination to hold a coronation on a budget may have been an effort to distance himself from his unpopular older brother (and predecessor), George IV. Known for his lavish spending, George IV had the most expensive coronation in British history, complete with a new crown decorated with 12,000 diamonds. An enthusiastic collector of French art and furnishings, he also commissioned an exact replica of Napoleon Bonaparte’s lavish coronation robes from a workshop in Paris—a controversial decision in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.
His coronation would not be remembered for its pageantry, however, but for the King’s refusal to invite the Queen consort to the ceremony. When George IV’s estranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick, arrived at Westminster Hall, she was told by the doorman that she could not enter without a ticket. Her efforts to find another entrance were blocked by a line of soldiers. After arguing with numerous officials, the uncrowned consort departed in her carriage as the crowds chanted, “Shame! Shame!” She died two weeks later.
The coronation of George IV’s great-grandfather, George II, also included extravagant fashions. George II’s Queen consort, Caroline of Ansbach, wore a dress so heavily encrusted with jewels that she required a pulley to lift the skirt so that she could kneel to take communion during the ceremony. The enduring legacy of George II’s coronation, however, was the composition of four choral coronation anthems by George Frederic Handel. The most famous of these anthems, Zadok the Priest, has been sung before the anointing at every subsequent monarch’s coronation.
In 2023, Charles III followed in George II’s footsteps by commissioning new coronation anthems. There will 12 original compositions performed at Charles III’s coronation, including an anthem by Andrew Lloyd Weber.
The English Civil Wars left the country without a king for 11 years. When Charles II returned to England to reclaim the throne in 1660, a coronation was essential to symbolize the restoration of the monarchy. Unfortunately, only one piece of coronation regalia had survived: the silver anointing spoon acquired by Henry II or his son Richard the Lionheart in the 12th century. Recognizing the urgent need for new Crown Jewels, Charles II commissioned a new St. Edward’s Crown, orb and sceptre from his goldsmith, Sir Edward Vyner—then defaulted on the payments for the regalia following the Stop of the Exchequer in 1672, when the state defaulted on its debts.
After the ceremony, the new Crown Jewels were stored in the Tower of London, where they made a tempting target for thieves. In 1671, an Anglo-Irish officer by the name of Colonel Thomas Blood gained access to the Tower of London disguised as clergyman, overpowered the Master of the Jewel House and stole St. Edward’s Crown. Blood was apprehended on Tower Wharf, shouting, “It was a gallant attempt, however unsuccessful! It was for a crown!” Security at the Tower of London would improve, but attempts to steal the Crown Jewels continue to this day.
Charles II wasn’t the only king who scrambled to find a crown in time for his coronation. When Henry III succeeded his father, the villainous King John, at the age of nine, he was left without royal regalia. (John had lost the Crown Jewels when his baggage train overturned in a marsh in 1215, as he hurried to flee rebel barons and a French invasion after repudiating Magna Carta earlier that year.)
The First Barons’ War was still raging when John died suddenly in 1216. With rebel barons and a French army occupying London, Westminster Abbey was not available as a coronation venue. Henry’s supporters hastily organized a ceremony at Gloucester Cathedral where the boy king was crowned with one of his mother’s circlets just 10 days after his father’s death. Neither the young king nor his regents thought this coronation was sufficient to guarantee a monarch’s authority in tumultuous times, so after the First Barons’ War ended and the French were defeated, the teenaged Henry petitioned the Pope for permission to be crowned again. In 1220, Henry III received a traditional coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Test your knowledge with these history questions people always get wrong.
The Coronation of King William I (1066)
Riot on Coronation Day
After William, Duke of Normandy defeated the last Anglo-Saxon English King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, he was crowned King William I at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. When the bishops performing the ceremony asked the English people if they accepted their new King, the crowds shouted their approval—in English. Unfortunately, William’s guards spoke only Norman French and thought they were hearing an assassination attempt. The guards began attacking the crowds and set fire to nearby buildings. Inside Westminster Abbey, the coronation guests panicked and stampeded out of the Abbey before the ceremony was over. The riot at the coronation left the new king so concerned about his personal security that he ordered the construction of the Tower of London as a royal residence, fortress and prison; a historic site which still stands today.
The Coronation of Edgar the Peaceable (973)
1000 Years of Monarchy
In 973, St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote the coronation service for the crowning of the Anglo-Saxon King of England, Edgar the Peaceable, and his consort, Aelfthryth, at Bath Abbey. The ceremony marked the zenith of Edgar’s reign rather than its beginning. By 973, Edgar had been king for 14 years, taking advantage of a lull in Viking attacks to acquire more ships and reform the monasteries.
In 1973, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and their children attended a service at Bath Abbey to mark the 1000th anniversary of Edgar the Peaceable’s coronation. When King Charles III is crowned, he will be following in the footsteps of a thousand years of kings and queens who pledged their lifelong commitment to their people in a coronation ceremony.
The coronation ceremony of the British monarchy as we know it today involves many elements that have been a part of the pageantry ever since the 11th century. Such features of the ceremony carried out in Westminster Abbey since 1066 have been maintained by successive monarchs right down to Queen Elizabeth II (r. 1952-2022) and her coronation on 2 June 1953, as all rulers were keen to show they were part of a long-standing tradition.
The coronation ceremony of the British monarchy as we know it today involves many elements that have been a part of the pageantry ever since the 11th century. Such features of the ceremony carried out in Westminster Abbey since 1066 have been maintained by successive monarchs right down to Queen Elizabeth II (r. 1952-2022) and her coronation on 2 June 1953, as all rulers were keen to show they were part of a long-standing tradition.
The essential purpose of the British coronation ceremony is to see the monarch swear an oath to uphold the Church and rule with honour, wisdom and mercy. The monarch is anointed with holy oil and given a sword, orb, ring, sceptre and, finally, a crown. Then all the nobles and clergy present swear loyalty to their sovereign. The new monarch next embarks on a procession to be presented to the people and finally – although nowadays it has gone out of fashion – there was a great feast of celebration, a function now replaced by live television.
Origins
The earliest English coronation that is recorded in detail, although it was certainly not the first, is the crowning of the Anglo-Saxon king Edgar (r. 959-975 CE) in Bath in 953 CE. Early English kings may even have settled for an ornate helmet rather than a crown but with the arrival of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-1087 CE), a tradition began of holding a lavish coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. William was himself crowned there on Christmas Day 1066 CE. Subsequent kings and queens, all keen to maintain a link with history and emphasise their legitimacy for the role, repeated many of the ceremonial elements which are still a part of the coronation ceremony today. Each monarch would add a little something to the ceremony, but in its essentials, a combination of religious and secular rituals, it has remained unchanged for a thousand years.
The Ceremony
In the Middle Ages, monarchs prepared for their big day by bathing, a ritual act of purification conducted on the eve of the coronation in the Tower of London. This was followed by a vigil in the Tower’s chapel. Both of these acts were typical of the process by which a squire became a medieval knight. A tradition also began in 1399 CE where the monarch invested a number of new knights on the coronation eve, who became known as the Knights of Bath (and from 1725 CE, members of the order of that name).
The first public act of the coronation spectacle was the procession which took the monarch to Westminster Abbey and allowed as many people as possible to view the proceedings. The star of the show wore red parliamentary robes at this point while musicians and flag-bearers accompanied the main carriage from the Tower of London (or Buckingham Palace in more modern times) to its final destination. From 1685 CE, the procession started closer to Westminster Abbey. On arrival, a group of dignitaries follow the monarch bearing the various precious objects from the British Crown Jewels which will be used later during the ceremony. A bodyguard of sergeants-at-arms, each member of which carries a ceremonial mace (a reminder that protection was their primary aim), then escorts the monarch up the aisle of the Abbey.
Trumpets blare and drums beat as a line of dignitaries follows their monarch to a podium, three of them bearing a sword each. These swords are the Sword of Temporal Justice, Sword of Spiritual Justice, and the blunt Sword of Mercy (aka ‘Curtana’); all are survivors of the destruction of the Crown Jewels in 1649 CE (see below). Music has always played an important role in coronations with some pieces being a permanent fixture such as George Frederick Handel’s Zadok the Priest, played at all ceremonies since 1727 CE. The congregation then shouts their acceptance and loyalty to the monarch who now wears magnificent robes of silk and gold. The robe worn by Elizabeth II is the golden Imperial Mantle, and she also wore a stole embroidered with symbols of the British nations and plants from the Commonwealth. The monarch is now seated on the chair known as King Edward’s Chair, made c. 1300 CE, and the audience settles down for the ceremony to begin proper.
Anointing the Monarch
Another item which survives from the pre-1649 CE regalia is the coronation spoon. This is used to anoint the monarch with holy oil at the start of the ceremony. As the monarch is regarded as chosen by God to rule, their coronation ceremony had several features similar to the consecration of a bishop. In this case, the anointing is done by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who pours a small quantity of oil onto the monarch’s head, chest, and palms.
The oil used at the coronation of Henry IV of England (r. 1399-1413 CE) in 1399 CE was believed to have been miraculously given to the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket (in office 1162-1170 CE) by the Virgin Mary. This wondrous oil had only recently been discovered hidden away in one of the darker corners of the Tower of London’s cellars. The oil, whatever its real origin, was a useful add-on in Henry’s search to legitimise his usurpation of the throne from Richard II of England (r. 1377-1399 CE). Despite Henry IV’s best-laid plans, his coronation did suffer a mishap when he dropped the gold coin which he was supposed to ceremoniously offer to God. The coin rolled away and was never seen again, an ill omen of the rebellions that would ruin his reign. Nevertheless, Becket’s sacred oil was used at several coronations thereafter.
Symbols of Power
As traditionally a monarch was also a knight, the coronation ceremony involves symbols associated with that rank such as golden spurs, armills (bracelets), and a sword. The two swords which are presented to the monarch at coronations are the Sword of State, which dates to 1678 CE, and the Jewelled Sword of Offering, which was first used by George IV of England (r. 1820-1830 CE) for his coronation in 1821 CE. The archbishop presents these swords and proclaims the following:
With the sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy Church of God, help and defend widows and orphans, restore the things that are gone to decay, maintain the things that are restored, punish and reform what is amiss, and confirm what is in good order.
(Holmes, 5)
The monarch is then given the Sovereign’s Orb which is topped by a cross and so symbolic of the Christian monarch’s domination of the secular world. It is placed in the sovereign’s left hand. The hollow gold orb, set with pearls, precious stones and a large amethyst beneath the cross, was made in 1661 CE and has been used in every coronation since then.
The monarch is next given the ‘Ring of Kingly Dignity’, placed on their third finger of the left hand (where a wedding ring is traditionally worn). The one used today, the Sovereign’s Ring, was originally made in 1831 CE for William IV of England (r. 1830-1837 CE) and has a cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) in rubies (thought to represent dignity) against a blue background of a single sapphire. A mix-up during the coronation of Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901 CE) resulted in the ring being too tight and the queen later wrote that the archbishop had great trouble putting it on and she removing it later.
The monarch is now given a sceptre and staff or rod, traditional symbols of royal power and justice. The Sovereign’s Sceptre (aka King’s Sceptre) was first made in 1685 CE, with modifications being added subsequently. Today, it has the 530-carat Cullinan I diamond, also known as the First Star of Africa, sparkling at the top of it.
Crowning Moment
The climax of the entire ceremony is, of course, the actual crowning of the seated monarch. The crown used is usually Saint Edward’s Crown (and if an alternative is used, it still carries this name). The crown is named after Edward the Confessor (r. 1042-1066 CE) and was made when Henry III of England (r. 1216-1272 CE), a fan of the saint, fancied new regalia for his coronation. It is likely that parts of a more ancient Anglo-Saxon gold crown were incorporated into this new version. Unfortunately, most of the British Crown Jewels, including the crown, were destroyed, broken up or sold off in 1649 CE following the execution of Charles I of England (r. 1600-1649 CE) and the (what turned out to be) temporary abolishment of the monarchy.
The 1660 CE Restoration of the monarchy necessitated the production of new regalia which would be put into immediate use at the coronation of Charles II of England in 1661 CE (r. 1660-1685 CE). Although it is not clear exactly by what means they were found or reacquired, many of the precious stones that survived the old regalia were incorporated into the new Crown Jewels of the 17th century CE and the new St. Edward’s Crown. It is this crown which has been used in coronations ever since. It is gold and weighs 2.3 kilos (5 lbs). As the crown is so heavy, after the actual crowning it is usually replaced by another lighter crown such as the Imperial State Crown. Curiously, the St. Edward’s Crown was only ever filled with hired gems when it was needed for a coronation and not until 1911 CE did it receive permanent settings.
The Imperial State Crown was created for the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838 CE as a lighter alternative to St. Edward’s Crown. It is a spectacular crown and contains over 2,800 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, four rubies, and 269 pearls. Amongst these are the central Black Prince’s Ruby (actually a balas or spinel), below it the 317-carat Cullinan II diamond (aka Second Star of Africa), as well as the 104-carat oval-cut Stuart Sapphire and Saint Edward’s Sapphire (set in the top cross). The latter sapphire, an octagonal rose cut stone, is said to have been taken from the ring of Edward the Confessor making it the oldest item in all of the Crown Jewels.
Finally, the monarch’s consort also receives a crown during the ceremony. The most famous of these today is the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Made of platinum in 1937 CE, it contains the 105.60-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond from India, given to Queen Victoria as part of the peace treaty which ended the Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845-49 CE). The great diamond is said to bring luck to a female wearer and bad luck to a male one, hence it has only appeared in various Queen consort crowns.
The final dramatic act in this royal drama involves the monarch’s nobles paying homage and swearing allegiance to their sovereign. Everyone dons their own crowns and coronets if they have the right to wear them and the whole congregation acclaims their new monarch by shouting ‘God Save the King/Queen’. The bells of Westminster Abbey ring out and there is simultaneously a 62-gun salute from the Tower of London. The monarch moves to sit on a throne on a raised platform and then receives homage from certain high-ranking clergy and nobles who kiss their hand. Finally, the monarch may issue a general pardon of those found guilty of wrong-doing under their predecessor and sometimes throws coins or medals into the assembly.
Procession
The monarch then leaves Westminster Abbey, now wearing purple imperial robes, and is transported in a golden carriage through the streets so that they may be presented to their people. Finally, the monarch arrives at Westminster Hall where a great feast used to be held. A fixture of medieval coronations, these were an opportunity for a monarch to shower some grace and favour on their most important subjects. Medieval coronation feasts could be huge affairs with up to 5,000 dishes served. We know that the guests at the coronation feast of Edward II of England (r. 1307-1327 CE) in 1308 CE managed to down 1,000 casks of wine. Exotic dishes were prepared and often sculpted into weird and wonderful forms, all served on solid gold dishes, chalices, wine fountains, punch bowls and salt cellars for the added entertainment of the guests. When it was all over, the commoners were allowed in to eat the leftovers. The last coronation feast was held in 1821 CE.
Instead of feasts we now have live television. In the mid-20th century CE, the coronation of Elizabeth II ignited the imagination of a nation. The ceremony was watched by some 20 million people and for the vast majority of them, it was the first event they ever watched on television. One can imagine the next coronation will be live-streamed around the world giving a view better than the people in Westminster Abbey itself with its notoriously bad sightlines. As the famed diarist Samuel Pepys (1633-1703 CE) noted on Charles II’s coronation in 1661 CE: “I sat from past 4 until 11 before the King came in…the King passed through all the ceremonies of the Coronation, which to my great grief I and most in the Abbey could not see” (Dixon-Smith, 46). Fortunately, with ever superior camera technology we can look forward to a superb throne-side view of the next coronation, whenever that may be.
The setting of Charles III’s crowning in Westminster Abbey in London lends grandeur and history to this great ceremony. John Goodall considers the evolution of this remarkable building and its role in celebrating the authority and antiquity of the monarchy.
Westminster Abbey first became our coronation church almost by accident nearly 1,000 years ago. The last Anglo-Saxon king of the English, Edward the Confessor, had a particular fondness for Westminster — then a peaceful spot outside London — and not only created a palace for himself on the Thames here, but also patronised the ancient monastery beside it, rebuilding the church in a new and monumental idiom of architecture inspired by Roman example. He died in this palace and was laid to rest before the high altar of his Abbey on January 6, 1066. The Bayeux Tapestry shows his funeral procession entering the church as a workman erects a final weathercock on the roof.
Taking advantage of the funeral gathering, Earl Harold Godwinson was acclaimed King and crowned in the same church on the same day. It was the first such ceremony ever held at Westminster. Nevertheless, it ensured that, when William, Duke of Normandy, defeated and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings several months later, he, in turn, sought coronation in the same building.
Things did not go well.
The ceremony took place on Christmas Day 1066 and was a harbinger of the brutality of Norman rule. Mistaking the cries of acclamation in an unfamiliar tongue for treachery, the guards began sacking the surrounding houses.
According to the 12th-century account of Orderic Vitalis, amid the ensuing chaos, the newly-annointed monarch, possibly for the only time in his life, lost his nerve and sat trembling on the throne.
It was on the strength of these calamitous events in 1066, that Westminster Abbey successfully secured and formalised its role as the coronation church of the English kings for centuries to come.
The crossing, where the temporary coronation stage was erected, is partially visible to the extreme right (1). From this, steps led up to the sanctuary with its Cosmati pavement and the High Altar (2), backed by the 13th-century Westminster Retable. To the right is a four-part seat or sedilia used by the clergy celebrating mass (3). The Cosmati pavement extended into St Edward’s Chapel, with the Confessor’s shrine (4) encircled by royal tombs. At the end of the coronation service, the regalia were deposited on the attached altar. The usual sedilia for this altar was St Edward’s Chair (5). Dividing the chapel from the sanctuary is a reredos completed by the Abbey mason John Thirsk in 1441 (6), which screened the shrine from the choir. Henry V’s Chantry Chapel (7), also designed by Thirsk in 1438, created an internal porch to the 13th-century Lady Chapel (8). The form of this Lady Chapel—replaced from 1502–03 by what is familiarly known as Henry VII’s Chapel—can be reconstructed from previously unrecognised fragments at vault level. Opening off it is the St Erasmus Chapel (9). The position of the altars in the radiating chapels is inferred from extant fittings and decoration. Overall, this drawing illustrates the way in which colour—in glass, paintings and furnishings—was used to focus attention on liturgically important spaces in what was otherwise a cool, two-tone interior of Reigate stone and Purbeck Marble.
The process was driven forward by a formidable succession of 12th-century abbots, who, with the support of Henry II (then locked in conflict with Thomas Becket), also began to promote the sanctity of Edward the Confessor. The growing importance of the Abbey was naturally reinforced by its proximity to Westminster Palace, which was gradually emerging as the seat of the royal administration. It was distinguished architecturally from the 1090s by a leviathan hall that came to accommodate a fixed throne of stone, the literal seat of royal authority in England.
Our earliest detailed description of an English coronation — that of Richard I on September 3, 1189, by the monk of St Albans, Roger of Wendover — illustrates the intertwined roles of the Palace and the Abbey. On the morning of the ceremony, a procession of nobles and clergy conducted the King from the door of his ‘inner chamber’ in the former to the ‘high altar’ of the latter. Woollen cloth carpeted the route and the coronation regalia were carried in order of importance — a linen coif, spurs, sceptre, rod, three swords, a large board bearing vestments and finally ‘a golden crown great and heavy and adorned on all sides with precious stones’. The King himself followed beneath a silk canopy.
This display of the symbols of royalty made it clear what the King was assuming in the coronation ritual, an event invisible to most within the confines of Edward the Confessor’s church. It was, indeed, the only public outing that the regalia received because, after the ceremony, the King ‘put on a lighter crown and vestments, and so crowned came to breakfast [in Westminster Hall]’. These two processions, the exchange of regalia and the palace celebrations, remained central to the coronation ceremony as it subsequently evolved. Sections of the processional carpet — latterly made of blue ray — were claimed afterwards as perquisites.
In the early 13th century, Westminster Abbey found a crucially important new patron in Henry III. Devotion to his ancestor, Edward the Confessor, and a sense of competition with the resurgent power of the rival Capetian kings of France, prompted him to reconstruct the Abbey on the grandest scale from 1245. Among the points of architectural reference for the new building was the High Gothic coronation church of the French Kings, Reims Cathedral. Indeed, it’s strongly suggestive of a direct link that the mason in charge at Westminster was called Henry ‘of Reynes’.
Henry III’s new abbey church was taller and more opulently detailed than any other English great church. The main elevations made use of different coloured stones and were encrusted with carved decoration (Country Life, December 15 and 22, 2021). Craftsmen were brought from Rome to lay pavements in mosaic and semi-precious stone. Their so-called Cosmati work pavement extends across the sanctuary in front of the high altar and into the chapel beyond it, where a new shrine to Edward the Confessor was erected. The shrine itself and several surrounding tombs, including that of Henry III, were also decorated in Cosmati.
In certain details, the choir of Henry III’s church seems to have been designed with the ceremony of coronation in mind. The triforium gallery, for example, is exceptionally large, presumably to accommodate spectators, and the piers of the crossing are strikingly slim in order to open out views through the building (Fig 2). It is unlikely to be a coincidence that the design of the Cosmati floor in the sanctuary defines a central area in front of the high altar, an ideal spot for the King to be anointed.
By these changes, Westminster Abbey was not only splendidly renewed as a theatre for coronation, but it simultaneously became the mausoleum of England’s kings and the shrine of their royal saint and ancestor, Edward the Confessor. Uniting these functions in one place right beside the seat of the royal administration in Westminster Palace was exceptional in contemporary Europe. The Capetians, by contrast, were crowned at Reims (where the implements of coronation were divided between ecclesiastical institutions), had their mausoleum at St Denis and displayed their relic collection in the splendid interior of the Sainte Chapelle on the Isle de la Cité in Paris (which was also the seat of the royal administration).
Only the choir, transepts and eastern nave of the new abbey church at Westminster were completed during Henry III’s reign. They were first used for a coronation by his son, Edward I, in 1274, when the crossing had to be boarded over to tidy up the interior. It would be more than a century before the awkward abutment of the Gothic and Romanesque elements would be resolved by rebuilding. For this period, the main entrance to the church probably moved from the nave to the splendid north transept (Fig 3).
More important for the coronation — and completely conventional within a great church — was the creation of a gated liturgical enclosure inside the main volume of the building. At Westminster, this comprised the Confessor’s Chapel with its shrine beyond the high altar, the sanctuary to the west of the high altar, the crossing and the monastic choir, which occupied the first bays of the nave. This enclosure was ringed with high screens, furnishings and monuments, which were incrementally developed throughout the Middle Ages.
The use of these spaces in a coronation is described in the so-called Fourth Recension, a version of the liturgy first securely known to have been used to crown Edward II on February 25, 1308. Its directions or rubrics — augmented in the late 14th century — describe a ‘pulpitum’ or stage that was to be set up ‘near the four high pillars in the cross of the church’, with steps rising to it from the choir and descending towards the high altar. The structure was to be covered in carpets and cloth of gold. From about 1400, the area around the high altar was also dressed in tapestry for the coronation, the most fabulously expensive of all surface coverings.
On arrival in the church, the King was presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury to his people each side of the stage and acclaimed before being led to the high altar, to make an offering of gold. He then briefly prostrated himself on the floor, which was spread with carpets and cushions, before taking a seat on the sanctuary to hear a sermon.
What followed was laden with symbolism. In very abbreviated form, the coronation oaths were then taken at the high altar, after which the sovereign took off his outer garments and was anointed. The regalia, having been brought in procession to the Abbey, were laid on the high altar and the King was vested. He must have stood to put on such things as the tunic or colobium, although he is usually depicted receiving the crown seated. The history of this regalia is now beyond rescue — all bar one item being destroyed in 1649 — but there were clearly traditions that linked it to the figure of Edward the Confessor, reinforcing the connection of the living monarch with this legitimising and saintly ancestor.
The King then offered his sword to the altar, which was immediately redeemed, and was afterwards conducted to ‘a lofty throne’ on top of the stage in the crossing where he could ‘be clearly seen by all the people’. For Edward II’s coronation, this structure — probably resembling the 1370s cathedra at Durham (Fig 4) — is elsewhere described as incorporating seats for the King and Queen and of being high enough for a mounted knight to ride beneath it. Enthroned on this, he received the homage of his nobles.
The Queen’s coronation followed the King’s in similar, but distinct, form. She received the homage of the women present and her throne was pointedly lower than her husband’s. Next, a Mass was celebrated, after which the King and Queen descended from their high thrones and were conducted past the high altar to the shrine of Edward the Confessor. Here, they were divested of all their regalia and their crowns were placed on the altar of the shrine. Then, wearing lighter crowns and with their sceptres only — which were later collected by the Abbot of Westminster, the custodian of all the regalia — they processed back to Westminster Hall for breakfast.
Such are the rubrics, but other accounts of Edward II’s coronation suggest a chaotic event. One anonymous eyewitness describes the press of people causing the partial collapse of the coronation stage and the death of a knight. The behaviour of the notorious favourite, Piers Gaveston, meanwhile, incensed several important guests. Royal accounts additionally reveal that the enthronement took place in a huge, temporary hall within the Palace. Its arched throne recess — presumably resembling that which survives at Knaresborough Castle, North Yorkshire (Country Life, January 17, 2008) — incorporated a gilt effigy of the King, a means of making his likeness visible to everyone. It gives some sense of the numbers attending that 14 subsidiary halls were erected for the occasion, as well as 40 ovens to prepare food. Ostentatious and prolific consumption was essential at such an important royal event.
In the late 14th century, Richard II further enriched the architectural setting of the coronation, pressing forward the construction of the Abbey nave and re-roofing Westminster Hall in its present, magnificent, form. He also had an image of himself in regalia painted on his stall in the choir (Fig 1).
Ironically, the King who first used these spaces for his coronation, however, was the man who deposed him, Henry IV. This ceremony in 1399 was necessarily organised with particular care. To dignify the usurpation, not only was discovery made of an ampule of oil supplied by the Virgin herself, but an existing piece of furnishing in the Abbey was pressed into new service for the act of anointing, probably for the first time. This was St Edward’s Chair (Country Life, May 29, 2013), containing the Stone of Scone, upon which Scottish kings were inaugurated. A trophy of war, the stone, together with the Scottish crown and sceptre, was gifted to the Abbey in 1298 by Edward I. It was incorporated within a special seat for priests celebrating Mass at the shrine altar of Edward the Confessor and the chair has subsequently been used in every coronation.
Westminster Abbey as prepared for Henry IV’s coronation in 1399, the first in which St Edward’s Chair (1) is securely known to have been used for the anointing. Note the open plan of the interior between the High Altar (2) and shrine (3). The King was shown to his people on each side of the crossing stage, but climbed up onto an elevated throne above it (4) to hear the Coronation Mass and to receive homage. According to the rubrics of the coronation liturgy, a carpet and cushion were laid where the King abased himself on the sanctuary floor (5). From the late 14th century, the church interior was almost certainly dressed with tapestry, then a novel and stupendously expensive type of wall covering (6). Entrance to the choir enclosure was carpeted in wool (7) and, when the nave was under construction, was probably through the north transept. Richard II’s portrait dignified the first north stall (8), the conventional position of a bishop’s throne or cathedra.
Another innovation made at about this time was the use by peers of so-called parliamentary robes and fur-lined caps of estate. These caps were carried in procession to the coronation and then put on collectively after the crowning, a theatrical flourish first recorded in the 1440s sculpture of Henry V’s Chantry in the Abbey.
From the late 15th century, there is a growing volume of documentation on individual coronations, most of it compiled by heralds. These suggest the outward forms of the ceremony remained remarkably consistent. Such changes as it underwent generally emphasised its magnificence, one such being the gradual enrichment of the robes worn by peers. Not only did they adopt small crowns or coronets, but, by 1626, robes lined with rich fur.
Fig 3: The north-transept façade of the Abbey offered the most direct connection between the Palace and the Abbey. The reconstruction of the nave continued into the 15th century. Westminster Abbey photographed for Country Life magazine by Paul Highnam.
The setting of Charles III’s crowning in Westminster Abbey in London lends grandeur and history to this great ceremony. John Goodall considers the evolution of this remarkable building and its role in celebrating the authority and antiquity of the monarchy.
Westminster Abbey first became our coronation church almost by accident nearly 1,000 years ago. The last Anglo-Saxon king of the English, Edward the Confessor, had a particular fondness for Westminster — then a peaceful spot outside London — and not only created a palace for himself on the Thames here, but also patronised the ancient monastery beside it, rebuilding the church in a new and monumental idiom of architecture inspired by Roman example. He died in this palace and was laid to rest before the high altar of his Abbey on January 6, 1066. The Bayeux Tapestry shows his funeral procession entering the church as a workman erects a final weathercock on the roof.
Taking advantage of the funeral gathering, Earl Harold Godwinson was acclaimed King and crowned in the same church on the same day. It was the first such ceremony ever held at Westminster. Nevertheless, it ensured that, when William, Duke of Normandy, defeated and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings several months later, he, in turn, sought coronation in the same building.
Things did not go well.
The Coronation of William I (The Conqueror) as King of England, in 1066. The coronation was interrupted by a fire which broke out at Westminster Abbey.
The ceremony took place on Christmas Day 1066 and was a harbinger of the brutality of Norman rule. Mistaking the cries of acclamation in an unfamiliar tongue for treachery, the guards began sacking the surrounding houses.
According to the 12th-century account of Orderic Vitalis, amid the ensuing chaos, the newly-annointed monarch, possibly for the only time in his life, lost his nerve and sat trembling on the throne.
It was on the strength of these calamitous events in 1066, that Westminster Abbey successfully secured and formalised its role as the coronation church of the English kings for centuries to come.
The east end of Westminster Abbey in 1500
The east end of Westminster Abbey as it would have appeared in 1399. Credit: Illustration by Stephen Conlin, researched by John Goodall and Matthew Payne, by kind permission of the British Archaeological Association
The crossing, where the temporary coronation stage was erected, is partially visible to the extreme right (1). From this, steps led up to the sanctuary with its Cosmati pavement and the High Altar (2), backed by the 13th-century Westminster Retable. To the right is a four-part seat or sedilia used by the clergy celebrating mass (3). The Cosmati pavement extended into St Edward’s Chapel, with the Confessor’s shrine (4) encircled by royal tombs. At the end of the coronation service, the regalia were deposited on the attached altar. The usual sedilia for this altar was St Edward’s Chair (5). Dividing the chapel from the sanctuary is a reredos completed by the Abbey mason John Thirsk in 1441 (6), which screened the shrine from the choir. Henry V’s Chantry Chapel (7), also designed by Thirsk in 1438, created an internal porch to the 13th-century Lady Chapel (8). The form of this Lady Chapel—replaced from 1502–03 by what is familiarly known as Henry VII’s Chapel—can be reconstructed from previously unrecognised fragments at vault level. Opening off it is the St Erasmus Chapel (9). The position of the altars in the radiating chapels is inferred from extant fittings and decoration. Overall, this drawing illustrates the way in which colour—in glass, paintings and furnishings—was used to focus attention on liturgically important spaces in what was otherwise a cool, two-tone interior of Reigate stone and Purbeck Marble.
The process was driven forward by a formidable succession of 12th-century abbots, who, with the support of Henry II (then locked in conflict with Thomas Becket), also began to promote the sanctity of Edward the Confessor. The growing importance of the Abbey was naturally reinforced by its proximity to Westminster Palace, which was gradually emerging as the seat of the royal administration. It was distinguished architecturally from the 1090s by a leviathan hall that came to accommodate a fixed throne of stone, the literal seat of royal authority in England.
Our earliest detailed description of an English coronation — that of Richard I on September 3, 1189, by the monk of St Albans, Roger of Wendover — illustrates the intertwined roles of the Palace and the Abbey. On the morning of the ceremony, a procession of nobles and clergy conducted the King from the door of his ‘inner chamber’ in the former to the ‘high altar’ of the latter. Woollen cloth carpeted the route and the coronation regalia were carried in order of importance — a linen coif, spurs, sceptre, rod, three swords, a large board bearing vestments and finally ‘a golden crown great and heavy and adorned on all sides with precious stones’. The King himself followed beneath a silk canopy.
This display of the symbols of royalty made it clear what the King was assuming in the coronation ritual, an event invisible to most within the confines of Edward the Confessor’s church. It was, indeed, the only public outing that the regalia received because, after the ceremony, the King ‘put on a lighter crown and vestments, and so crowned came to breakfast [in Westminster Hall]’. These two processions, the exchange of regalia and the palace celebrations, remained central to the coronation ceremony as it subsequently evolved. Sections of the processional carpet — latterly made of blue ray — were claimed afterwards as perquisites.
In the early 13th century, Westminster Abbey found a crucially important new patron in Henry III. Devotion to his ancestor, Edward the Confessor, and a sense of competition with the resurgent power of the rival Capetian kings of France, prompted him to reconstruct the Abbey on the grandest scale from 1245. Among the points of architectural reference for the new building was the High Gothic coronation church of the French Kings, Reims Cathedral. Indeed, it’s strongly suggestive of a direct link that the mason in charge at Westminster was called Henry ‘of Reynes’.
Henry III’s new abbey church was taller and more opulently detailed than any other English great church. The main elevations made use of different coloured stones and were encrusted with carved decoration (Country Life, December 15 and 22, 2021). Craftsmen were brought from Rome to lay pavements in mosaic and semi-precious stone. Their so-called Cosmati work pavement extends across the sanctuary in front of the high altar and into the chapel beyond it, where a new shrine to Edward the Confessor was erected. The shrine itself and several surrounding tombs, including that of Henry III, were also decorated in Cosmati.
Fig 2: The choir, crossing and sanctuary at Westminster Abbey. Credit: Country Life
In certain details, the choir of Henry III’s church seems to have been designed with the ceremony of coronation in mind. The triforium gallery, for example, is exceptionally large, presumably to accommodate spectators, and the piers of the crossing are strikingly slim in order to open out views through the building (Fig 2). It is unlikely to be a coincidence that the design of the Cosmati floor in the sanctuary defines a central area in front of the high altar, an ideal spot for the King to be anointed.
By these changes, Westminster Abbey was not only splendidly renewed as a theatre for coronation, but it simultaneously became the mausoleum of England’s kings and the shrine of their royal saint and ancestor, Edward the Confessor. Uniting these functions in one place right beside the seat of the royal administration in Westminster Palace was exceptional in contemporary Europe. The Capetians, by contrast, were crowned at Reims (where the implements of coronation were divided between ecclesiastical institutions), had their mausoleum at St Denis and displayed their relic collection in the splendid interior of the Sainte Chapelle on the Isle de la Cité in Paris (which was also the seat of the royal administration).
Only the choir, transepts and eastern nave of the new abbey church at Westminster were completed during Henry III’s reign. They were first used for a coronation by his son, Edward I, in 1274, when the crossing had to be boarded over to tidy up the interior. It would be more than a century before the awkward abutment of the Gothic and Romanesque elements would be resolved by rebuilding. For this period, the main entrance to the church probably moved from the nave to the splendid north transept (Fig 3).
More important for the coronation — and completely conventional within a great church — was the creation of a gated liturgical enclosure inside the main volume of the building. At Westminster, this comprised the Confessor’s Chapel with its shrine beyond the high altar, the sanctuary to the west of the high altar, the crossing and the monastic choir, which occupied the first bays of the nave. This enclosure was ringed with high screens, furnishings and monuments, which were incrementally developed throughout the Middle Ages.
The use of these spaces in a coronation is described in the so-called Fourth Recension, a version of the liturgy first securely known to have been used to crown Edward II on February 25, 1308. Its directions or rubrics — augmented in the late 14th century — describe a ‘pulpitum’ or stage that was to be set up ‘near the four high pillars in the cross of the church’, with steps rising to it from the choir and descending towards the high altar. The structure was to be covered in carpets and cloth of gold. From about 1400, the area around the high altar was also dressed in tapestry for the coronation, the most fabulously expensive of all surface coverings.
Fig 1: Richard II ‘The Westminster Portrait’, 1390s. This oil and wood portrait was probably painted for his stall at the Abbey.
On arrival in the church, the King was presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury to his people each side of the stage and acclaimed before being led to the high altar, to make an offering of gold. He then briefly prostrated himself on the floor, which was spread with carpets and cushions, before taking a seat on the sanctuary to hear a sermon.
What followed was laden with symbolism. In very abbreviated form, the coronation oaths were then taken at the high altar, after which the sovereign took off his outer garments and was anointed. The regalia, having been brought in procession to the Abbey, were laid on the high altar and the King was vested. He must have stood to put on such things as the tunic or colobium, although he is usually depicted receiving the crown seated. The history of this regalia is now beyond rescue — all bar one item being destroyed in 1649 — but there were clearly traditions that linked it to the figure of Edward the Confessor, reinforcing the connection of the living monarch with this legitimising and saintly ancestor.
The King then offered his sword to the altar, which was immediately redeemed, and was afterwards conducted to ‘a lofty throne’ on top of the stage in the crossing where he could ‘be clearly seen by all the people’. For Edward II’s coronation, this structure — probably resembling the 1370s cathedra at Durham (Fig 4) — is elsewhere described as incorporating seats for the King and Queen and of being high enough for a mounted knight to ride beneath it. Enthroned on this, he received the homage of his nobles.
Fig 4: The late 14th century Bishop’s Throne and Hatfield Chantry at Durham Cathedral. Credit: Country Life
The Queen’s coronation followed the King’s in similar, but distinct, form. She received the homage of the women present and her throne was pointedly lower than her husband’s. Next, a Mass was celebrated, after which the King and Queen descended from their high thrones and were conducted past the high altar to the shrine of Edward the Confessor. Here, they were divested of all their regalia and their crowns were placed on the altar of the shrine. Then, wearing lighter crowns and with their sceptres only — which were later collected by the Abbot of Westminster, the custodian of all the regalia — they processed back to Westminster Hall for breakfast.
Such are the rubrics, but other accounts of Edward II’s coronation suggest a chaotic event. One anonymous eyewitness describes the press of people causing the partial collapse of the coronation stage and the death of a knight. The behaviour of the notorious favourite, Piers Gaveston, meanwhile, incensed several important guests. Royal accounts additionally reveal that the enthronement took place in a huge, temporary hall within the Palace. Its arched throne recess — presumably resembling that which survives at Knaresborough Castle, North Yorkshire (Country Life, January 17, 2008) — incorporated a gilt effigy of the King, a means of making his likeness visible to everyone. It gives some sense of the numbers attending that 14 subsidiary halls were erected for the occasion, as well as 40 ovens to prepare food. Ostentatious and prolific consumption was essential at such an important royal event.
In the late 14th century, Richard II further enriched the architectural setting of the coronation, pressing forward the construction of the Abbey nave and re-roofing Westminster Hall in its present, magnificent, form. He also had an image of himself in regalia painted on his stall in the choir (Fig 1).
Ironically, the King who first used these spaces for his coronation, however, was the man who deposed him, Henry IV. This ceremony in 1399 was necessarily organised with particular care. To dignify the usurpation, not only was discovery made of an ampule of oil supplied by the Virgin herself, but an existing piece of furnishing in the Abbey was pressed into new service for the act of anointing, probably for the first time. This was St Edward’s Chair (Country Life, May 29, 2013), containing the Stone of Scone, upon which Scottish kings were inaugurated. A trophy of war, the stone, together with the Scottish crown and sceptre, was gifted to the Abbey in 1298 by Edward I. It was incorporated within a special seat for priests celebrating Mass at the shrine altar of Edward the Confessor and the chair has subsequently been used in every coronation.
Westminster Abbey on coronation day in 1399
Credit: Illustration by Stephen Conlin, researched by John Goodall and Matthew Payne, by kind permission of the British Archaeological Association
Westminster Abbey as prepared for Henry IV’s coronation in 1399, the first in which St Edward’s Chair (1) is securely known to have been used for the anointing. Note the open plan of the interior between the High Altar (2) and shrine (3). The King was shown to his people on each side of the crossing stage, but climbed up onto an elevated throne above it (4) to hear the Coronation Mass and to receive homage. According to the rubrics of the coronation liturgy, a carpet and cushion were laid where the King abased himself on the sanctuary floor (5). From the late 14th century, the church interior was almost certainly dressed with tapestry, then a novel and stupendously expensive type of wall covering (6). Entrance to the choir enclosure was carpeted in wool (7) and, when the nave was under construction, was probably through the north transept. Richard II’s portrait dignified the first north stall (8), the conventional position of a bishop’s throne or cathedra.
Another innovation made at about this time was the use by peers of so-called parliamentary robes and fur-lined caps of estate. These caps were carried in procession to the coronation and then put on collectively after the crowning, a theatrical flourish first recorded in the 1440s sculpture of Henry V’s Chantry in the Abbey.
From the late 15th century, there is a growing volume of documentation on individual coronations, most of it compiled by heralds. These suggest the outward forms of the ceremony remained remarkably consistent. Such changes as it underwent generally emphasised its magnificence, one such being the gradual enrichment of the robes worn by peers. Not only did they adopt small crowns or coronets, but, by 1626, robes lined with rich fur.
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The Restoration in 1660 and the need to revive the traditions of monarchy prompted a further outpouring of antiquarian study and analysis of the ceremony. The herald Francis Sandford set a new standard in this regard with his sumptuously illustrated account of the coronation of James II and Queen Mary, published in 1687 (Fig 5). From this point forward, the physical appearance of Westminster Abbey as a theatre for coronation — its interiors transformed by temporary viewing galleries — is easy to reconstruct. Such imagery underlines the degree to which every coronation is a reinvention of tradition. Over the coronation weekend in 2023, we will all be able to enjoy the next step in its evolution.
[37]
”When the Witan convened the next day they selected Harold to succeed,[d] and his coronation followed on 6 January, most likely held in Westminster Abbey, though limited but persuasive evidence from the time survives to confirm this, in the form of its depiction in the Bayeux Tapestry (shown above left).[25”
”Henry was staying safely at Corfe Castle in Dorset with his mother when King John died.[16] On his deathbed, John appointed a council of thirteen executors to help Henry reclaim the kingdom, and requested that his son be placed into the guardianship of William Marshal, one of the most famous knights in England.[17] The loyalist leaders decided to crown Henry immediately to reinforce his claim to the throne.[18][c] William knighted the boy, and Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, the papal legate to England, then oversaw his coronation at Gloucester Cathedral on 28 October 1216.[19]
In the absence of Archbishops Stephen Langton of Canterbury and Walter de Gray of York, he was anointed by Sylvester, Bishop of Worcester, and Simon, Bishop of Exeter, and crowned by Peter des Roches.[19] The royal crown had been either lost or sold during the civil war or possibly lost in The Wash, so instead the ceremony used a simple gold corolla belonging to Queen Isabella.[20] Henry later underwent a second coronation at Westminster Abbey on 17 May 1220.”
”The rebellious barons, faced with an uncompromising king, turned to King Philip’s son, Louis, who, in 1216, then sailed to England with an army despite his father’s disapproval, as well as the pope’s, who subsequently excommunicated him. Louis captured Winchester and soon controlled over half of the English kingdom.[1] He was proclaimed “King of England” in London by the barons, although never actually crowned.
Louis’ ambitions of ruling England faced a major setback in October 1216, when John’s death led to the rebellious barons deserting him in favour of John’s nine-year-old son, Henry III, and the war dragged on. Louis’ army was finally beaten at the Battle of Lincoln on 20 May 1217. Also, after a fleet assembled by his wife, Blanche of Castile, attempted to bring him French reinforcements but was defeated off the coast of Sandwich on 24 August 1217, he was forced to make peace on English terms. He signed the Treaty of Lambeth and surrendered the few remaining castles that he held. The treaty had the effect of Louis agreeing he had never been the legitimate king of England. That formalised the end of the civil war and the departure of the French from England”
”Henry was staying safely at Corfe Castle in Dorset with his mother when King John died.[16] On his deathbed, John appointed a council of thirteen executors to help Henry reclaim the kingdom, and requested that his son be placed into the guardianship of William Marshal, one of the most famous knights in England.[17] The loyalist leaders decided to crown Henry immediately to reinforce his claim to the throne.[18][c] William knighted the boy, and Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, the papal legate to England, then oversaw his coronation at Gloucester Cathedral on 28 October 1216.[19]
In the absence of Archbishops Stephen Langton of Canterbury and Walter de Gray of York, he was anointed by Sylvester, Bishop of Worcester, and Simon, Bishop of Exeter, and crowned by Peter des Roches.[19] The royal crown had been either lost or sold during the civil war or possibly lost in The Wash, so instead the ceremony used a simple gold corolla belonging to Queen Isabella.[20] Henry later underwent a second coronation at Westminster Abbey on 17 May 1220.”
”On 18 October 1216, John contracted dysentery, which would ultimately prove fatal.[7][8] He died at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire, and with him the main reason for the fighting. Louis now seemed much more of a threat to baronial interests than John’s nine-year-old son, Henry.
Pierre des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, and a number of barons rushed to have the young Henry be crowned as King of England. London was held by Louis (it was his seat of government) and therefore could not be used for this coronation so, on 28 October 1216, they brought the boy from the castle at Devizes to Gloucester Abbey in front of a small attendance presided over by a Papal Legate, Guala Bicchieri (d. 1227, Bishop of Vercelli, papal legate in England 1216–18). They crowned Henry with a necklace of gold.”
John returned west but is said to have lost much of his baggage train along the way.[221]Roger of Wendover provides the most graphic account of this, suggesting that the King’s belongings, including the English Crown Jewels, were lost as he crossed one of the tidal estuaries which empties into the Wash, being sucked in by quicksand and whirlpools.[221] Accounts of the incident vary considerably between the various chroniclers and the exact location of the incident has never been confirmed; the losses may have involved only a few of his pack-horses.”
”In the absence of Archbishops Stephen Langton of Canterbury and Walter de Gray of York, he was anointed by Sylvester, Bishop of Worcester, and Simon, Bishop of Exeter, and crowned by Peter des Roches.[19] The royal crown had been either lost or sold during the civil war or possibly lost in The Wash, so instead the ceremony used a simple gold corolla belonging to Queen Isabella.[20] Henry later underwent a second coronation at Westminster Abbey on 17 May 1220”
”The climax of the entire ceremony is, of course, the actual crowning of the seated monarch. The crown used is usually Saint Edward’s Crown (and if an alternative is used, it still carries this name). The crown is named after Edward the Confessor (r. 1042-1066 CE) and was made when Henry III of England (r. 1216-1272 CE), a fan of the saint, fancied new regalia for his coronation. It is likely that parts of a more ancient Anglo-Saxon gold crown were incorporated into this new version. Unfortunately, most of the British Crown Jewels, including the crown, were destroyed, broken up or sold off in 1649 CE following the execution of Charles I of England (r. 1600-1649 CE) and the (what turned out to be) temporary abolishment of the monarchy.”
”Edward the Confessor wore his crown at Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas.[11] In 1161, he was made a saint, and objects connected with his reign became holy relics. The monks at his burial place of Westminster Abbey claimed that Edward had asked them to look after his regalia in perpetuity for the coronations of all future English kings.[12] Although the claim is likely to have been an exercise in self-promotion on the abbey’s part, and some of the regalia probably had been taken from Edward’s grave when he was reinterred there, it became accepted as fact,[12] thereby establishing the first known set of hereditary coronation regalia in Europe.[13] A crown referred to as St Edward’s Crown is first recorded as having been used for the coronation of Henry III in 1220, and it appears to be the same crown worn by Edward.[14]”
Unfortunately, most of the British Crown Jewels, including the crown, were destroyed, broken up or sold off in 1649 CE following the execution of Charles I of England (r. 1600-1649 CE) and the (what turned out to be) temporary abolishment of the monarchy.”
St Edward’s Crown is the crown used at the moment of coronation. It was made for Charles II in 1661, as a replacement for the medieval crown which had been melted down in 1649. The original was thought to date back to the eleventh-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor – the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
The crown was commissioned from the Royal Goldsmith, Robert Vyner, in 1661. Although it is not an exact replica of the medieval design, it follows the original in having four crosses-pattée and four fleurs-de-lis, and two arches. It is made up of a solid gold frame set with rubies, amethysts, sapphires, garnet, topazes and tourmalines. The crown has a velvet cap with an ermine band.
Fig 3: The north-transept façade of the Abbey offered the most direct connection between the Palace and the Abbey. The reconstruction of the nave continued into the 15th century. Westminster Abbey photographed for Country Life magazine by Paul Highnam.
