Читать книгу The Crowning of the King and Queen - Stephen King-Hall - Страница 3

On May 12th, 1937, George VI will pledge himself to the service of God and his people and be consecrated solemnly to his high office in the Abbey of Westminster.

This coronation service, with its elaborate ceremonial and ritual, its beautiful and stately pageantry, has its origins far back in the misty beginnings of our history. As one studies its inner meanings and its developments, one realises that the changes which have taken place during the centuries in the coronation service are part of the story of our national life.

On May 12th, 1937, the Coronation ceremony will in some respects resemble those crownings of Kings and Queens which for nearly a thousand years have given chapter headings to our history books, and so built up that table of the Kings and Queens of England and Great Britain which is so often a cause of anxiety to school boys and girls; but in at least one respect it will be different from any other Coronation yet held in the history of the world. The miracle of broadcasting will permit tens of millions of the King’s subjects to listen to every word of the Coronation Service. Thousands of miles away from Westminster, in Australia, in New Zealand, in South Africa, in the valleys of the Himalayas, in Ceylon, in the bazaars of the Far East, on the Pacific coast of Canada, in Prairie farms, in ships at sea, even in air-craft in flight, millions of men, women and children may be taking part in this great historic ceremony. King George’s Crowning will be an event which will give it for all time an unique position in history.

PROCESSION OF BISHOPS CARRYING THE ROYAL REGALIA

This picture shows the procession of Bishops carrying the Royal Regalia to Westminster Abbey. The foremost Bishop is carrying the Communion Cup, the second carries the Bible, and the third and last carry the crowns.

I have laid some stress upon the significance of this new element in the Coronation, this 1937 addition to the centuries-old ceremony, because it is a fact which makes it especially important that the details of the ceremony should be known to all before the event. A knowledge of what is going to take place at successive stages in the ceremony, why it is taking place, how it is taking place, is indispensable if those who cannot be inside the Abbey wish to participate as fully as possible in the ceremony. Let us also remember that in witnessing this linking of the scientific marvels of the twentieth century to the traditions of the tenth century, we shall be watching an example of that adaptability and flexibility of British Constitutional usage which is its most valuable characteristic.

Ever since the Coronation of William the Conqueror on Christmas Day, 1066, the Kings and Queens of England have been crowned at Westminster Abbey. The Abbey, founded by William’s predecessor, King Edward the Confessor, has always been in a special sense a Royal Church, and the custom started by the Conqueror soon came to be regarded as a fixed and unalterable right.

Until the Reformation, the Crown Jewels were kept in an ancient strong room in the Eastern Cloister at Westminster; since then they have been removed to the Tower of London and are only brought to the Abbey on the day before each Coronation. Immediately before the Service begins, they are carried to the West end of the Church by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, accompanied by the officiating Archbishops and Bishops in procession, and there they are delivered to the Peers, who are to bear them before the King and Queen.

Crown Copyright of Photographs Reserved]

[Colour Reproductions, Copyright Evans Bros.

ST. EDWARD’S CROWN

St. Edward’s Crown is the official Crown of England, and is used for the actual crowning of the King at the Coronation. It is very heavy and is only worn during the Coronation ceremony. The Crown is made of gold and is ornamented with precious stones. Inside the crown is a cap of velvet, turned up with ermine.

This Crown is supposed to be a copy of one which is said to have belonged not only to Edward the Confessor, but also to Alfred the Great, a hundred and seventy years earlier still. This ancient Crown was destroyed, together with almost all the old Regalia, at the time of the Commonwealth. After the Restoration, new articles of the Regalia were manufactured for the Coronation of Charles II, among them a Crown named “St. Edward’s” in memory of the one which it replaced. The present St. Edward’s Crown is thought to be mainly the same as that made for Charles II in 1661.

Crown Copyright of Photographs Reserved]

[Colour Reproductions, Copyright Evans Bros.

THE IMPERIAL STATE CROWN

This beautiful Crown is worn by the King after the Coronation for his drive back to the Palace from Westminster Abbey, and for all other State occasions during his reign, such as the Opening of Parliament. It was made for Queen Victoria’s Coronation in 1838.

The Crown consists of a circlet of openwork silver filled with clusters of jewels surrounded with diamonds. In the front of this circlet is set the second largest portion of the Cullinan diamond, known as the “Star of Africa.” The cross, in the front of the Crown, contains the Black Prince’s Ruby, and in the centre of the cross on top of the Crown is St. Edward’s Sapphire. The Crown also contains four large egg-shaped pearls, said to have been the ear-rings of Queen Elizabeth.

In addition to St. Edward’s Crown and the Imperial State Crown, there is also the Imperial Crown of India. This was made for King George V to wear at the Durbar in India to which he went after his Coronation, and is a very beautiful crown, containing many valuable jewels.

When the Princes and Princesses and all the vast concourse of people who are to be present at the ceremony have arrived and taken their places in the Abbey, the Royal Procession is formed outside the West door; and as soon as “notice is given of the approach of his Majesty,” it begins to move into the Church.

No statelier or more splendid pageant is ever seen in England than the Coronation Procession. As this glittering array advances up the nave, the beautiful anthem from the hundred and twenty-second Psalm (v. 1-3, 6, 7) is sung to greet the King and Queen as they enter the West door and pass up the Church. The Queen enters first, her Regalia borne in state before her, and her train carried by the Mistress of the Robes; the Ladies of her Household follow. Next come the highest dignitaries of the realm, bearing among them the King’s Regalia, and followed by three Bishops carrying the Bible, and the Chalice and Patina for the Communion Service. Then, clad in a flowing Crimson Robe, with a cloak of ermine hanging from his shoulders and the crimson silk Cap of State upon his head comes—The King. On his either hand walk the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Bath and Wells; and his train is borne by eight young pages of noble blood, assisted by the Master of the Robes. On either side of both the King and the Queen march a bodyguard of Gentlemen-at-Arms, carrying gold-tipped halberts. Following the King, the rear of the procession is brought up by a brilliant company of nobles, officers, and members of the King’s Household, followed last of all by the Yeomen of the Guard.

THE CORONATION OF QUEEN VICTORIA

Here we see Queen Victoria immediately after she has been crowned. In the background the Peers are acclaiming her as their Queen. Such a scene as this will be witnessed when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are crowned.

The Procession passes up through the Choir to the “Theatre,” where galleries and tiers of seats are erected between the pillars and in the transepts for the privileged guests—Peers and Peeresses, Members of the House of Commons and their wives. Here, beneath the central tower and mid-way between the Choir and the Sanctuary, a platform is raised, in the centre of which is the King’s Throne. The Queen’s Throne is to the left of the King’s and on a slightly lower level. Farther up, within the Sanctuary and facing the Altar, is placed King Edward’s Chair, the historic Coronation Chair containing the Stone of Destiny, in which every Sovereign of England, with the exception of Mary I,^[1] has been crowned since the time of Edward II. The two Chairs of Estate for the King and Queen are placed on the south side of the Altar, with their faldstools before them.

[1]	Mary I was crowned in a chair which was sent to her from Rome after having been blessed by the Pope. It is now preserved in Winchester Cathedral.

As first the Queen and then the King approach the entrance to the Choir, the boys of Westminster School, who, according to ancient custom, are placed high in a gallery near the great organ, cry out in greeting. “Vivat! Vivat! Vivat! Regina Elizabeth!” and “Vivat! Vivat! Vivat! Georgius Rex!” they will shout on May 12th, 1937, using the time-honoured Latin words of salutation for their shrill, startling cry. This acclamation of the Sovereigns, which is supposed especially to represent the part played by the crowd at a medieval Coronation, is one of the most interesting features of the ceremony. It is now rehearsed beforehand, and is extremely effective, but it seems likely that a century ago the results were left to chance—judging from the comment of a guest at the Coronation of Queen Victoria, who reported that “a more murderous scream of recognition than that which they” (the Westminster boys) “gave Her Majesty... was never before heard by civilized ears!”

When the Procession reaches the “Theatre,” the King and Queen pass immediately to their Chairs of Estate, and the Service at once proceeds. After the Recognition, the Regalia (all but the Swords) is delivered to the Dean to be placed upon the Altar, and the Peers and others, except those who are to take part in the ceremony, pass to the seats allotted to them. A summary of the service is given in Chapter Five.

THE THREE MAIN STAGES OF THE SERVICE

The Coronation Service can be divided into three main stages, as follows:—

1.

The Recognition and the Oath. The new King is formally accepted by the people, and this acceptance is sealed by his pledge to govern them well and truly according to the Constitution. This stage of the Service is an important and necessary preliminary. It also includes the Litany and the beginning of the Communion Service.

2.

The Anointing, the Investiture and the Crowning. These ceremonies constitute the most important and significant part of the Service—that in which the King is consecrated as the Lord’s Anointed, and receives the Insignia of his royal office.

3.

The Enthronement and the Homage. This stage follows as the natural sequel to what has gone before. The King, having been acclaimed, anointed, and crowned, is “lifted up into” his throne and receives the homage of his subjects.

This concludes “the solemnity of the King’s Coronation.” As there is a Queen Consort, her Coronation follows immediately, and the Communion Service then proceeds. After the final blessing the Te Deum is sung.