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paob six coronation supplement may 195 colourful coronation cerewnony amendments necessary oh the union with scotland the i disestablishment of the church of years it is rich in symbolism j meanings conveyed by signs ges- 1 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 oid custom in anglosaxon 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 crv 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 begins for when the bishops and choir have sung the litany holy communion is cele brated 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 wrongdoing and to uphold justice with mercy their office wrote piofessor 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- every detail of stately ritual has its special significance no ceremony in the world is so pute as to whether the oath bound colourful so complex and so im- j the king to accept future parlia- pressive as the crowning of an mentary legislation charles the english soveteign the sense of first was disabused by losing his occasion inspired by the presence j head james the second who of the most distinguished people wanted to make laws as well as in the world the majesty of west- uphold them was driven from his minster abbey itself its grey throne by the revolution of 16ss stones steeped in the history of when william and mary were wel- centurics the brilliant robes and corned by parliament as joint sov- uniforms tiaras medals and or- ereigns a new oath was worded dors scintillating in the mellow i and except for minor changes has light the stately ritual the j remained substantially the same prayers the music and singing j ever since it is a symphony in sight audi v xrv sound but it is of course very more than that it is a service of d d h chanking constitu dedication evolved over a thousand tiola 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 ause 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 sings the hymn veni creator spiritus after which the arch bishop in a prayer will say o 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 this 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 silvergilt spoon from the ampulla a gold vessel shaped like an eagle and the queen will he 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- astne procession will appear to coronation visitors above is pictured that of the late king george vi passing under admiralty arch on the way to west 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 majestys heels with them the magnificent state s w o r d made for 6000 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 queens 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 recral i blcms the emblems o legality follow the beautiful imperial robe in rich clothofgold 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 comers 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 whole world is subject to the power and empire of christ our redeemer it is a symbol of the faith she has sworn to defend 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 longawaited moment the ring is next placed on the j now comes the moment for third finger of the queens right i which the world has waited the putting on of the crown it is not the most important feature of the coronation which is primarily u religious ceremony with the anoint ing as its most solemn moment but the crowning is a climax the placing of st edwards crown on the queens head is the signal for i 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 receiva 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 i patten of pure gold are the com munion cup and plate used for holy communion 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 georges bracelets the bracelets which are of solid gold arc not used in the coronation ceremony 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 queens loyal subjects await to pay their own personal tribute to a young and lovely sovereign tm 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 emhank- ment bridge street parliament square itroad sanctuary to the annexe at the west entrance of the abbey the return route will be by way of in her coronation progress queen elizabeth ii will be seen by a vast concourse of people in the mall one of londons very few- straight leafy avenues in five of its famous streets whitehall pall mall st jamess 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 pauls 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 hut 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 whitehall cockspur street pall mall st james to review the comings and goings street piccadilly hyde park corner east carriage of her descendants was erected in koad marble arch oxford street regent street king edwards time and the new piccadilly circus haymarket to trafalgar square mall with the pillars ahd statuary and through admiralty arch into the mall and then the gift of the commonwealth to buckingham palace were all partof the plan for a processional jppeach to the history unfolds along route of royal procession are famous buildings monuments paiace 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 londons best statue the procession in the mall passes marlborough house built by the founder of the churchill greatness and now the home of tho queen mother passed henry vii 18 st jamess palace where charles ii queen anne james ii and george iv were horn 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 openair meetings of every con ceivable party ami creed at the top of the square in front of the national gallery are grinling gib- honss statue of james ii and houdons of george washington at charing cross is londons lest statue ie socurs charles i then continued on page 8