Charles II and James II were both crowned on St. George’s Day, the festival of the Patron Saint of England.
William and Mary were crowned as joint sovereigns, Mary sitting in a Chair of State made for the occasion, a chair which is now to be seen in Henry VII’s Chapel. She also had the sword and other symbols of sovereignty given to her, just as her husband, King William, had.
The Coronation of George IV is remembered partly for its magnificence, but chiefly, perhaps, on account of the sad and foolish attempt to get into the Abbey made by poor Queen Caroline, and the manner in which she was turned away from the doors.
The Coronation of Queen Victoria brings us nearer to our own time, and the thought of that day reminds us of the good Queen whose long life of anxious work and responsibility began in her early girlhood. She took upon her the cares of sovereignty at an age when most girls think mainly of amusing themselves, and we all know how well she kept the solemn promises made on her Coronation Day at the Abbey.
King Edward VII’s Coronation has already been described. That beautiful and stately ceremony was all the more touching and impressive because of the thankfulness of the people for the King’s recovery from a dangerous illness, a feeling which made their gladness and enthusiasm all the greater.
This short account of some of the Coronations will help to explain still further how and why the Abbey has always held such an important place in our national life. We see that the Norman, Plantagenet, Tudor, Stuart, and Hanoverian sovereigns have all come here to be crowned, close to the shrine of the last Saxon King, much in the same way as the French Kings used to go for their coronations to the great cathedral at Reims, and as the Tsars of Russia go to the Kremlin at Moscow.
We must now leave the Coronations, and turn to think of some of the great people who are buried and commemorated in the Abbey.
[D. Weller.
SHRINE OF KING EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.