The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1953-05-28, Page 20CORONATION SUPPLEMENT MAY, 1953PAGE SIX
£wy Detail Of Stately Ritual
Has Its Special Significance
No ceremony in the world is so
colourful, so complex and so im
pressive as the crowning of an.’
English Sovereign. The sense of
occasion inspired by the presence
of the most distinguished people
in the world; the majesty of West
minster Abbey itself, its grey
stones steeped in the history of
centuries; the brilliant robes and
uniforms; tiaras, medals and or
ders scintillating in the mellow
light , . . the stately ritual, the
prayers, the music and singing . . .
it is a symphony in sight and
sound.
But it is, of course, very much
more than that. It is a service of
dedication, evolved over a thousand
years. It is rich in symbolism—
meanings conveyed by signs, ges
tures, rituals and objects. And
there are innumerable survivals
from the ceremonies of long ago.
Queen “Recognized”
One of the oldest is probably
the ceremony of “recognition”, a
direct survival of the old custom,
in Anglo-Saxon times, of the elec
tion of kings by the bishops and
people, As the royal procession
moves up the Church and the na
tional anthem is played, the Queen
reaches a raised dais between the
high altar and the choir. The
Archbishop of Canterbury moves,
together with the Lord Chancellor,
.Lord Great Chamberlain, Lord
High Constable and the Earl Mar
shal, to first one side of the stage
and then another, so that the wait
ing throng are addressed from
every direction. Then he makes
his declaration and appeal:
“Sirs, I here present unto you
Queen Elizabeth, the undoubted
Queen of this Realm: Wherefore,
all you who are come this day to
do your homage and service, are
you willing to do the same?”
Dramatic Moment
While these words are spoken,
the Queen stands by the chair and,
turning shows herself to the con
gregation, in all four directions.
This is a dramatic moment, and
one that seldom fails to bring a
lump to the throat of a visiting
spectator, for the concourse sig
nify their approval with the fer
vent cry of GOD SAVE THE
QUEEN!
The cheers ring out, the trum
pets blare, and we are taken back
over fifteen hundred years, when
kings were elected by the spoken
votes of their people.
Now the real ceremony of Cor
onation
bishops
Litany,
brated.
begins, for when the
and choir have sung the
Holy Communion is cele-
Solemn Oath
The Coronation Oath, which is
next administered, has changed
in wording over the centuries. In
its earliest form the king has three
main duties; to maintain the peace
of the Church, and civil peace, to
prevent wrong-doing and to uphold
justice with mercy. “Their office”,
wrote Professor Trevelyan, “was
sacrosanct, a commission from
God, not to do their own pleasure
but to enforce the law, by and
through which they reigned.”
In the past there has been dis
Route of the Coronation proCession. The Processional
route will leave Buckingham Palace on the way to
Westminster Abbey, and will proceed via Trafalgar
Square, Northumberland Avenue* Victoria Embank
ment, Bridge Street, Parliament Square, Broad
.Sanctuary, to the annexe at the West entrance of
the Abbey. The return route will be by way of
I Whitehall, Cockspur Street, Pall Mall, St. James’
' Street, Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner, East Carriage
I Road, Marble Arch, Oxford Street, Regent Street,
! Piccadilly Circus, Haymarket to Trafalgar Square ' and through Admiralty Arch into the Mail and then
to Buckingham Palace.
pute as to whether the oath bound
the king to accept future parlia
mentary legislation. Charles the
First was disabused by losing his
head, James the Second, who
wanted to make laws as well as
uphold them, was driven from his
throne by the revolution of 1688.
When William and Mary were wel
comed by parliament as joint sov
ereigns, a new oath was worded,
and except for minor’ changes has
remained substantially the same
ever since.
Amendments Necessary
The Union with Scotland, the
Disestablishment of the Church of
Ireland and the changing constitu
tional status of the member coun
tries of the Commonwealth have,
of course, necessitated amend
ments. Because of constitutional
changes which have taken place
since the Coronation of King
George VI, some alterations will
probably have to be made in the
wording of the oath taken by the
new Queen. If the oath follows
the form observed at the last Cor
onation, the Archbishop of Canter
bury will demand of the Queen:
Archbishop: Will you solemnly
promise and swear to govern the
peoples of Great Britain, Ireland,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand
and the Union of South Africa . . .
according to their respective laws
and customs?
The Queen; I solemnly promise
so to do.
Archbishop: Will you to your
power muse Law and Justice, in
Mercy, to be executed in all your
judgements?
The Queen; I will.
She next promises to maintain
the “Protestant Reformed Reli
gion” established by law and pre
serve the settlement of the Church
of England. Next follows the most
solemn moment of the Coronation
Service—the anointing. The choir
sihgs the hymn “Veni, Creator
Spiritus”, after which the Arch
bishop, in a prayer, will say:
“0 Lord, Holy Father, who by
anointing with oil didst of old
make and consecrate kings,
priests and prophets . . . Bless
and sanctify thy chosen servant
ELIZABETH, who by our office
and ministry is now to be
anointed with tills Oil, and con
secrated Queen of this Realm.”
Anointing Ceremony
The Queen will discard her outer
robes and seat herself in the an
cient Coronation Chair, containing
the Scone Stone, on which kings
were crowned over eight hundred
years ago. The chair itself was
finished in 1301, and has been used
continually ever since. The holy
Oil is poured into a silver-gilt
spoon from the ampulla, a gold
vessel shaped like an eagle, and
the Queen will be anointed on the
head, the breast and the palms of
both hands by the Archbishop. “As
Solomon was anointed king by
Zadok ... so be you anointed,
blessed and consecrated Queen
over this people . . .”
The significance of these words
is that by the ceremony of anoint
ing, evidence was given of the Di
As tne procession will appear to Coronation visitors._ a_____" . I passing under Admiralty Arch on the way to West'
Above is pictured that of the late King George VI I minster Abbey.
vine selection of the Kings of
Israel; similarly, the sovereigns of
Britain are blessed to their res
ponsibility. _
Symbolic of Power
Now come the emblems of tem
poral power. The golden spurs,
emblems of chivalry, are removed
from the altar by the Dean of
Westminster and handed to the
Lord Chamberlain, who touches
Her Majesty’s heels with them.
The magnificent State S w ord,
made for £6,000 for the Corona
tion of George IV in 1821, is hand
ed to the Queen by the Archbishop
with the admonition to “. . . do jus
tice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy Church of God,
help and defend widows and or
phans . . .” At the head of the hilt
is a huge diamond hedged in with
rubies. The rest is heavily en
crusted with diamonds, while the
scabbard is pure gold.
This sword is girt about a king,
but will be placed in the Queen’s
right hand. It is heavy, and will
later be “redeemed” for 100 shill
ings after the Queen has placed it
herself on the altar. (The point
here is that at the moment of
handing over to the sovereign the
sword becomes the property of the
Church, but is later recovered by
the Keeper of the Jewel House
from the Archbishop).
Regal iblems
The emblems of regality follow;
the beautiful Imperial Robe in rich
cloth-of-gold, embroidered in pur
ple silk and enriched with coronets,
eagles, Tudor roses and other em
blems. Its shape is meant to sym
bolise the four corners of the
world. The Royal Orb, a globe of
solid gold six inches in diameter,
surmounted by a diamond cross set
in a large amethyst, is next hand
ed to the Queen.
“And when you see this Orb
set under the Cross”, the Arch-
bishop says, “remember that the
the
our
whole world is subject to
Power and Empire of Christ
Redeemer.”
It is a symbol of the Faith
has sworn to defend.
The ring is next placed on
she
The ring is next placed on the
third finger of the Queen’s right
—British Travel Association Photo
The Ampulla in the form of a
golden eagle with outspread wings;
the Anointing Spoon, parts of
which date from the 13th century;
and St* George’s bracelets. The
bracelets, which are of solid gold,
are not used in the Coronation
ceremony.
History Unfolds
Along Route Of Royal Procession
Are Famous Buildings, Monuments
In her Coronation Progress
Queen Elizabeth II will be seen by
a vast concourse of people in the
Mall—one of London’s very few
straight leafy avenues—in five of
its famous streets—Whitehall, Pall
Mall, St. James’s Street, Piccadilly
and Regent Street—and in others,
in Trafalgar Square and Hyde
Park and on the Embankment.
The Procession will not go within
a mile of the City of London (as
the once walled city, over which
the Lord Mayor presides, St.
Paul’s Cathedral arises and the
Bank of England broods, is still
called), nor will it pass near the
hall of the London County Council,
the centre of London government.
But the Houses of Parliament will
be toweringly in the picture.
Years Alter Route
Much of the route of the Pro
cession has a changed look to
those who can remember the
Coronation of Edward VII.
Buckingham Palace itself in 1912
had its face lifted from plaster to
Portland stone, the Victoria
Memorial with the great queen
sitting high over marble fountains,
seeming on occasions such as this
to review the comings and goings
of her descendants, was erected in
King Edward’s time, and the new
Mall with the pillars ahd statuary,
the gift of the Commonwealth,
were all part of the plan for a
processional approach to the
hand. This is “the ensign of
Queenly dignity, and of defence of
the Catholic Faith”, The sceptres,
one with a cross and another with
a dove, follow.
Long-Awaited Moment
Novr comes the moment for
which the world has waited. The
putting on of the Crown. It is not
•the most important feature of the
Coronation, which is primarily a
religious ceremony with the anoint
ing as its most solemn moment.
But the crowning is a climax. The
placing of St. Edward’s Crown on
the Queen’s head is the signal for
tremendous cheering. The grey
stones of the Abbey will echo to
the simple but inspiring words:
GOD SAVE THE QUEEN! The
peers don their coronets, the
trumpets sound, and at the Tower
of London the ancient cannon boom
their salute.
The Queen will then receive
from the Archbishop the Bible,
Chalice and Paten. Of the Bible,
he will tell her that “. . . it is the
most valuable thing that this world
affords. Here is wisdom; this is
the Royal Law”. The Chalice and
Patten, of pure gold, are the com
munion cup and plate used for
Holy Communion.
The Coronation ceremony will be
over. Princes and peers will pay
homage. The stately procession
wilL line up and leave, and a hush
of expectancy will spread through
the crowded streets outside, where
the Queen’s loyal subjects await to
pay their own personal tribute to
a young and lovely sovereign.
Palace carried out in the reigns of
Edward VII and George V. The
Quadriga on Wellington Arch at
Hyde Park Corner—it symbolises
Peace and was just there when
Zeppelins dropped bombs on Lon
don in World War I—and the
Admiralty Arch at the east end of
the Mall were part of the same
scheme. In World War II bombs
fell on the royal apartments of the
Palace; Whitehall was unscarred,
but the House of Commons was
destroyed (now rebuilt) and the
Abbey damaged.
London’s Best Statue
The Procession in the Mall
passes Marlborough House, built
by the founder of the Churchill
greatness and now the home of the
Queen Mother, passed Henry VIII’s
St. James’s Palace where Charles
II, Queen Anne, James II and
George IV were born and Queen
Victoria married; passes brightly
painted Carlton House Terrace
where Palmerston, Gladstone and
Curzon lived; and on to Trafalgar
Square. There Nelson on his
column has long presided over the
open-air meetings of every con
ceivable party and creed. At the
top of the Square in front of the
National Gallery are Grinling Gib
bons’s statue of James II and
Houdon’s of George Washington.
At Charing Cross is London’s best
statue, Le Soeur’s Charles I. Then
(Continued on Page 8)