CORONATIONS

Every English and British sovereign since King Harold (d.1066) - with the exceptions of King Edward V (d.1483) and King Edward VIII (d.1972) - has been crowned in Westminster Abbey.

Location: Westminster Abbey, SW1P 3PA (orange, turquoise)

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/royalty/coronations

The Coronation Chair

The Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey is the oldest dated piece of furniture in Britain. It was made by the king s painter Walter of Durham. The Chair was first used in 1399 when King Henry IV was crowned. It has been part of every coronation since the 15^thC, with the exception of that of Queen Mary I (d.1558). She considered the seat to have been tainted by the Protestantism of her predecessor (and younger brother) King Edward VI. The Chair has left the Abbey only three times: for the installation of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector (1653) in Westminster Hall, and for safety during the two World Wars.

Website: www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/the-coronation-chair

The Crown Jewels

In 1303 the Crown Jewels were moved from Westminster Abbey to the Tower of London, where they were deposited in the Wardrobe Tower.

During the English Republic of 1649-60 the regalia was either melted down or sold off. (In the Civil Wars the City of London had sided with Parliament against King Charles I; the survival of large quantities of medieval guild plate testifies to the efficacy of backing the right side during a conflict.)

The monarchy was restored in 1660. By then, the annointing spoon, the ampulla and some individual jewels were all that survived of the Crown Jewels. The goldsmith Sir Robert Vyner oversaw the preparation of the regalia that was used during the coronation of King Charles II the following year.

The present Royal Collection's jewels date largely from the end of the 19^thC after South Africa's diamond and gold mines had started disgorging and Queen Victoria had herself made Empress of India. Prior to that era the royal family had hired jewels, which had then been set in the crowns temporarily.

Location: The Tower of London, EC3N 4AB (purple, orange)

See Also: THE TOWER OF LONDON

Website: www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/the-crown-jewels/gs.tfm1gg www.rct.uk/collection/themes/Trails/the-crown-jewels www.royal.uk/crown-jewels

Captain Blood

In 1671 Captain Thomas Blood tried to steal the Crown Jewels. There is something of a mystery surrounding this attempted theft and Blood's subsequent pardon by King Charles II. One possibility is that the sovereign, who was nearly always short of money, organised the endeavour in order to be able sell the items surreptitiously, there being no possibility of his being able to do the same publicly.

See Also: CRIME

Hereditary and Feudal Office-Holders

A handful of court offices are hereditary. The coronation provides these officials with roles to execute. The Earl Marshal is central to the ceremony s organisation. The office has long been in the possession of the Dukes of Norfolk, many of whom have been Roman Catholics. The coronation can be said to be one of the most Anglican of ceremonies, as one portion of it involves the new sovereign swearing to act as the Defender of the Faith.

During the coronation, the hereditary Champion calls upon anyone who wishes to dispute the new sovereign's claim to the throne to fight him (the Champion). The office has long been held by the Dymoke family of Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire.

The Dukes of St Albans are the Grand Falconers. Their graces are descended patrilineally from one of King Charles II s illegitimate sons by Nell Gwynne (1650-1687). In 1953 the 12^th duke proposed taking a live falcon to Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. He was told that he should bring either a stuffed bird or nothing. Given these alternatives, his grace opted for a third one of his own creation and did not attend the ceremony.

Some roles are executed by people who have inherited or acquired particular lordships of manors. The Lordship of Worksop carries with it the right to support the sovereign's right arm at her/his coronation (provided that the Earl Marshal's Court of Claims has judged the holder of the lordship to be fit and proper to do so). In 1994 the title was sold at auction. It was bought for 40,000 by John Hunt, a retired businessman.

Longing

Maria Gunning was regarded as being one of the great beauties of early 18^thC. Upon being introduced to King George II, she exclaimed that she longed to see a coronation. The monarch found this faux pas highly entertaining.

Location: Coventry House, 106 Piccadilly, W1J 7NL. Gunning married the Earl of Coventry. Their marital home. (purple, red)

Oil

Sir Theodore Turquet de Mayerne (d.1655) was a Geneva-born Huguenot. He studied at the University of Montpellier which was then a stronghold of Protestantism. It was he who furnished the recipe for the oil that is still used to anoint British monarchs during their coronations.

The dispensing chemists Squire & Sons made the oil that used in the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. They continued to provide the unguent for all of the coronations up to that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The business had been acquired by Savory & Moore three years earlier.

Location: Lindsey House, 100 Cheyne Walk, SW10 0DQ. De Mayerne's home. (orange, brown)

Squire & Sons, 143 New Bond Street, W1S 2TP (orange, brown)

Squire & Sons, 413 Oxford Street, W1C 2PF (orange, red)

Proclamation

Tradition requires that a new monarch was proclaimed at St James's Palace, Charing Cross, Temple Bar, and the Royal Exchange.

Location: Charing Cross, WC2N 5DX. The traffic island that stands between Trafalgar Square and the northern end of Whitehall. (purple, orange)

St James s Palace, Marlborough Road, SW1A 1BQ (blue, turquoise)

The Royal Exchange, EC3V 3LR (purple, blue)

Temple Bar Monument, Strand, WC2R 1DA (red, brown)

The Stone of Scone

The Stone of Scone - or Stone of Destiny - is an unprepossessing 336 lb. (152 kg.) lump of yellow sandstone that became a talisman of Scottish nationhood. In 1296 King Edward I of England took the Stone south of the border. He installed it in Westminster Abbey the following year.

In December 1950 the Stone was taken from the Abbey by some young Scottish nationalists.¹ During the robbery the Stone split. The following April, it was recovered from the high altar of the ruined Arbroath Abbey and returned to Westminster Abbey.

In 1996 the Stone was moved to Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. It was intended that it would be brought back temporarily to Westminster for future coronations.

See Also: EMBASSIES & LEGATIONS, DISAPPEARED Scotland Yard

¹. Ian Hamilton, Kay Matheson (1928-2013), Alan Stuart, and Gavin Vernon (d.2004).

Televisation

The Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation was televised because she wished it should be.

The B.B.C. executive Peter Dimmock (1920-2015) directed the television coverage of King George VII's funeral. With this precedent, he persuaded the 16^th Duke of Norfolk that the coronation should also be televised. However, many senior figures within the Establishment were opposed to the idea: Winston Churchill took exception that other people would have a better view than he was going to have; Geoffrey Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was concerned that many people might watch while drinking in pubs. Eventually, Dimmock carried the matter

The Tower of London

During the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period it was customary for a monarch to sleep in the Tower of London on the night before her or his coronation in Westminster Abbey. Oliver Cromwell stripped the fortress-prison of most of its royal-associated furnishings. As a result, the tradition died out following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

Location: The Tower of London, EC3N 4AB (purple, orange)

David Backhouse 2024