Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King, and all the people rejoiced!
6th May 2023. This date will forever be in my memories. And no, I didn't have a personal milestone. I witnessed history being made: King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned in a thousand year old rite at Westminster Abbey, and I watched it live!
I rose at 1:30 am to witness the Crown of St. Edward being placed upon the brow of His Majesty King Charles III. While some of you may think it ridiculous, I have always had a sense of historical purpose in watching Royal events such as these: it is history. And no such event will take place until after the death of the incumbent, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's focus on the glorious occasion that is a Coronation.
What is a Coronation? What is it all about?
The Coronation is a Christian service performed after the accession of the Sovereign. While it is not required by law in order to reign, it is the consecration before God of the new monarch's reign, and in the past, it helped legitimize the monarch before his people.
As the stability of the line of succession grew, the actual need for a Coronation waned. However, it is a good excuse to get one's glad rags on and throw a nice house or street party to celebrate. In the 20th century, the Coronation evolved into a celebration of national unity and allegiance to the Crown, rather than the assertion of the monarch's rights. After all, the last King by right of conquest was King Henry VII in 1485...
The Coronation is based on Catholic liturgy. Yes, Catholic, because before King Henry VIII decided he wanted to quit his marriage to the Aragonese princess Catherine (whose only fault was the failure to produce a male heir), England was a Catholic nation. And so, the first recorded Coronation in English history was a Catholic mass, held in 1066 for William the Conqueror.
The ceremony has remained largely the same since 1066, specially since Richard II commissioned the Liber Regalis (the Royal Book) in 1382. He thought that 1382 was high time to standardize the practice of Coronations and Royal funerals, and a great excuse to compile this ceremonial guidebook was the Coronation of his wife, Anne of Bohemia. The Liber Regalis has since provided the basis for Coronation services of a King or Queen regnant, married and unmarried.
Although the Liber Regalis provides for a very lengthy Coronation service, slight modifications have been made over the centuries. In essence, as I mentioned before, the service remains the same. It starts with the arrival of the monarch and their Recognition by the people, then they are administered the Oath (which is the only part of the ceremony required by law). Following the Oath, the Anointing takes place, which is the most important part of the entire service. Then comes the good part: the Investiture, Crowning and Enthronement, followed by the Homage. When there is a Queen consort, after the homage, she is anointed, crowned and enthroned in a shorter ceremony. At the end of the service, the Communion is given to the monarch and the outward procession forms from the St. Edward's Chapel, behind Westminster Abbey's High Altar.
The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla
Before I begin with the chronicles of the Coronation, let me state one fact: in typical British fashion, it rained on the parade. And it has for at least the last three Coronations. It rained on 2nd June 1953 for Queen Elizabeth II and it rained on 12th May 1937 for King-Emperor George VI and Queen-Empress Elizabeth. It seems that rain on Coronation Day is a good omen for British monarchs.
So, Their Majesties departed Buckingham Palace in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, in the pouring rain. The King was wearing the crimson Robe of State of his grandfather, King-Emperor George VI, and underneath, he wore the traditional medieval crimson shirt with the trousers of his Naval Uniform. The Queen wore a white Bruce Oldfield gown with gold and diamanté embellishments, representing the nations that make up the United Kingdom, and paired this with the Coronation Necklace (worn by every Queen since Alexandra of Denmark in 1902) and the crimson Robe of State of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
They arrived at Westminster Abbey and their procession formed. Soon, we saw the Standard and Regalia Bearers walk forth to the High Altar, and then the introit to "I was glad" (the setting composed for the 1902 Coronation by Parry) sounded and I lost it. I lost it. I wept with joy when I saw The Queen, flanked by her pages (her grandsons and her great nephew) and Ladies in Attendance (The Most Hon. The Marchioness of Lansdowne and Mrs Annabel Elliot, Her Majesty's sister), walk up the aisle. She was followed by The King, who was attended by his pages: his grandson, Prince George of Wales, The Lord Oliver Cholmondeley, and Masters Nicholas Barclay and Ralph Tollemache. Honourable mention to Major Jonathan "Johnny" Thompson, Equerry to His Majesty and Sexiest Equerry Alive, for bringing sexy to the Coronation.
I don't know, but there's something about a man in Scottish military dress attending his King that gets me all hot and bothered🥵
When Her Majesty reached the Quire, I wept a bit more, but regained composure when the Scholars of Westminster chanted the traditional "VIVAT REGINA!", which was soon followed by the "VIVAT REX!" upon The King's entry to the Quire.
Sat in the Chairs of Estate, recycled from the 1953 Coronation, they were greeted by clergy and the service soon began. First, the King was recognized by his subjects in the four points of the compass. He then returned to the Chair of Estate, where he was administered the Coronation Oath, which he signed soon after. Then came the good part...
Catholics believe in the transubstantiation (the transformation of the "bread" and the wine into the body and blood of Christ). Us monarchists believe in the "divinization" of the monarch, that is, the conversion of the monarch from a mortal soul into a Servant of the People, answerable only to God. This "divinization" is performed at the anointing portion of the service. The King, sitting on the Coronation Chair and shielded from public view, was anointed on the head, breast and hand, with Holy Chrism Oil. For this, he was disrobed and was vested with the colobium sindonis (a plain white gown, symbolizing purity). Then, The Queen was also disrobed and anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. All this was done to the sound of the choir belting out the hymn "Zadok The Priest", a hymn based on 1 Kings 1 34:35, set to music by Georg Friedrich Handel in 1727 for the Coronation of King George II.
Anointing screen removed, came the time for the presentation of Regalia and Sacred Garments to His Majesty. While it was all very impressive, The Lord President of the Council, The Rt. Hon. Penny Mordaunt, stole the show. She was the first woman ever to be appointed as Bearer of the Sword of State for the Coronation of a monarch (and, I may say, the best dressed guest outside of the Royal family to have attended).
The King, having been clothed in gold, and presented with the symbols of Majesty, was then crowned with the St. Edward's Crown. We all chanted "God Save The King!" upon the crown's safe arrival on King Charles's head. I rejoiced at the sight. Crowned and anointed, it was time for The King to take possession of His Realms, for which he was lifted onto the Throne (which was reused from the 1937 Coronation) by the Bishops of the Kingdom, who paid homage afterwards.
The Prince of Wales, eldest son of the King, was the only member of the peerage to pay homage to His Majesty. The Archbishop then invited all those present and watching at home to join in and pay homage of our own, a rite in which I had no hesitation to partake in. Crowned, anointed and enthroned, we just had one more part of the service to endure: the Crowning of The Queen.
Camilla, The Queen, in her white custom-made Bruce Oldfield gown, sat in her Chair of Estate, while the Archbishop of Canterbury placed upon her head the (altered) Crown of Queen-Empress Mary. Crowned, she was then blessed by the Archbishop, and assisted by two Bishops and her Ladies in Attendance, Her Majesty made her way to her Throne (last used by Queen-Empress Elizabeth). She mounted the Throne, after paying obeisance to The King, and the purpose of the ceremony had been duly fulfilled: Britain and the Commonwealth had Crowned, anointed and enthroned their King and Queen.
Their Majesties then retired to the St. Edward's Chapel behind the High Altar to be robed again. This time, they were clothed in the Robes of Estate of Purple Velvet. His Majesty wore the robes of his grandfather, while Her Majesty's robes were custom-made for her. The King, having swapped the St. Edward's Crown for the Imperial State Crown (afterwards used for the State Opening of Parliament), led the procession outwards to the sound of the National Anthem, God Save The King, which I of course sang along with the congregation in the Abbey.
My thoughts on the Coronation
The arches and beams at the top were covered with a sort of haze of wonder as Papa was crowned, at least I thought so...
- The recollections of the Coronation of King-Emperor George VI and Queen-Empress Elizabeth, written by H.R.H. The Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), 12th May 1937.
As Princess Elizabeth said of her parents' Coronation, I also thought the arches and beams were covered with a haze of wonder as both King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned.
I very much enjoyed the whole spectacle. It is a day that I will remember for the rest of my existence. It is a day in which history has been made and I have been alive to witness it, through a screen, but in the end, I witnessed it.
I do have some notes tho... I did not expect The Queen to be anointed at the same time The King was, as that is not really how it goes. I guess times change🤷🏻♂️
Also, The Queen being crowned disrobed? The whole point of when she walks to the Throne to be seated next to The King again is to see the long train and all of her Ladies and pages bow and curtsy to The King in unison with The Queen. That was a splendorous scene we were deprived of.
Another note I have is the lack of crimson robes and coronets for the peerage and The Royal Family. It's part of the pomp of Coronation Day, seeing the congregation decked in crimson. While I was looking forward to seeing everyone in their finest jewels, but I am not that displeased with the robes of the Orders of Chivalry being worn instead. The Princess of Wales wearing the robes of a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order? I ADORED!😍
The Duchesses of Edinburgh and Gloucester also pulled out all the stops, and they looked divine, by the way. And don't get me started on The Princess Royal, because she was an empowered gal today and she wore military uniform, and even rode on horseback in The Procession back to Buckingham Palace, in her role as Gold Stick in Waiting to The King!
The processions were wonderful too. I absolutely enjoyed the procession back to Buckingham Palace. The colours of the uniforms of British and Commonwealth troops was spectacular, the Gold State Coach (which can only be driven at a human walking pace) with the newly crowned King and Queen was quite the sight, a once in a lifetime moment.
The salute in the Gardens at Buckingham Palace was also a show-stopper: all of the members of the Armed Forces who took part in the procession on foot were allowed to acclaim their King in his own backyard. And then came the Balcony appearance...
Now that is what we were all waiting for. While The King and Queen will appear yearly in their Regalia for the State Opening of Parliament, they don't ever appear in full regalia on the Balcony, except on Coronation Day. We'll see them in their finery at the State Opening of Parliament, but never again on the Balcony of the Palace.
Overall, it was an enjoyable experience. It was an experience I shall never forget. And I know it may seem ridiculous to you, but to me, the British Royal Family means so much more than just the pomp or even the scandal, they represent a certain stability that I lacked for a time. I looked to the late Queen Elizabeth II for stability during my troubled times. She endured, she was a "tough broad", she became an example for me to "Keep calm and carry on". And that is her lasting legacy, she kept calm and carried on, she made it through the rain, and now, her son Charles, Our King, is to lead in that same example.
I am over the moon that I got to watch a Coronation live. I have now contracted Coronation Fever, My Lords...
God Save The King! Long Live The King! May The King live forever!👑
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