Coronation Rites

by Reginald Maxwell Woolley

The Swedish Rite

The post-reformation Swedish rite seems to have undergone very little variation. It was however discontinued at the accession of the present king of Sweden.

The coronation of Carl XI on August 23, 1675, took place as follows[143]. The king goes in procession to the Domkirche, and passing to his seat in the midst of the choir kneels and makes his private devotions. A hymn is then sung, after which a sermon is preached by Basilius Bishop of Skara. The sermon ended, the king goes up to the altar, and taking off the mantle in which he has come to the church is anointed by the Archbishop of Upsala on breast, shoulders, and hands, the archbishop using a special form during the anointing. The king is then invested in the Royal Mantle. The accustomed oath is then taken by him, after which, sitting on a seat in front of the altar he is invested with the royal ornaments, which are brought down from the altar on which they have been deposited. First he is crowned, the king himself setting the Crown on his head. Next he is invested with the Sceptre, Apple, Key, and Sword, the archbishop using a special form at the delivery of each ornament. After the investitures the king returns the ornaments to the lords, to whose charge they belong, except the Crown and Sceptre, and returns to his seat in the choir. A herald proclaims Carl has been crowned King of Sweden and no other, a fanfare of trumpets is sounded, and the choir sings Vivat Rex Carolus. The Litany is then sung by the bishops and congregation, and after certain prayers and hymns the ceremony comes to an end. The various nobles and officials then swear allegiance and the royal procession takes its departure.

The most noticeable feature in this order is perhaps the occurrence of the Key among the regalia, an ornament peculiar to the Swedish rite, and evidently an ancient peculiarity. It is possible that in this account the taking of the oath is wrongly described as occurring after the anointing instead of before it, for in subsequent orders it occurs in its proper place, before the anointing. Also the king is stated to have crowned himself, whereas in a contemporary engraving of the coronation of King Carl Gustaf in 1654, the king is represented as being crowned by the archbishop and the Princeps Senatus, Count Drotzel, conjointly, and this has been the practice down to the last celebration of a coronation ceremony in Sweden.

The coronation of a Swedish king in modern times may be illustrated by the order used when Carl XV and Queen Wilhelmina Frederika were crowned in 1860[144].

The king and queen proceed to the church in separate processions. The king is met by the archbishop in his canonicals and the bishops in their copes, the archbishop greeting him with the words Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord, and the Bishop of Skara saying a prayer that the king may be endowed with grace to rule his people well. The archbishop and bishops then escort the king to his seat before the altar with the Royal Standard on his right hand and the banner of the Order of the Seraphim on his left. The Bishop of Strengnäs and the other bishops await the coming of the queen, and when she enters the Bishop of Strengnäs greets her with the words Blessed be she that cometh in the name of the Lord, and the Bishop of Hernosänd says a prayer almost identical with that said at the king’s entrance. She is conducted to her seat on the left side of the choir, and their Majesties kneel and make their private devotions, while the regalia are deposited on the altar.

The archbishop begins the service singing Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, with which the Swedish ‘High Mass’ commences; the Bishop of Skara recites the Creed before the altar, and the hymn Come thou Holy Spirit, come, is sung, and the sermon is preached by the Bishop of Götheborg. The Litany is then said and after this, during the singing of an anthem, the king goes to his throne on a dais before the altar, with the Royal Standard borne on his right hand and the banner of the Seraphim on his left, followed by a procession of the regalia. There before the altar his mantle and princely coronet are taken off and deposited on the altar, and kneeling he is invested in the Royal Mantle by a state minister, and the Archbishop of Upsala reads the first chapter of St John. The Minister of Justice then dictates the oath to the king, which he takes, laying three fingers on the Bible. Immediately after the taking of the oath the archbishop anoints the king on forehead, breast, temples, and wrists, saying, The Almighty everlasting God pour out His Holy Spirit into your soul and mind, plans and undertakings, by whose gift may you so rule land and kingdom, as to redound to the honour and glory of God, maintain justice and equity, and be for the good of the land and people. The king then resumes his seat, and the archbishop and Minister of Justice crown him conjointly, the archbishop praying in a set form that his rule may be good and prosperous. The king is next invested with the Sceptre by the archbishop and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Apple is delivered to him by Count Hamilton, the archbishop using a set form in both cases. The Key is then delivered to the king by Major-General af Nordin, the archbishop saying the following prayer: God the Almighty who of His divine providence hath raised you to this royal dignity, grant you grace to unlock treasures of wisdom and truth for your people, to lock out error, vices, and sloth from your kingdom, and to provide for the industrious prosperity and increase, relief and comfort for the suffering and afflicted. Finally a naked sword is put into the king’s hand, the archbishop saying a prayer that he may use his power well and justly. The archbishop then returns to the altar, and the king having his Crown on his head and holding the Sceptre in his right hand and the Apple in his left, a herald proclaims Now has Carl XV been crowned king over the lands of Sweden, Gotha, and the underlying provinces. He and no other. A hymn is sung and the archbishop says a prayer and gives the Benediction.

The queen is now led up to her throne before the altar. She is invested in the Royal Mantle, anointed on forehead and wrists, crowned, and invested with Sceptre and Apple, the forms used being those employed for the king and adapted to the queen. She is then proclaimed by a herald, and the choir sings, Prosperity to the Queen, and then part of a hymn, and the archbishop recites the last prayer as over the king. As in all other protestant rites there is no communion, only the first part of the ‘High Mass’ being used in this case. After the coronation of the queen homage is done, and during the singing of the hymn Now thank we all our God, the royal procession leaves the church.

The order used for the coronation of King Oscar II in 1872 is identical with the above. This was the last occasion on which a coronation rite was observed in Sweden.