Chapter IV: Part 4

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On the day after the death of Edward, this prince entered London in great state: triumphal arches were erected, conduits ran with wine, and the usual pageants of the coronation procession were displayed in the streets. Walsingham mentions in particular a turreted building, erected in the market of Cheap, out of which ran streams of wine, and at the angles of which, on the top, four young maidens of the age of the king were placed, dressed in white. On the approach of the sovereign, shreds of gold leaf were blown to him, and florins _of paper_ were showered on his head!--such was what at this time was regarded as the "superior ingenuity of the merchants of Cheapside."

The progress through the city on the day preceding the coronation, (15th of July, 1377) was similarly distinguished. The king dined at the Tower, from which he came forth dressed in white garments, and placed himself under the escort of the mayor and citizens, who conducted him to his palace at Westminster. On the following morning he rose early, and, having received mass in his private chapel, came down into the great hall "arraid in the fairest vestments, and with buskins only upon his feet." The procession from Westminster Hall to the Abbey, was now marshalled in the usual order. While the litany was chanted the young prince lay prostrate before the altar, whence he was conducted to his throne on a platform in the centre of the nave. The entire ceremony of the coronation so much exhausted him, that he was borne back to the palace in a litter carried by knights. He soon, however, appeared at the banquet, where he created four earls and nine knights, and partook of a splendid though turbulent repast. The next morning a council of regency was formed, to exercise the royal authority, during the minority of the king. It is remarkable, that in the first parliament of this monarch's reign, we find the archbishop of Canterbury recommending the young king to the affection of his subjects, because he was not an elected sovereign, but the true heir and representative of their former kings[98].

On the 22d of January, 1382, this monarch espoused Anne of Bohemia, daughter of the late emperor Charles IV., and sister of Winceslaus, king of the Romans. As usual, she was crowned at the same period; and is said so entirely to have possessed, during the twelve years of her union with him, the affections of her husband and his people, as to be long remembered among the latter by the title of the good Queen Anne.

The tragic close of this prince's reign will never be forgotten while

---- ----"The hallowed crown
Shall round the mortal temples of a king,"

or Shakspeare's celebrated "Richard II." be extant. The march of his successor, Bolingbroke, from Ravenspur to London, and the rapid increase of his followers from twenty men to sixty thousand, his peaceful entry into the metropolis, and ultimate possession of the kingdom, without striking a blow, have only been exceeded, in modern times, by the celebrated march of Napoleon from Cannes to Paris.

HENRY IV. challenged the crown partly by right of conquest[99]. In his coronation, which took place on the 13th of Oct. 1399, he caused the sword which he wore when he landed at Ravenspur to be carried naked, on his left hand, by the earl of Northumberland. Froissart's description of "the progress" of this monarch we have before noticed.

Of HENRY V., Holinshed says, "This kyng, this man, was he whiche, (accordyng to the old proverbe) declared and shewed that honour ought to change maners: for incontinent after that he was stalled in the siege royall, and had received the crowne and sceptre of this famous and fortunate region, [he] determined with hymself to put on the shape of a new man, and to use another sorte of livyng, turning insolence and wildnesse into gravitie and sobernes, and wavering vice into constant virtue." It was this prince, our readers will recollect, who, while "the immediate heir of England," was committed into custody by the Lord Chief Justice, for disturbing the court in which he sat as judge, and who afterwards, when king, so nobly commended that officer's conduct. Shakspeare has a similar train of thought with the old chronicler.

----"Princes all, believe me, I beseech you,
My father is gone wild into his grave;
For in his tomb lie my affections;
And with his spirit sadly I survive,
To mock the expectations of the world,
To frustrate prophecies, and to raze out
Rotten opinion, which hath writ me down
After my seeming. Though my tide of blood
Hath proudly flowed in vanity till now;
Now doth it turn and ebb unto the sea,
Where it shall mingle with the state of flood,
And flow henceforth in formal majesty[100]."

Fabian gives a splendid account of the coronation of Katherine, the queen of Henry V. "upon whose ryght hande satte at the ende of the same table the archebyshop of Cauntorbury, and Henrye, surnamed the ryche cardynall of Wynchester. And vppon the lefte hande of the quene satte the Kynge of Scottes in hys estate, the wyche was served wythe covered messe, like vnto the forenamed byshoppes, but after them." "And ye shall vnderstande, that this feaste was al of _fyshe_." Each course had its "sotyltye," however, embodying the wit of other parts of the creation; as "a pellycane syttyng on his nest with her byrdes, and an ymage of saynte Katheryne holdyng a boke and disputyng with the doctoures, holdyng a reason in her ryghte hande, saiynge: 'Madame le roigne' and the pellycan as an answere, 'Ce est la signe et du roy, partenir joy, et a tout sa gent, elle mete sa entent,'--a sotyltye named a panter with an ymage of saynte Katheryne with a whele in her hande, and a rolle wyth a reason in that other hande, sayeng: 'La royne ma file, in ceste ile, per bon reson, aves renoun.'" &c.

HENRY VI. had the high honour of being solemnly crowned as king, both at London and in Paris--"in infant bands." In the ninth year of his age "he was leyde upon the high scaffold" in Westminster Abbey, "and that was covered all with red soy between the high autere and the quere. And he was set in his astate in the middes of the scaffold there, beholdynge the people all abowte sadly and wisely." The archbishop "made a proclamacion on the iiij quarters of the scaffolde, seyend in this wyse: Sirs, heere comyth Henry, kyng Henryes sone the Vth, on whos sowle God have mercy, amen. He homblyth hym to God and to holy cherche, askynge the crowne of this reame by right and defence of herytage; if ye hold ye pays with hym, say ya, and hold up handes. And than all the people cryed with oon voyce, Ye, ye. Having been crowned, he rose vp ayen and wente to the shryne; and there was he dyspoyled of all his bysshopp's gere, and arayd as a kynge in rich cloth of gold, with a crowne on his hede; which crown the kyng dyd doo make for hymself[101]." The following account of the appearance of the champion at the coronation feast, will show the antiquity of the present observances. "Settynge at the mete the kyng kept his astate; and on the right hand sat the cardynall with a lower astate, and on the left hande satt the chaunceler and a bysshop of Fraunce, and no mob at that table. And on the righth hand of the table at that boord sat the barons of the V. portes. And so forth the clerkes of the same chauncery. And on the lefte hande of the hall sat the mayre of London with the aldyrmen. And so forth worthy cominers: and in the myddes of the hall sat the bisshoppes, justices, and worthy knyghts and equyers. And so they filled bothe the midde boordes of the hall. And upon a scaffold stoode the kynges herawdes of armes all the tyme with crownes on thyr hedes; and at the fyrst cours they came down from her scaffold, and they wente before the kynges champyon Sir Phelip Dymok that rode in the hall bright as saynte George! And he proclaimed in the iiij quarters of the hall that the kyng was a rightfull kyng and heyre to the crowne of Engelond: and what maner man that wyll say the contrary he was redy to defende it as hys knyght and hys chaumpion, for by that offyce he holdith his lande[102]."

At Paris, in his eleventh year, this prince was "honourably accompanied to the church of our Lady, where he was anointed and crowned by the cardinal bishop of Winchester, after which he departed to the palace, having one crown on his head, and another borne before him." "But what should I speake," continues Grafton, "of the honorable service, the dayntie dishes, the pleasant conceytes, the costly wynes, the sweet armony, the musicall instruments which were seene and shewed at that feast, sithe all men may conjecture, that nothing was omitted that might be bought for golde, nor nothing was forgotten, that by man's wyt could be invented[103]."

Our fourth EDWARD, like John, affected an elective right to the crown. What is now called the Recognition, being at this period what Burnet terms, "a rite of an election, rather than a ceremony of investing one, who was already king." "A question was asked of the people then present," says Fabian, "if they would admitte hym for their kyng and soveraigne lorde, the which with one voice cried Yea, yea."

RICHARD III. and his consort Anne, were crowned with great state at Westminster, 6th of July, 1483; there being an unusual concourse of nobility at this festival, according to Walpole, including three duchesses of Norfolk. Some preparations seem also to have been made for the appearance of his deposed nephew, Edward V., in the procession, but whether he in reality wore his "apparel and array" there, will ever remain, among "Historic Doubts." The circumstance of such an arrangement being publicly made, however, demonstrates the confidence of Richard in his own title. Lord Orford, who first brought forward the evidence of this singular arrangement, says, "Though Richard's son did not walk at his father's coronation, Edward V. probably did. I conceive all the astonishment of my readers at this assertion, and yet it is founded on strongly presumptive evidence. In the coronation roll itself, is this amazing entry: 'To lord Edward, son of late king Edward IV., for his apparel and array, that is to say, a short gowne made of two yards and three quarters of crymsyn clothe of gold, lined with two yards and three quarters of blac velvet, a long gowne made of six yards of crymsyn cloth of gold, lynned with six yards of green damask, a shorte gowne made of two yards and three quarters of purpell velvet, &c.' Let nobody tell me that these robes, this magnificence, these trappings for a cavalcade, were for the use of a prisoner. Marvellous as the fact is, there can be no doubt but the deposed young king walked, or it was intended should walk, at his uncle's coronation[104]."

HENRY VII. was crowned "both in form and substance" on Bosworth Field. Grafton's remark is, "Lord Stanley took the crown of king Richard, which was found amongst the spoyle in the field, and set it on the erle's head--as though he had been _elected_ king by the voyce of the people, as in auncient tymes past in divers realmes it hath been accustomed[105]." This monarch, it is well known, endeavoured to strengthen the substantial claims of conquest by those of marriage with the daughter of Edward IV., and his own hereditary rights. To the people, he seems to have promised a joint coronation with "dame Elizabeth his wief," according to a "Little Devise" of his coronation at Westminster, which has reached the present times. But in point of fact, she did not appear there. Unwilling to lose the influence, Henry was still more determined not to appear to rely on the importance, of his matrimonial title: he did not, therefore, marry the heiress of the house of York, until after his coronation, and delayed to invest her with the diadem, until the 3d year of his reign. We have a fine description of her coronation in Mr. Ives' Select Papers relating to English Antiquities, to which we have already adverted.

No English monarch ascended the throne under happier auspices, or with more splendour, than HENRY VIII. "The ordre of the services" of this "high and honourable coronation" is given at great length by Hall: in which the disused custom of a progress through the metropolis constitutes no small part of the pageantry.

Katherine of Arragon appeared on this occasion, borne on a litter by two white palfreys, "apparelled in white satyn embroudered, her heeire hanging doune to her back of a very great length, bewtefull and goodly to behold, and on her head a coronate set with many rich orient stones." The entrance of the champion, and his challenge, are in the highest style of feudal pomp, and in strict accordance with the old mode of trial by combat. "The seconde course beyng served, in at the haule doore entered a knight, armed at al poyntes, his bases rich tissue embroudered, a great plume and a sumpteous of ostriche fethers on his helmet, sittyng on a great courser trapped in tissue, and embroudered with tharmes of England, and of Fraunce, and an herauld of armes before him. And passyng through the halle, presented hymself with humble reverence before the kynges majestie, to whom garter kyng of herauldes cried and said, with a loude voyce, Sir knight, from whence come you, and what is your pretence? This knight's name was Sir Robert Dimmocke, champion to the kyng by tenure of his enheritaunce, who answered the saied kyng of armes in effecte after this manner:--Sir, the place that I come from is not materiall, nor the cause of my repaire hether is not concernyng any matter of any place or countrey, but only this; and therewithall commanded his heraulde to make an O yes: then saied the knyght to the kyng of armes, Now shal ye here the cause of my commyng and pretence. Then he commaunded his owne herauld by proclamacion to saye: If there be any persone, of what estate or degree soever he be, that wil saie or prove that King Henry the Eight is not the rightfull enheritor and kyng of this realme, I, Sir Robert Dimmocke, here his champion, offre my glove, to fight in his querrell with any persone to the utteraunce."

The coronation of Anne Boleyn was distinguished by the appearance of "marvailous connyng pageauntes" in the city: all the Graces were seen on Cornhill; the Muses hailed her approach "in Cheap;" and the Cardinal Virtues (how are times changed!) paraded Fleet Street. At the banquet the king took his station, incog. in a little closet made out of the cloyster of St. Stephen's, on the right side of the hall.

We are informed by Burnet, that at the coronation of EDWARD VI. the office for that ceremony was revised and much shortened; there being "some things that did not agree with" the existing "laws of the land, as the promise made to the abbotts for maintaining their lands and dignities;" and "for the tedious length of the same, which should weary and be hurtsome, peradventure, to the king's majesty, being yet of tender age, fully to endure and bide out[106]."--"The most material thing in it," he adds, "is the first ceremony, whereby the king being shewed to the people at the four corners of the stage, the archbishop was to demand their consent to it; and yet in such terms as to demonstrate he was no elective prince, for he being declared the rightful and undoubted heir, both by the laws of God and man, they were desired to give their good wills and assent to the same, as by their duty and allegiance they were bound to do." Yet 'King Edward's Journal,' preserved in the Appendix of this writer, says, "and it was asked of the people whether they would have him _to be the king_? Who answered, yea, yea." The young monarch did not, of course, understand the doctrine of his own "legitimacy" so well as his loyal courtiers.

MARY, our first queen regnant, was crowned at Westminster, Oct. 1, 1553, by Gardiner, bishop of Winchester; the archbishops of Canterbury and York being both involved in the rigorous persecution of the Protestants which had now begun. In Cheapside the chamberlain of the city presented her majesty with a purse containing a thousand marks of gold. It is somewhat remarkable, that with all the personal fondness of Mary for her husband, Philip of Spain, she should never have proposed his coronation, in any form: it would have been quite as regular and constitutional, we imagine, as that of a queen consort, and much more so than many of her fruitless efforts to promote his influence and authority over her subjects.

Queen ELIZABETH, according to the usual custom, resorted to the Tower at the death of her sister. Every part of her conduct, until finally established in the most unbounded sway over the hearts of her people, is from this moment interesting. On entering the Tower she is said to have been immediately impressed with the important change that had taken place in her condition since she was imprisoned in that fortress, and in constant danger of her life. She went on her knees in gratitude to Heaven, and spoke of her deliverance being as great as that of Daniel from the lions' den: an "act of pious gratitude," says Hume, "which seems to have been the last circumstance in which she remembered any past hardships or injuries." Cautious and temperate as she was in the restoration of Protestantism, the prelates almost entirely refused to grant her episcopal consecration. At length, Oglethorpe, bishop of Carlisle, was prevailed upon to officiate--but he was the only bishop present.

Whether the solemn presentation of the Bible to the sovereign, at his coronation, was an improvement upon the pageant in which an English Bible was presented to this princess during her progress through the city (see p. 60), or at which of our Protestant coronations it was introduced, we know not. It clearly is a Protestant and most appropriate symbol of the royal duty, and of the best means of performing it.

In her first communication with her parliament, there is an allusion of this princess to one part of the coronation ceremony, which we must not omit to notice. The Commons, after granting a liberal subsidy, ventured to recommend the queen to marry. In reply she told them, that as the application was general, without presuming to direct her choice as to a husband, she could not take offence at it; but that any further interposition on their parts would have ill become them to make, or her to bear: that even while she was a private person, and exposed to much danger from the malice of her enemies, she had always declined that engagement, as an encumbrance; much more at present must she persevere in that sentiment, when the charge of a great kingdom was committed to her, and her life ought to be devoted to its interests: that as _England_ was her husband, wedded to her by this pledge (and here she exhibited her finger with the CORONATION RING upon it), Englishmen were her children; and while she was employed in rearing or governing such a family, she could not deem herself barren, or her life useless and unprofitable: that if she ever entertained thoughts of changing her condition, the care of her subjects' welfare would be uppermost in her thoughts; but should she live and die a virgin, she doubted not but divine Providence, seconding their counsels and her own measures, would be able to prevent all dispute with regard to the succession;--and that, for her part, she desired no higher character or fairer remembrance of her should be transmitted to posterity, than to have this inscription engraved on her tombstone, "Here lies Elizabeth, who lived and died a maiden queen!"

The accession of JAMES I. to the throne was distinguished by nothing remarkable connected with our subject, except the numerous creations of peers and other titles. He is said, during the first six weeks after his entrance into the kingdom, to have bestowed knighthood on 237 persons. It was at this period that an advertisement was affixed to the door of St. Paul's cathedral, offering to teach a new art of memory, to enable the people to recollect the names of the additions to the nobility.

There has been a recent publication of Sir Edward Walker's "Account of the Preparations for the Coronation of King CHARLES II.;" but his "minute detail" adds nothing important to the history of that splendid ceremony, unless we so account the "double felicitie" of the prince and people, "that as hee was the object of innumerable multitudes of his subjects, so by no accident from Towre-Hill to his own palace, no one suffered the least prejudice; and that the sunne shined gloriously all that day and the next until after his coronation, not one drop of raine falling in all that time, as very much had done at least ten dayes before, and as many after those two great solemnityes[107]."

Sandford, the "most dutiful author and collector" of the details of JAMES II.'s coronation, has furnished the only complete text-book of our subject. Mr. Taylor, and all subsequent writers, follow him throughout the entire ritual of the church service, and in "every thing relating to practice[108]." In an address to "the King," he speaks of "the pomp, the dignity, and the many glorious circumstances which accompany this matter and occasion," "being such as would _endanger the tempting_ of another man to swell a dedication to the bulk of a History;" and dilates upon "the boundless antiquity of the imperial descent," with the splendour, "both in war and peace," of the kingly progenitors of His Majesty--not forgetting the "_series of miracles_," which he asserts to have been still following in that descent, and to have been specially "wrought in favour of His Majesty's life and government." "If I should presume to follow the impulse of my zeal," he adds, "I should _enlarge_ myself upon this theme; but being conscious, that it is as little my faculty as it is my province, and that long importunities from a subject to his sovereign are neither good discretion nor good manners; I will take care not to be needlessly troublesome, by being over officiously thankful," &c. This is modest enough for the introduction of a folio on the royal occupations of one day.

The book describes the preparations for the coronation, the performances, and the subsequent claims arising out of the performances of the day: but it is as stiff and stately throughout as in the dedication. Omitting no one Christian name of a dowager peeress, nor of any "individual person who went in the grand proceeding," nor even of "such who _ought_ to have gone," it furnishes not a single personal anecdote of the day, nothing that stirs our sympathies: the king is a sort of demi-god, "most high, most mighty, and most excellent," and his nobles a number of well ordered automata moving round him. They speak all the day "out of a book held before" them. Nothing is heard, even at dinner, but grace and defiance from the bishop and champion.

Something human, however, appears in their appetites. In the Journal of Preparations, we find His Majesty's pleasure declared in council, that "a particular account" should be obtained "of the dinner kept in Westminster Hall, at the coronation of His Majesty King Charles II., as also that provided at the coronation of his royal father; together," gentle reader, "with the whole _expense_ and charge of the said dinners." And we accordingly find the feet and inches of the royal table of Charles II. duly given; the courses of meat, hot and cold, and the dishes in each course; as likewise the orders of the "_banquet_," served in plate, on each of the tables of the Hall: that term (our future commentators on Shakspeare must observe) being confined to the "confections dried and wet, with fruit of the season." In another minute of council is a recommendation that there "be provided a magnificent table for their Majesties in the nature of an ambigue; but with two courses, in regard to the ceremonies that are to be performed at the second course." On turning to our books to understand _this_ method of good living, we were somewhat startled to find the following contradictory recommendation, quoted by Johnson, from an old Art of Cookery:--

When _straitened_ in your time, and servants _few_,
You'd richly then compose an ambigue,
Where first and second course, and your desert,
All in _one single_ table have their part.

St. George's day, in 1684-5, was happily chosen for the ceremony; and a letter of summons, which seems to constitute the actual right of appearing at a coronation, was ordered to be drawn up by the Earl of Sunderland. This document, the form of which continues to be followed, runs thus:--

"JAMES R.

"Right trusty and well-beloved cousin, we greet you well. Whereas we
have appointed the 23d day of April next for the solemnity of our
royal coronation. These are, therefore, to will and command you, all
excuses set apart, that you make your personal attendance on us, at
the time above mentioned, furnished and appointed, as to your rank
and quality appertaineth, there to do and perform such services as
shall be required and belonging to you. And whereas we have also
resolved, that the coronation of our Royal Consort the Queen shall
be solemnized on the same day; we do further require the [Countess]
your wife to make her personal attendance on our said Royal Consort,
at the time, and in the manner aforesaid: whereof you and she are
not to fail. And so we bid you heartily farewell. Given at our Court
at Whitehall, the 21st day of March, in the first year of our reign,
1684-5."

In the "Explanation of the Sacred and Royal Habits, and other Ornaments, wherewith the King was invested," Sandford mentions a tablet which hung to the royal chair, and on which were "written, in the Old English letter, these verses"--

Si quid habent veri vel chronica cana fidesve,
Clauditur hac cathedra nobilis ecce lapis,
Ad caput eximus Jacob quondam patriarcha
Quem posuit cernens numina mira poli:
Quem tulit ex Scotis spolians quasi victor honoristhan
Edwardus Primus, Mars velut armipotens,
Scotorum domitor, notis validissimus Hector,
Anglorum decus, et gloria militiae.

This must, therefore, have been destroyed since King James's coronation, for it is now lost. There is but one objection to ascribing the verses, with Mr. Taylor, to Edward the First's reign--would he have written "Edwardus _Primus_?"

The queen's crown of state, or that worn on her return from Westminster Hall, seems to have been the most valuable part of the regalia of that day. It is regularly set forth, in its component pearls and diamonds, as of "value 111,900_l._" (an immense sum at that period), and weighing only eighteen ounces ten pennyweights.

King James and his Queen slept at St. James's Palace on the vigil of St. George, "for the greater convenience of performing their devotions," &c.; and joined the peers and other dignitaries at the Palace of Westminster, by "half an hour after ten." Here the latter were marshalled according to their respective classes, _four_ in a rank; placing the youngest on the left, pursuant to what had been before resolved on by his majesty in council, for "the greater glory of the solemnity:" and "note," says our accurate chronicler, "that at _all_ former coronations the classes proceeded only by two abreast." The king and queen entered Westminster Hall at half past eleven o'clock precisely; when the dean of Westminster "having, early in the morning, with the assistance of the prebendaries, consecrated the holy oil for their majesties' anointing," (in what manner we are not informed), presented the regalia to the king. Then the queen's regalia were placed before her; and the several noblemen and gentlemen who were to bear the different symbols of royalty to the Abbey were summoned to receive them; the whole procession being ready to move forward exactly at _noon_.

Now came the stately pomp of England's royalty and nobility "through the New Palace Yard into King Street, and so through the Great Sanctuary unto the west door of the collegiate church of St. Peter," as depicted by Sandford in "nineteen sculptures following," or, as modern book-manufacturers would say, in thirty-eight well-executed folio plates, which give the exact appearance of "each degree and order of person in the same," and really form an admirable memorial of such a procession.

The twelve principal ceremonies assigned by this writer to the Abbey are the same in substance with the modern observances. It is noticed by Mr. Taylor that Sandford is the author who _first_ terms the presentation of the monarch to the people, and their reply, "the recognition."

The king sat down in St. Edward's chair; and the archbishop, assisted by the dean of Westminster, "reverently put the crown on the king's head" at three of the clock precisely. The queen, having been first anointed on her head and breast, was now crowned and enthroned, and the procession returned to the Hall at "five of the clock."

The first course of the "ambigue" appears to have consisted of "ninety-nine dishes of the most excellent and choicest of all sorts of cold meats, both flesh and fish, excellently well dressed, and ordered all manner of ways;" and the whole feast of 1445 dishes, of the placing of which we have a numbered scheme (a folio plate), and catalogues corresponding. Could this _provoking_ volume present its viands to some of our other senses in equal perfection with that in which "the first course of hot meat served up to their majesties' table" meets the eye, it were more reasonable to detain the reader over this part of the work; but, at the late hour of the morning at which we write this, it is too much to dwell on the "cocks' combs," and "petty-toes" and "turkeys-a-la-royale," and "partridges by the dozen," with which it abounds.

The appearance of the champion and the challenge were exactly according to modern usage.

Sandford concludes with an abstract of the record of the Court of Claims, giving both those which were admitted and those which were rejected. The following is a form of judgment respecting the office of lord great chamberlain:--

"Quarum quidem petitionum consideratione matura habita, eo quod idem
Comes de Lyndsey modo existit in possessione et executione officii
praedicti, et quod Robertus non ita pridem Carolum Primum faelicissimae
memoriae, tunc Regem Angliae, de advisamento Dominorum in Parliamento;
quod quidem officium Montague nuper Comes Lyndsey pater ejus, cujus
haeres ipse est executus est in coronatione Caroli Secundi nuper
Regis Angliae. Ideo consideratum est per commissionarios praedictos
quod clameum praedicti Comitis de Lyndsey ad officium praedictum eidem
Comiti de Lyndsey allocetur, exercendum praedicto die Coronationis;
et quod clameum praedicti Comitis Derbiae non allocetur; sed quoad
feoda et vadia per dictum Comitem de Lyndsey clamata, clameum ejus
quoad poculum de Assay non allocatur, eo quod non constabat
praedictis commissionariis Magnum Angliae Camerarium dictum poculum
aliqua precedenti coronatione habuisse. Sed quod alia clamea
praedicta eidem Comiti de Lyndsey allocantur.

"Et postea et ante coronationem praedietam dicta quadraginta Virgatae
Velveti eidem Comiti deliberatae fuere: et pro reliquis feodis
praedictis compositio facta est cum praedicto Comiti, pro ducentis
libris sterlingorum, et praedictus Comes de Lyndsey officium Magni
Camerarii Angliae in die Coronationis adimplevit."

And thus the reader has a summary of the contents of this important work.

James II. boasts, in his Memoirs, of having saved the country 60,000_l._ by the omission (for the first time) of the royal procession through the city, at his coronation.

The coronation of WILLIAM and MARY presented the singular feature of a joint sovereignty over these realms, conferred by public consent. The only alteration this made in the ceremonial was, that another symbol of sovereign power, the orb, was required, and presented in due form to the queen as well as to the king. The new-modelling of the coronation oath, at this period, we have before noticed[109].

It is certainly remarkable that neither of our married queens regnant, MARY or ANNE, should have obtained the coronation of their husbands: in neither case was conjugal influence wanted; but the superior force of the people's jealousy of foreign sway was, perhaps, wisely deferred to: in neither reign were other subjects of strife wanted between the crown and the people.

The princes of the illustrious House now seated on the throne have affected no novelties in their coronation ceremonies--except, perhaps, that they have endeavoured to simplify and abridge them. GEORGE I. ascended the throne at the age of fifty-five, and was crowned at Westminster, on the 20th of October, 1714. His consort, the Princess Sophia Dorothy of Zell, having fallen under his displeasure for alleged infidelity to her marriage vows, and having been, it is said, divorced from him by the Hanoverian law, was never brought into this country; and never, therefore, acknowledged Queen of England. GEORGE II. was crowned with his consort, at Westminster, on the 11th day of October, 1727.

Our late beloved monarch had the happiness of exhibiting to his people the splendid spectacles of his marriage and coronation within the same month of September, 1761. On the 8th of July, in that year, the king first announced to the privy council his intention of demanding in marriage the Princess Charlotte of Mecklenberg, sister of the reigning Duke Adolphus IV., and on the same day signed a proclamation for the assembling of the Court of Claims, and for his own coronation. The queen, being detained by contrary winds, did not arrive in this country until the 6th of September; on the 8th the nuptial ceremony was performed; on the 11th a second proclamation directed that her majesty should be united with her royal consort in the pending coronation ceremonies. These so far varied from that august ceremonial which has recently occupied the public attention, as the presence of a queen consort in the procession to the Abbey, and at the royal feast; her personal attendants; and the body of the peeresses, may be thought to give additional interest and splendour to the scene. The queen entered Westminster Hall the same hour as his majesty, and occupied a chair of state at his left hand, while the regalia were presented by the Dean of Westminster and his attendants. In the procession to the Abbey her majesty's vice-chamberlain took his place immediately following the gentlemen who personated the Dukes of Aquitaine and Normandy, and was succeeded by the other part of the queen's state in the following order:--

The Queen's Vice-Chamberlain, (Lord Viscount Cantalupe,)

Two Gentlemen Ushers.

Two Serjeants at { The Queen's Crown, borne by } Two Serjeants at
Arms, { the Duke of Bolton, } Arms,
with their gilt collars { in his robes of estate. } with their gilt collars
and maces. { } and maces.

G | | G
e |A Baron of +--------------+---------------+--------------+A Baron of | e
n |the Cinque-Ports,|Dr. | |Dr. |the Cinque-Ports,| n
t |supporting the |Thomas | THE |John |supporting the | t
l |Canopy. |Hayter, | QUEEN, |Thomas, |Canopy. | l
e | |Lord | |Lord | | e
m | |Bishop of |in her Royal |Bishop of | | m
e | |Norwich, |Robes of |Lincoln, | | e
n | |in his Rochet,|Crimson Velvet;|in his Rochet,| | n
| |supporter |on her |supporter | |
P |A Baron, do. |to the Queen. |head a circlet |to the Queen. |A Baron, do. | P
e | +--------------+ +--------------+ | e
n |A Baron, do. | of Gold, adorned with |A Baron, do. | n
s | | | | s
i | | Jewels; going under | | i
o | | | | o
n |A Baron, do. | a Canopy of |A Baron, do. | n
e | | | | e
r | | Cloth of Gold: her Train | | r
s | | | | s
, |A Baron, do. | borne by Her Royal |A Baron, do. | ,
| | | |
c | | Highness the | | c
a | | | | a
r |A Baron, do. | Princess Augusta, |A Baron, do. | r
r | | | | r
y | | in her Robes of | | y
i | | | | i
n |A Baron, do. | Estate, assisted by |A Baron, do. | n
g | | | | g
| | Six Earls' daughters. | |
t | | | | t
h |A Baron of |Lady Jane Steuart. | Ldy. Mary Douglas |A Baron of | h
e |the Cinque-Ports,|Lady Elizabeth | Lady Heneage |the Cinque-Ports | e
i |supporting the | Montague. | Finch. |supporting the | i
r |Canopy. |Lady Mary Grey. | L. Selina Hastings. |Canopy. | r
| +---------------------+-----------------------+ |
g | | g
i | THE PRINCESS AUGUSTA, | i
l | | l
t | her coronet borne by the Marquess of Carnarvon. | t
| |
A | Duchess of Ancaster, Mistress of the Robes. | A
x | | x
e | Two Women of Her Majesty's Bed-Chamber. | e
s | | s
. | | .

The peeresses preceded their respective lords--each rank of the peerage being classed together; that is, the baronesses preceding the barons, the viscountesses the viscounts, and so forth. In the Abbey the queen first ascended the theatre, and stood opposite her chair until the king was seated. His majesty was then anointed and crowned: when the order for the queen's coronation prescribed as follows:--

The anthem being ended, the Archbishop of Canterbury goes to the altar; and the queen arising from her chair on the south side of the area where she sat during the time the king was anointed and crowned, being supported by two bishops, goes towards the altar, attended by the ladies who bear her train, the ladies of the bedchamber, &c., and kneels before it; when the archbishop, being at the north side of the altar, says the following prayer:--

(_Omnipotens sempiterne Deus._)

Almighty and everlasting God, the fountain of all goodness, give
ear, we beseech thee, to our prayers, and multiply thy blessings
upon this thy servant, whom in thy name, with all humble devotion,
we consecrate our queen. Defend her always with thy mighty hand,
protect her on every side, that she may be able to overcome all her
enemies; and that with Sarah and Rebecca, Leah and Rachel, and all
other blessed and honourable women, she may multiply and rejoice in
the fruit of her womb, to the honour of the kingdom and the good
government of thy church, through Christ our Lord, who vouchsafed to
be born of a virgin that he might redeem the world, who liveth and
reigneth with thee, in unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end.

This being done, the queen arises and goes to the faldstool, between king Edward's chair and the steps of the altar, where the groom of the stole to her majesty, and the ladies of the bedchamber, take off her circle or coronet. Then the queen kneels down, and the archbishop pours the holy oil on the crown of her head, in form of a cross, saying these words:--"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, let the anointing of this oil increase thine honour, and the grace of God's Holy Spirit establish thee for ever and ever. Amen."--The ladies then open her apparel for the anointing on the breast, which the archbishop also performs, using the same words. After which, he says this prayer:

(_Omnipotens sempiterne Deus._)

Almighty and everlasting God, we beseech thee of thy abundant
goodness poor out the spirit of thy grace and blessing upon this thy
servant queen----; that as by the imposition of our hands she is
this day crowned queen, so she may, by thy sanctification, continue
always thy chosen servant, through Christ our Lord.

One of the ladies in attendance (having first dried the place anointed with fine cotton wool) then closes the queen's robes at her breast, and after puts a linen coif upon her head; which being done, the archbishop puts the ring (which he receives from the master of the jewel-house) on the fourth finger of her right hand, saying,

Receive this ring, the seal of a sincere faith, that you may avoid
all infection of heresy, and by the power of God compel barbarous
nations, and bring them to the knowledge of the truth.

His grace then takes the crown from off the altar, and reverently sets it upon the queen's head, saying,

Receive the crown of glory, honour, and joy; and God, the crown of
the faithful, who by our episcopal hands, though most unworthy, hath
this day set a crown of pure gold upon thy head, enrich you with
wisdom and virtue, that after this life you may meet the everlasting
Bridegroom our Lord Jesus Christ, who, with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, liveth and reigneth for ever and ever. Amen.

The queen being crowned, all the peeresses put on their coronets; the archbishop then puts the sceptre into her majesty's right hand, and the ivory rod into her left, and says the following prayer:

(_Omnium Domine, fons bonorum._)

O Lord, the fountain of all good things, and the giver of all
perfection, grant unto this thy servant ------ our queen, that she
may order aright the high dignity she hath obtained, and with good
works establish the glory thou hast given her, through Christ our
Lord. Amen.

The queen being thus anointed and crowned, and having received all her royal ornaments, the choirs sing an anthem, commonly from Psalm xlv. ver. 1, "My heart is inditing of a good matter," &c. As soon as this is begun, the queen rises from her faldstool, and, being supported by the two bishops, and attended as before, goes up to the theatre: as she approaches the king, she bows herself reverently to his majesty sitting upon his throne; and so is conducted to her own throne on the left hand of the king, where she reposes till the anthem is ended.

The dignity of the monarch, as well as his humility on this august occasion, have been celebrated by the late Bishop Newton. "The king's whole behaviour at the coronation," he says, "was justly admired and commended by every one, and particularly his manner of seating himself on the throne after his coronation. No actor in the character of Pyrrhus, in the Distressed Mother,--not even Booth himself, who was celebrated for it in the Spectator[110],--ever ascended the throne with so much grace and dignity. There was another particular which those only could observe who sat near the Communion-Table, as did the prebendaries of Westminster. When the king approached the communion-table, in order to receive the sacrament, he inquired of the archbishop, Whether he should not lay aside his crown? The archbishop asked the Bishop of Rochester, but neither of them knew, nor could say, what had been the usual form. The king determined within himself that humility best became such a solemn act of devotion, and took off the crown, and laid it aside during the administration."

That one of the last of the unfortunate race of the Stuarts, Prince Charles, was in London, if not present at the coronation feast, on this occasion, seems to be a fact pretty well established. The Gentleman's Magazine, 1764, (p. 28,) speaks of it as "publicly said, That the young Pretender himself came from Flanders to see the coronation; that he was in Westminster Hall (?) during the ceremony, and in London two or three days before and after it, under the name of Mr. Brown." And Mr. Hume thus writes to one of his literary friends:--"What will surprise you more, Lord Marshal, a few days after the coronation of the present king, told me, that he believed the young Pretender was at that time in London, or, at least, had been so very lately, and had come over to see the show of the coronation, and had actually seen it. I asked my lord the reason for this strange fact. 'Why,' says he, 'a gentleman told me so who saw him there, and whispered in his ear--'Your royal highness is the last of all mortals whom I should expect to see here.'--'It was curiosity that led me,' said the other: 'but I assure you,' added he, 'that the person who is the cause of all this pomp and magnificence, is the man I envy the least.'" A report recently found its way to the public papers, which we have not been able to trace to any authentic source, that a glove was actually thrown from an upper seat in the Hall, as a gage to the king's champion, at this period: that the champion receiving it from his attendants, asked, 'who was his fair foe?' and that the rumour of the day soon connected it with the appearance, and attributed it to the romantic dispositions of the young Chevalier.

Of the late coronation we shall at once consult the best feelings of our own mind, and of the community, by presenting the most copious account we have been able to collect:--

CORONATION

His Most Excellent Majesty

KING GEORGE IV.,

_On Thursday the 19th day of July, 1821._

ARRANGEMENT FOR THE ASSEMBLING OF THE
PEERS AND OFFICERS.

{Their R. H. the Dukes of
{ the Blood Royal, in their
{ robes of estate, having
{ their coronets, and the
{ Field Marshals their batons,
{ in their hands.
{The Peers in their robes of
{ estate, having their coronets
{ in their hands.
_They were to assemble in {His R. H. Prince Leopold,
the House of Lords_ { in the full habit of the
{ Order of the Garter, having
{ his cap and feathers
{ in his hand.
{The Archbishops and Bishops,
{ vested in their
{ rochets, having their
{ square caps in their
{ hands.

_In his place near the Bar_ {The Gentleman Usher of
{ the Black Rod.

_In the space below the Bar {The Train-bearers of the
of the House of Lords_ { Princes of the Blood
{ Royal.

{The Attendants on the Lord
{ High Steward, on the
{ Lord Chancellor, the Lord
_In the space below the Bar_ { High Constable, and on
_of the House of Lords_ { the Lord Chamberlain
{ of the Household.
{The Gentlemen Ushers of the
{ White and Green Rods,
{ all in their proper habits.

{The Lord Chief Justice of
{ the King's Bench.
{The Master of the Rolls.
{The Vice-Chancellor.
{The Lord Chief Justice of
{ the Common Pleas.
{The Lord Chief Baron.
{The Barons of the Exchequer,
{ and Justices of both
_In the Painted Chamber_ { Benches.
_and adjacent rooms, near_ {The Gentlemen of the Privy
_the House of Lords_ { Chamber.
{The Attorney and Solicitor
{ General.
{Serjeants at Law.
{Masters in Chancery.
{The Lord Mayor, Aldermen,
{ Recorder, & Sheriffs
{ of London.
{King's Chaplains, having
{ dignities.
{Six Clerks in Chancery.

{The Knights Grand Crosses
{ of the Order of the Bath,
_In the Chamber formerly_ { in the full habit of the
_the House of Lords_ { Order, wearing their collars;
{ their caps and feathers
{ in their hands.

{The Knights Commanders
{ of the said Order, in
{ their full habits; their
{ caps and feathers in their
_In the Chamber formerly { hands.
the House of Lords_ {The Officers of the said
{ Order, in their mantles,
{ chains, and badges.

{The Treasurer and Comptroller
{ of the Household.
{The Vice-Chamberlain.
{The Marquis of Londonderry,
{ in the full habit of
_In the Chamber formerly { the Garter, having his
called the Prince's Chamber { cap and feathers in his
or Robing Room, near { hand.
the former House of {The Register of the said
Lords_ { Order, in his mantle,
{ with his book.
{Privy Councillors, not
{ being Peers or Knights
{ Grand Crosses of the
{ Bath.
{ Clerks of the Council in
{ Ordinary.

_In his Majesty's Robing {The Train-bearers of his
Chamber, near the south { Majesty.
entrance into Westminster {Master of the Robes.
Hall_ {Groom of the Robes.

{Lords and Grooms of the
{ Bedchamber.
_In the room of Chairman of {Keeper of the Privy Purse.
Committees, adjoining the {Equerries and Pages of
House of Lords_ { Honour.
{Gentlemen Ushers & Aides-de-Camp.

_In the Witness-room, adjoining {Physicians, Surgeons, and
the House of Lords_ { Apothecaries.

{Officers of the Band of Gentlemen
{ Pensioners, with
{ their Corps, and the Serjeants
_In the House of Commons { at Arms.
and the Lobbies_ {The Officers of the Yeomen
{ of the Guard, with their
{ Corps.

_In the Lobby between the {The Kings, Heralds, and
House of Lords and the { Pursuivants of Arms.
Painted Chamber_

_In Westminster Hall, at the {Sixteen Barons of the
lower end, near the great { Cinque Ports.
north door_

_In Westminster Hall, near {The Knight Marshall and
the north door_ { his two Officers.

_In Westminster Hall, at the {His Majesty's Band.
lower end_

_Without the north door of {All who are to precede the
Westminster Hall_ { Knight Marshal in the
{ procession.

* * * * *

His Majesty was, during these preliminary arrangements, in his chamber, near the south entrance into Westminster Hall.

The peers were then called over in the House of Lords by deputy Garter; and proceeded to the Hall, where the other persons appointed to walk in the procession had been previously marshalled on the right and left by the officers of arms; leaving an open passage in the middle, so that the procession with the regalia might pass uninterruptedly up the Hall.

His Majesty, preceded by the great officers of state, entered the Hall a few minutes after ten, and took his seat in the chair of state at the table, when a gun was fired. The deputy lord great chamberlain, the lord high constable, and the deputy earl marshal, ascended the steps, and placed themselves at the outer side of the table.

The lord high steward, the great officers, deputy Garter, and black rod, arranged themselves near the chair of state; the royal train-bearers on each side of the throne.

The lord chamberlain, assisted by officers of the Jewel-office, then brought the sword of state to the lord high constable, who delivered it to the deputy lord great chamberlain, by whom it was laid upon the table; then Curtana, or the sword of mercy, with the two swords of justice, being in like manner presented, were drawn from their scabbards by the deputy lord great chamberlain, and laid on the table before his Majesty; after which the gold spurs were delivered, and also placed on the table. Immediately after, a procession, consisting of the dean and prebendaries of Westminster, in their surplices and rich copes, proceeded up the Hall, from the lower end thereof, in manner following:--

_Procession with, and Delivery of, the Regalia._

Serjeant of the Vestry, in a scarlet mantle.

Children of the King's Chapel, in scarlet mantles, four abreast.

Children of the Choir of Westminster, in surplices, four abreast.

Gentlemen of the King's Chapel, in scarlet mantles, four abreast.

Choir of Westminster, in surplices, four abreast.

Sub-Dean of the Chapel Royal.

Two Pursuivants of Arms.

Two Heralds.

The two provincial Kings of Arms.

The Dean of Westminster, carrying St. Edward's Crown on a cushion
of cloth of gold.

First Prebendary of Westminster, carrying the Orb.

Second Prebendary, carrying the Sceptre with the Dove.

Third Prebendary, carrying the Sceptre with the Cross.

Fourth Prebendary, carrying St. Edward's Staff.

Fifth Prebendary, carrying the Chalice and Patina.

Sixth Prebendary, carrying the Bible.

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Coronation AnecdotesChapter IV: Part 4

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