Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1901 — CROWNING NAD KING. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CROWNING NAD KING.

Details of Ceremonies at Coronation of Edward VII. ROBES HE WILL WEAR Historic Baubles that Figure on the Momentous Occasion. - i 9 Kvery Step in the Services Clearly Described—Crowning the Qneen Consort —The Archbishop of Canterbury Administering the Oath—The Oath—The -King's Champion—The Karl Marshal An Donbt—A Brilliant and Impres--sive Scene. The coronation of King Edward VII. •will not take place until next June, but active preparations are already being -made for the event The time Is none too long, says the London Daily Mail, for the enormous mass of work to be done. England has as yet little idea of the pomp and glory of the coming ceremonies. London next June will be the scene of such magnificent pageantry and representation of power and might as will eclipse the glories of the Jubilee celebrations in 1887 and 1897, and will provide for all who have the privilege of seeing it a vision of splendor un- > equaled in recent times. No doubt It is possible to view with •some measure of regret the discontinuance of certain customs, such as the procession and banquet, invested with •venerable antiquity. But as they have •already been set aside, in 1831 and 1838, the continuity has been broken, and there is all the difference in the world between the survival of ancient usages •which link past and present and their revival after a long interval. The British nation would never sanction any proposal such as that made by William IV. to omit or curtail the coronation service with its own proper ;pomp and circumstances, as it has come down by the unbrokfwi traditions of a thousand years, and the decision come to on th£ subject serves to illustrate the wisdom of King Edward and his genius for devising really effective, because entirely appropriate, state pageants. If there is to be any revival of dis>used pageantry, the royal, cavalcade through the streets of the capital, originally discontinued on account of the •then unsanitary condition of London, would give the greatest pleasure to the loyal subjects of the King, who would thus have tlielr part in acclaiming his formal entry on his great inheritance. f The “consecration of the king,” to

employ Its ancient title, is not, in-Brit-ish eyes, a mere picturesque pageant or empty formality. It is a most real nnd eminently practical and common-' sense transaction. The title <•/ couseoration service is fully justii’ibd by every detail of the abbey, Ceremony, which, indeed, 'bears a staking resemblance to the service fotjtlie consecration of bishops. The pri'seutation of the sovereign to the people and his reception by them with a«rlamatlou have their parallel in the olds French service for the consecration (a a bishop, and the oath to govern oAordiug to law corresponds to the blslAp’s oath of canonical obedience to hl» metropolitan. Common to both services are the Litany, "Veal Creator,” aid, Proper Preface. Formerly blshopsWere anointed With oil, as the King wiil.be next June,

and in both cases the delivery of the official insignia, the royal and episcopal robes being identical in character. > Coronation Ceremony. The sovereign will be first vested in the rochet, or tight-sleeved surplice, then in the tunic called a dalmatic, to which will be added the stole, worn in exact conformity with a bishop’s—that is, not crossed before the. breast, but with the ends left pendant. Lastly, the King will be endued with the episcopal cope, and,.,will receive the ring, gloves, and Bible. The last mentioned item dates from William of Orange. The sovereign of Great Britain is one of the few occupants of a throne who still at their coronation receive the sacred unction. He is almost the only one who receives his crown kneeling, having it placed upon his brow by the church —In the person of the chief bishop present. From the time of Napoleon the heads of the great military monarchies have preferred to take their crowns into their own hands, and perform the actual coronation for themselves. The English sovereign at the moment of corouation assumes a posture of humility, conscious of the great trust committed to his charge—a trust conferred, not for his personal glorification, but for the welfare of his people—a trust for the due performance of which he confesses himself to be accountable. The King will to receive his crown, in acknowledgment that the true privilege of kingship lies in the unrivaled opportunity it confers of serving the state, whose visible head he is. Quaint and curious are some of the questions upon which the Claims commission will have to decide. It will have to deal with such points as the privi- t leges of the Duke of Newcastle, as

Lord of the Manor of Workshop, to present the King with two pairs of gloves, and also to support his Majesty’s rlfSilt or scepter arm; or, again, the, relative precedence, which Inis varied at different coronations, of the Duke of Norfolk ns Earl Marshal of England, and the Earl of Erroll as lord high constable of Scotland. The Ivord Mayor of London will be chief cupbea: r. In return for which office he will receive as a fee a gold cup and cover. The Lord Mayor has held this office since the time of Richard 111., when Lord Mayor Shaw performed a service for the King which earned him reward and established an ofHce, It was rumored that King Edward would dispense with this service, but as Queen Victoria recognized the historical precedent when she wax crowned,

it Is unlikely that Edward will depart from the custom. The present coronation oath was fixed by statute in the reign of William and Mary. Prior tp that time the oath seems to havef.admitted of being tampered with to suit the whim of the sovereign. The Archbishop of Canterbury, primate' of England, administers the oath. The form lilay be of interest to readers. The Archbishop demands: “Sir, is your Majesty willing to take the oath?” and on the King answering, “I am willing ” the Archbishop puts these questions, and the King, having a copy of the printed form and order of the corouation service in his hands, answers each question severally as follows: “Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the respective laws and customs of the same?” “I solemn promise to do so.” “Will you, to your power, cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your.judgments?” “I will.” “Will you, to the utmost of your power, maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant Reformed religion established by law? And will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the United Church of England and Ireland, and the doctrine, worship, discipline and government thereof, as by law established' within England and Ireland, and the territories thereunto belonging? And will you preserve to the bishops and clergy of England and Ireland, and to the churches there committed to their charge, all such rights

nnd privileges as do, or shall appertain unto them, or any of them?" "All this l promise to do." The sovereign then goes to the altar, and, laying his liuud upon the Gospels, takes the following oath: "The things which 1 have heretofore promised I will .perform nnd keep, so help me JJod.” The King then kisses the book and signs the oath. The oath has not yet been altered to suit the disestablishment of the Irish church. The coronation of a sovereign is not necessary to establish his authority, as r the oath <fl accession is sufficient. There Is some doubt as to the title by which Edward VII. will be crowned." The question Is receiving serious consideration. as the relations of the mother country with the colonies have

changed since Victoria ascended the throne. There seems to be a well-de-fined objection to the title of emperor, and a strong sentiment In favor of the title “of Dominion of Canada, Commonwealth of Australia, Federated States of South Africa, Lord High Protector,” etc. The celebrated Stone of Destiny which Edward I. brought from Scotland, Is built Into the coronation chair at a height of nine inches from the ground. It is the oldest and most Interesting of all the many relics that will take part in the crowning of King Edward VII. Th# stone came to Scotland from Ireland. It was the Irish who gave it its name, Liasfall, or stone of destiny; ahd, according to Irish tradition, it was used at their national coronation chair ever since 700 B. C. It was supposed by them to be the identical stone on which Jacob rested his head during his vision at Bethel. Another legend is that this stone, when the rightful heir takes his seat, emits a loud musical note. The chair in which this stone is set shows traces of beautiful ornamentation, but at modern coronations It has always been covered with cloth of gold. The next In Importance of the instruments used in making a king is the golden eagle, which holds holy oil. It is seven inches In height and weighs 10 ounces. The original efigle came Into

possession of Henry IV., then Duke of Lancaster, during a foreign war. It was destroyed by Cromwell, but has been renewed in sac-simile. With it Is the golden spur, or ampulla, which is adorned with four fine pearls in the handle. St. Edward’s crown, too, was stolen in 1642, but has also been renewed. This is used to place on the sovereign’s head. The crown of State, so called because It is worn by the king coming In state to the Parliament, is a much more valuable crown, the ruby in it being worth $50,000, and its total value put at $550,000. The stones are taken out of It on coronation day, fixed in collets, and pinned into the imperial crown. Queen Alexandra will not wear the crown worn by her lamented Majesty Queen Victoria, but the crown known as Queen Edgltha’s, called after the wife of Edward the Confessor, but made first for Catherine, consort of Charles 11., and, by order of King Edward VII., his consort will be spoken of in conversation and addressed personally. as Queen Alexandra, so that there may be no confusion of ideas as regards “the King” heing the ruler. The king's scepter is two feet nine inches in length, of solid gold, tipped with a six-leaved fleur-de-lis, a “vinound” which is a large amethyst, and a cross of jewels. The queen’s is like the king’s, but shorter. The scepter is placed in the king’s right hand during coronation, agd in his left hand he holds the golder virge, or rod, tipped with a dove. The queen consort’s is similar, but of Ivory. Four swords are used in the coronation of a British sovereign. First is the two-handed Sword of State, in its splendid scabbard of crimson,velvet; then comes the curious Curtana, the crosshilted pointless Sword of Mercy, borne naked before the king. The Sworqrof Spiritual Justice is blue pointed, vjjKh a 40-inch blade, and the Sword of riie Justice of Temporality is sharp, but otherwise similar to the latter two. The king’s and queen's rings, the great golden spurs, and the bracelets, also play an important part in coronation ceremonies. The sovereign himself must issue proclamation as to the date of his coronation and other particulars. Queen Victoria issued two, in the second of which she dispensed with the procession, “and with the services and attendance of all persons who by ancient custom or usage, or iu regnrd of their tenures of any manors, lands, or other hereditaments, do claim and are bound to do and perform any services at the time of tiie coronation.” Early In the morning of the day fixed for the ceremony, the Lord Chamberlain delivers to the king thj shirt prepared for the anointing, the neck and arms tied with rlblions. The king Is robed by the Lord High Chamberlain and the Chamberlain of Hie Household. The sovereign then goes to .Westminster, where all the peers, spiritual and temporal, assemble. A procession is formed Into the hall, where the king Is seated on the king’s bench. While thia yas being done. It nsed to lie customary for the dean and prebendaries of Westminster attended by the choir, to bring the regalia, then kept In tho Abbey, over tiie Hall. In any case, the crown Is brought and laid before the king, who thee signifies that the great pfocewion shall be formed.

CEREMONY OF CROWNING THE KING.

QUEEN VICTORIA’S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO LONDON IN 1837.

THE CORONATION THRONE.