As the clock struck twelve the king descended the stairs of Whitehall, entered the royal barge, and was rowed to Westminster Palace, where, in a private chamber, he dressed himself in the parliamentary robes. An hour later the queen was carried in her sedan chair also to Westminster. She wore state robes of velvet, bordered with ermine; on her head was a diadem of gold, richly studded with precious stones. The procession was much smaller than that attending any previous coronation had been, because so many of the lords and ladies refused to be present.
As soon as the usual ceremonies were completed, Dr. Burnet, who had been created Bishop of Salisbury, preached the sermon; then the Bishop of London administered the oath, and anointed both sovereigns. The Archbishop of Canterbury had refused to crown either William or Mary, so that office also was performed by the Bishop of London.
The banquet was given at Westminster Hall; but every- thing had gone so slowly that it was almost dark before the challenger entered. This was Dymoke, son of the champion of James II. As he flung his gauntlet upon the ground an old woman hobbled out from among the crowd that stood to witness the feast, and replaced it with a lady's glove, in which was an answer to the challenge, the time and place being appointed in Hyde Park. From two till four the next day a large man was seen to pace up and down the appointed spot; but Dymoke did not appear, and the champion of James II., whoever he was, went on his way unharmed.
King William attended parliament both before and after his coronation; but never did Queen Mary accompany him or have any voice in the government whatever.
After James II.'s defeat in Ireland, the Dutch ambassador arrived in England to congratulate the king and queen on their accession, when rewards and honors were distributed very freely, especially on those who held positions in the household of either Mary or Anne. Lord Churchill received the title of Earl of Marlborough, and henceforth Anne's confidential friend will be known by the name of Lady Marlborough.
Now Princess Anne's displeasure was aroused because she failed to see any gain that had accrued to her from the revolution. While others had attained wealth and station, she had heard a rumor that King William had expressed his astonishment at her having a revenue of thirty thousand pounds per annum, and wondered how she could possibly spend it. This alarmed her, particularly as she had been promised an additional sum by her brother-in-law, which she soon saw there was no probability of getting. King William carried economy to such an excess that he objected to Anne's having separate meals for her branch of the family; but his manners at table were so disagreeable that no lady cared to be present when he ate. He was unpolished in every action, selfish, vulgar, and ill-natured in the extreme. One day a dish of early green peas was placed in front of Anne; they were the first of the season, and looked particularly inviting; but a look was all she got of them, for the king took possession of the dish and devoured the entire contents.
William was inhospitable, too, excepting to his own countrymen. When he dined at St. James's Palace, Marshal Schomberg, the general of the foreign troops, sat at his right hand, and some Dutch officers occupied other places at the table; but if any English nobleman came in William neither spoke to them nor invited them to sit down and eat, which common courtesy demanded. This was very galling, for it humbled the English and placed the Dutch in the position of their conquerors.
The Earl of Marlborough had an aid-de-camp named Dillon, who was intimate with Arnold von Keppel, a favorite page of King William. These boys were usually present at the royal dinners. One day Dillon said: "I have never heard your master utter a word to anybody; does he ever speak?"
"Oh, yes," replied von Keppel, "he talks fast enough at night over his bottle of Holland gin, when he has only his Dutch friends about him."
When Lady Marlborough questioned the young Dillon as to what he saw and heard at the king's table, he replied "That no man was ever treated with such neglect and contempt as Lord Marlborough was.