I have
done this posting using the alphabet ... when you have a ‘Z’ for Zadok the
Priest, ‘Q’ for Queen, ‘J’ for Judge ... and somewhere there’s an X I’m sure of
it! ... so it made sense to me to jot pertinent or interesting points down ...
 |
| BBC's Radio Times |
Ampulla - the gold, eagle-shaped bottle, which is part
of the Coronation Regalia, held the sacred oil, from which the Queen was
anointed.
The
aromatic holy oil was made from the same base as that used at her father’s,
George VI, Coronation.
BBC – the first time they had
broadcast from the Abbey, or had broadcast such a momentous event to the
nation, and to the world.
Buckingham Palace Summer Exhibition 2013 will
highlight archival and present items from the collections of the Coronation and
the 60th anniversary commemoration.
Coronation –
almost every monarch in our history over the last 1,000 years has been crowned,
and each time that history is reprised.
Crown – St Edward’s Crown is
solid gold encrusted with jewels and weighs over 2kgs (5lbs). Cromwell destroyed the original ... and this
Crown was made in 1661 for the coronation of King Charles II.
Vital
statistics of the solid gold crown is that it stands just over twelve inches
high (31cm), while it is studded with 2,868 diamonds, 269 pearls, 17 sapphires,
11 emeralds and 5 rubies.
Queen
Victoria and Edward VII did not use the St Edward’s Crown – they both preferred
the Imperial State Crown as it is lighter.
 |
| Princess Anne's and Prince Charles's Coronation outfits, which will be shown at the Summer Exhibition |
Diplomacy/Discretion – the
exemplar of these ... Queen Elizabeth II has given counsel to prime ministers and world
leaders, who knew whatever they confided to her would never be divulged. There is no man or woman who can match this
diplomatic record.
Dressers’ Floor at Buckingham Palace – who
knew?!
In 2013
the Queen’s oyster silk-satin brocade dress was made from material held in the
Palace stock.
The
James Bond Royal Olympic episode ... the dress makers were requested to make
two dresses for THAT JUMP ... now they know why.
The
white Coronation dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, was decorated with
thousands of tiny seed pearls, and the floral emblems of all the countries
encompassed in the oath.
(Book
available: “Dressing the Queen: The
Jubilee Wardrobe” allows readers unprecedented access to the Dressers’
Floor at Buckingham Palace. By Angela
Kelly, published by the Royal Collection Trust - available via Amazon.)
Escaping the Tower! The 350
year-old crown used for the Queen’s coronation left the Tower of London for the
first time since 1953 to play its part in the Ceremony.
Faiths – the Coronation in
1953 was a strictly Anglican Christian event, but in 2013 Sikhism, Islam,
Buddhism, Judaism and other faiths were represented ... reflecting our
multi-cultural society
Gun Salute
Members of the Honourable Artillery Company, the City of London’s Territorial
Regiment, fired a 62 gun-salute at the Tower of London.
 |
| Prince Charles's Invitation, will also be on show at the Summer Exhbition |
Herbert Howell’s motet “Behold Oh God our Defender” was sung by
The Anointing Choir as the flask of oil was placed on the altar to represent
the anointing of the Queen during her Coronation.
Invitation –
Prince Charles, aged 5, was issued an invitation to attend the Coronation. The special invitation featured the royal
lion, the unicorn, the royal coat of arms, and soldiers ... exactly what a
small boy would like to have. The Queen
commanded in her invitation Prince Charles to attend.
A Judge processed, with ten other
generational representatives, the symbolic flask of oil to the altar.
King George VI had
been a good king in hard times: courageous in the unknowable hazards of war and
in the exhausted years of post-war austerity.
Little Book of Private Devotions – the
Archbishop of Canterbury for the Coronation in 1953 gave the Queen this little
book containing a daily prayer and meditations.
 |
| Westminster Abbey looking down the nave and up at the roof |
Long
Live the Queen – loudly rings out when the Queen was crowned
Low key celebration: no
pomp and circumstance – the royals arrived by car, the men were in lounge
suits, no medals were displayed – the main celebrations were held last year for
the Diamond Jubilee.
Mothballs – a gentle aroma of
naphthalene from the gowns (peers and peeresses) which had been stored away ...
National Anthem ...
and I couldn’t come up with an “N”!
The Oath – sixty years ago the
Queen swore the oath “to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of
South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon”, and of her “Possessions and other
Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to their
respective laws and customs” – these are somewhat fewer these days and Britain
is a much-changed nation.
Peal of Bells –The
Westminster Abbey Company of Ringers, will ring a Coronation Sixtieth
Anniversary celebratory peal of London
Surprise Royal comprising 5060 changes.
People invited in 2013 –
anyone associated with the service in 1953, and then others chosen by the Lord
Lieutenants, the Queen’s representatives in our counties, who are members of
society from public service, the armed forces, and ‘worthies’ ...
Poetry – the Poet Laureate,
Carol Ann Duffy, managed a dignified, touching
meditation on “The Crown” – including the symbolism that is the Crown, and the
humanity of the woman who has been our monarch for six decades ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/04/carol-ann-duffy-the-crown-poem
 |
| 1953 the crowned Queen |
Ready, Girls? At the
point, just before the Queen began her procession to King Edward’s Chair, where
she would take the Coronation Oath, Her Majesty paused ... turned to the ladies
carrying her crimson velvet train ... and said “Ready, Girls?”
Regalia – the Ampulla and Crown
are two of the Regalia used at the Coronation, which were brought to the Abbey
to be placed on the high altar ...
·
The Ampulla represents the Queen’s commitment to
God
·
The Crown her commitment to her people
Royal Baby – is
apparently due in about a month ... the 3rd in line to the throne,
after its grandfather and father.
Royal Peculiar –
Westminster Abbey is a Royal Peculiar ... it is a place of worship that falls
directly under the jurisdiction of the British monarch, rather than under a
bishop. The concept dates from
Anglo-Saxon times.
Sermon – the address given by
the Archbishop of Canterbury sounded like a rallying cry for the Established
Church.
 |
| The Queen Opening Parliament - one of her duties to the British people |
Silence – once the Abbey doors
opened the expectant silence of the young monarch arriving, after the noisy
chatting of the waiting congregation.
Thirty Eighth
sovereign to be crowned.
The Union of the Crowns (March 1603) was
the accession of James VI, King of Scots, to the thrones of England and
Ireland, and the consequential unification of Scotland with both realms under a
single monarch.
The
Union of the Crowns followed the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England – the
last monarch of the Tudor dynasty, who was James’ unmarried and childless first
cousin twice removed.
The Vivats – were reprised for the 60th
anniversary of the Coronation, and were slotted in to the anthem as the Queen
and the Duke came down the aisle together for the Service.
The
rousing cries of Vivat Regina and
the Coronation introit “I was Glad”
by Hubert Parry resonated through the Abbey.
Westminster Abbey is
where the Kings and Queens of England have been crowned since William the
Conqueror on Christmas day in 1066.
 |
| Yellow, cream and white flowers decorating Westminster Abbey |
X LX
= Sixty in roman numerals – remember?
York
Minster was the first Minster church built for the baptism of Edwin
in 627AD. King Edwin, as he became,
converted to Christianity and established York as the centre for ecclesiastical
and educational affairs.
Alcuin of York, the great philosopher and
theologian, as well as Charlemagne’s leading advisor, had a long career here in
the 8th century: this has links to my mother’s interest in Alcuin
from a prayer card, left by the Chaplin when she was in the Acute Brain Injury
Unit.
 |
| St Bede the Venerable - c/o Diocese of Shrewsbury |
The
Venerable Bede (672 – 735 AD) wrote his ‘An
Ecclesiastical History of the English People’ – which recorded Edwin’s and
Alcuin’s history and the commencement of
the country’s conversion to Christianity.
Zadok the Priest –
reading by Prime Minister, David Cameron – who effortlessly cleared the tricky
hurdle of the Clerethites and Pelethites in his reading from the book of Kings
... (1 Kings 1:32-40)
The
ritual of anointing, the most sacred part of the Coronation in which the Queen
was consecrated as monarch, has its origins in the anointing of King Solomon by
the priest Zadok in the 10th century BC.
This
completes my A – Z ... and my next two posts will cover the music and the
actual service from both the Coronation and the anniversary commemoration. Then last but not least there will be a brief
baby post tying the last few years of royalty together.
Hilary
Melton-Butcher
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