The Coronation of King George VI and Elizabeth

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On 6 May 2023, a big Royal Event will take place: The Coronation of
King Charles III and Queen (Consort) Camilla. 

Leading up to this event, the Allaboutroyalfamilies blog will look back
at how the coronation ceremonies went in the past.

👉 For more information, do take a look at the special coronation
page on top of this blog or on this link. 


The coronation of King George VI and Elizabeth


On May 12th. 1937, the coronation of King George VI and Elizabeth took
place at Westminster Abbey in London. George VI ascended the throne
upon the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, on 11 December 1936,
three days before his 41st birthday. Edward's coronation had been
planned for 12 May and it was decided to continue with his brother
and sister-in-law's coronation on the same date.




Ceremony

The coronation service itself began once the procession into the
abbey was over and the King and Queen were seated.
Beginning with the recognition, the King then took an oath
and was anointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, before being
crowned king. As a remnant of the coronation ceremony's
feudal origins, the King then received homage from the
peers and peeresses of the realm in attendance.


The King was conducted by the Garter King of Arms to
St Edward's Chair, and the Archbishop, as tradition dictates, asked:
"Sirs, I here present unto you King George, your undoubted King:
wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and
service, are you willing to do the same?" The people replied loudly
at each repetition "God save King George". The king then sat in the
Chair of State and the regalia, except the swords, were laid on the altar.
The King then knelt before the altar and swore on the Bible his
coronation oath, a copy of which he then signed.

The Archbishop of Canterbury then began the Communion Service,
while the Bishop of London read the Epistle and the Archbishop of
York the Gospel; after the Service concluded, the King and Queen
knelt while the choir sang "Veni, Creator Spiritus". This marked
the beginning of the anointing of the monarch, when the Archbishop
of Canterbury marks the monarch's head with oil to symbolise the
introduction of the Holy Spirit. The Choir sang Handel's Zadok
the Priest and the Archbishop prayed, before the King was
disrobed and sat in St Edward's Chair, with the Canopy borne by
four knights of the Garter placed over him. The Archbishop then
anointed him with oil from the Ampulla, which had been
poured onto the Anointing Spoon.




Crowning the King

In preparation for his crowning, the King, still on St Edward's Chair,
was invested with the two coronation robes, the Colobium Sindonis
and the Supertunica by the Dean of Westminster. Next, he was
invested with the regalia, each of which symbolised his progress to
kingship. First, the Lord Great Chamberlain touched the King's
heels with the Golden Spurs; the Great Sword of State was deposited
in St Edward's Chapel and the Jewelled Sword of Offering was passed
to the King by the Archbishops and Bishops, who said "With this
sword do justice"; the King then offered this sword at the altar.
Seated again, the Lord Great Chamberlain fastened the
armills and the Dean invested the King with the Royal Robe;
the Archbishop passed him the Orb, put the Ring on his
fourth finger and handed to him the two sceptres—with the cross
(for Royal power) and with the dove (for "mercy and equity").
The Earl of Lincoln, as Deputy of the Lord of the Manor of
Worksop, then handed over a glove, which the King wore.

Once adorned with his regalia and seated in St Edward's Chair,
King George was crowned with St Edward's Crown by the Archbishop
of Canterbury and the people in the abbey proclaimed loudly
"God save the King"; the peers and peeresses wore their coronets
(the only time that this happens) and the guns in the Royal Parks
were fired to mark the crowning. 

The Queen

The Queen was crowned and anointed in a much smaller and
simpler ceremony. This began immediately after the homage to
the King finished, when the Queen knelt in prayer before the altar.
She then went to the Faldstool, which had been placed before the altar,
where she knelt under a canopy, which was held by the Duchesses
of Norfolk, Rutland, Buccleuch and Roxburghe. The Archbishop
anointed her, placed on her fourth finger on her right hand the
Queen's ring and then crowned her, at which point the Princesses
and Peeresses donned their coronets. She was then handed her
Sceptre with the Cross and the Ivory Rod with the Dove, before
walking over to her own throne beside the King, where she sat.


End of the service

The Offertory followed, in which the King and Queen offered
their regalia on the Altar. They then received Holy Communion
from the Archbishop and were passed their crowns before returning
to their thrones where they were also given their sceptres back.
Te Deum was sung by the choir. 

A recess followed, during which the King and Queen proceeded
to St Edward's Chapel. There, the King delivered the Sceptre with the
Dove to the Archbishop who laid it on the altar. The bearers of the Orb,
the Golden Spurs and St Edward's Staff delivered these to the
Dean of Westminster, who laid them on the altar in the chapel. 

The King was disrobed of his Royal Robe of State by the
Lord Great Chamberlain and put on the Robe of Purple Velvet.
The King, now wearing the Imperial State Crown, was then
given the Orb by the Archbishop.

While the King and Queen were in the chapel, the Officers of Arms
arranged the procession out of the abbey, which was similar in
form to the procession into the abbey. The King and Queen then
joined the procession, with the King carrying the Sceptre with the Cross
in his right hand and the Orb in his left, while the Queen carried her
Sceptre with the Cross in her right hand and the Ivory Rod with the
Dove in her left. 

They proceeded to the West Door of the Abbey as the
National Anthem, "God Save the King", was sung.




Royal guests

British royal family

* Princess Elizabeth, the King and Queen's daughter

* Princess Margaret, the King and Queen's daughter

* Queen Mary, the King's mother

* The Princess Royal and The Earl of Harewood, the
King's sister and brother-in-law

* Viscount Lascelles, the King's nephew

* The Hon. Gerald Lascelles, the King's nephew

* The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the King's
brother and sister-in law

* The Duke and Duchess of Kent, the King's
brother and sister-in law

* Princess and Prince Arthur of Connaught, the King's first cousin
and her husband, the King's first cousin once removed

* Earl of Macduff, the King's first cousin once removed

*Lady Maud and Lord Carnegie, the King's first
cousin and her husband

* The Queen of Norway, the King's paternal aunt

* The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, the
King's first cousin and second cousin (representing The King of Norway)

* Princess Helena Victoria, the King's first cousin once removed

* Princess Marie Louise, the King's first cousin once removed

* Lady Patricia Ramsay, the King's first cousin once removed

* Alexander Ramsay, the King's second cousin

* The Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone,
the King's maternal uncle and aunt (also first cousin once removed)

* Lady May and Henry Abel Smith, the King's first
cousin and her husband

* The Marquess and Marchioness of Carisbrooke, the King's first
cousin once removed and his wife

* Lady Iris Mountbatten, the King's second cousin

* The Marquess and Marchioness of Milford Haven, the
King's second cousin and his wife

* Lady Tatiana Mountbatten, the King's second
cousin once removed

* Earl of Medina, the King's second cousin once removed

* Lord and Lady Louis Mountbatten, the King's second
cousin and his wife

* Patricia Mountbatten, the King's second
cousin once removed

* The Marquess and Marchioness of Cambridge, the King's
first cousin and his wife

* Lady Mary Cambridge, the King's first cousin once removed

* The Duchess and Duke of Beaufort, the King's first
cousin and her husband

* Lady Helena Gibbs, the King's first cousin

* Lord Frederick Cambridge, the King's first cousin


Bowes-Lyon/Cavendish-Bentinck families

* The Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne,
the Queen's parents

* The Lady and Lord Elphinstone, the Queen's
sister and brother-in-law

* The Duke and Duchess of Portland, the Queen's first
cousin once removed and his wife

* Lady Margaret Cavendish-Bentinck, the Queen's second
cousin once removed


Foreign royalty

* Kingdom of Afghanistan Sirdar Shah Wali Khan
(representing The King of Afghanistan)

* Belgium The Count of Flanders, the King's third cousin once
removed (representing The King of the Belgians)

* Kingdom of Bulgaria The Prince of Preslav, the King's third
cousin once removed (representing The Tsar of Bulgaria)

* Denmark The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark
and Iceland, the King's second cousins (representing The King of Denmark)

* Kingdom of Egypt Prince Mohammed Abdul Moneim
(representing The King of Egypt)

* Kingdom of Greece The Crown Prince of Greece, the
King's double second cousin (representing The King of the Hellenes)

* Empire of Japan The Prince and Princess Chichibu
(representing The Emperor of Japan)

* Luxembourg The Prince Consort of Luxembourg, husband
of the King's third cousin (representing The Grand
Duchess of Luxembourg)

* Netherlands Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the
Netherlands, the King's fifth cousin and her husband
(representing The Queen of the Netherlands)

* Kingdom of Romania The Grand Voevod of Alba Julia,
the King's double second cousin once removed
(representing The King of the Romanians)

* Saudi Arabia The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
(representing The King of Saudi Arabia)

* Thailand Prince Chula Chakrabongse
(representing The King of Siam)

* Sweden The Crown Princess and Crown Prince of
Sweden, the King's second cousin and her husband,
the King's fourth cousin (also widower of the King's first
cousin once removed) (representing The King of Sweden)

* Yemen Seif Al Islam Hussein (representing The King of Yemen)

* Kingdom of Yugoslavia Princess Paul of Yugoslavia and
The Prince Regent of Yugoslavia, the King's second cousin
and her husband (representing The King of Yugoslavia)

Rulers of British protectorates

* Jordan The Emir of Transjordan

* Zanzibar The Sultan of Zanzibar

* Johor The Sultan of Johor

* Terengganu The Sultan of Terengganu

* Negeri Sembilan The Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan

* Pahang The Sultan of Pahang

* The Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar

* The Maharaja of Jodhpur

* The Maharaja of Ratlam

Other foreign dignitaries

* Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939) Ekrem Bey Libohova
(representing The King of the Albanians)

* Ethiopian Empire Dejazmatch Makonnen Endelkachew
(representing The Emperor of Ethiopia)

* Pahlavi Iran Hassan Esfandiary (representing The
Shahinshah of Iran)

* Kingdom of Iraq Sayid Raouf Al Chadirji (representing
The King of Iraq)

* Kingdom of Italy Conte Grandi (representing
The King of Italy)

* Monaco Comte Henri de Maleville (representing
The Prince of Monaco)

* Kingdom of Nepal Sir Kaiser Shumshere Jung
Bahadur Rana (representing The Maharajadhiraja of Nepal)

* United States James W. Gerard

* United States John J. Pershing






Source pictures: Wikipedia

Location: Londen, Verenigd Koninkrijk

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