The King. All this I promise to do.
His Majesty, when he had said these words passed to the Altar, knelt down and with his hand on the Bible said: "The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep. So help me God." After signing the Oath the King returned to his chair. A hymn, a prayer by the Archbishop and an anthem followed. Meanwhile His Majesty, after being relieved of his crimson robes by the Lord Great Chamberlain and of his cap of state, proceeded to King Edward's Chair, near the Altar and, and while four Knights of the Garter in their magnificent robes and insignia—the Earl of Rosebery, Earl of Derby, Earl of Cadogan and Earl Spencer—held over him a Pall of golden Silk, the Archbishop, assisted by the Dean of Westminster, anointed him with holy oil on the crown of the head, on his breast and on his hands. His Grace of Canterbury concluded this part of the ceremony with the words: "And as Solomon was anointed King by Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet, so be you anointed, blessed and consecrated King over this People whom the Lord your God hath given you to rule and govern. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen." The King, after a brief prayer by the Archbishop then resumed his place in King Edward's Chair and was robed by the Dean of Westminster with cloth of gold and symbolic girdle.
INCIDENTS OF THE CEREMONY
Various typical or symbolic functions were then performed. The Lord Great Chamberlain touched the King's feet with a pair of golden spurs as constituting the ancient emblems of Knighthood; a Sword of State, with scabbard of purple velvet, was then handed with elaborate ceremony to the Archbishop who, after placing it upon the Altar and delivering a short prayer proffered it to His Majesty about whom it was girt by the Lord Great Chamberlain, His Grace of Canterbury giving the following injunction: "With this sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the Holy Church of God, help and defend widows and orphans, restore the things that are going to decay, maintain the things that are restored, furnish and reform what is amiss and confirm what is in good order; that by doing these things you may be glorious in all virtue; and so faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this life that you may reign for ever with him in the life that is to come." The King then placed the Sword upon the Altar from which it was presently taken and held drawn from the scabbard before him during the rest of the ceremony. The Dean of Westminster then invested His Majesty with the Armilla, or gold bracelets, and with the Imperial mantle of cloth of gold, while the Archbishop presented the Orb of Empire—a golden ball, made originally for Charles II. with a band covered with gems and a cross set in brilliants. As he did so His Grace said: "Receive this Imperial Robe and Orb; and the Lord your God endow you with knowledge and wisdom, with majesty and with power from on high; the Lord clothe you with the robe of righteousness and with the garments of salvation."
The next incident was the placing of a gold ring—carried off by James II. in his flight, and afterwards recovered in Rome by George IV.—upon the fourth finger of the King's right hand with an Episcopal injunction to receive the ring as "the ensign of kingly dignity and of defence of the Catholic faith." Then came the presentation of the Sceptre by the Archbishop as the ensign of kingly power and justice, and the rod of equity and mercy, while the Duke of Newcastle as Hereditary Lord of the Manor of Worksop, had the privilege or right of placing a glove upon the King's hand. Following this came the central and most dramatic feature of the ceremonies—the placing of the Crown upon His Majesty's head by the Archbishop of Canterbury. As the action was performed the venerable Abbey shook with the acclamation of "God Save the King" while the trumpets blared and the scene, already brilliant with varied splendours, flashed in added beauty when the Peers and Peeresses put on their glittering coronets. A brief prayer and the presentation of a copy of the Bible by the Archbishop followed with a benediction ending in the words: "The Lord give you a fruitful country and healthful seasons; victorious fleets and armies and a quiet Empire; a faithful Senate, wise and upright Counsellors and magistrates, a loyal nobility and dutiful gentry; a pious and learned and useful Clergy; an honest, industrious and obedient community."
After the Te Deum was sung by the choir, His Majesty for the first time took his place upon the Throne surrounded by the leading officials, nobles and clergy, and listened to a brief exordium from the Archbishop, ending with the hope that God would "establish your Throne in righteousness that it may stand fast for evermore." Then came the impressive ceremony of Homage. First the Archbishop of Canterbury, kneeling in front of His Majesty with all the Bishops in their places, repeated an oath of allegiance. Then the Prince of Wales, taking off his coronet, knelt in front of the King and the other Princes of the blood royal knelt in their places and repeated the quaint mediæval formula in which they swore "to become your liege man of life and limb and of earthly worship, and faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die against all manner of Folks." At this point occurred an abbreviation of the ceremony as well as an impromptu change in the proceedings. As the Prince rose from his knees touched the Crown on his father's head and kissed his left cheek in the the formal manner prescribed, the King rose, threw his arms round his son's neck for a moment and then took his hand and shook it warmly. After the homage of the Heir Apparent each Peer of the realm should have followed the traditionary form in the order of his rank and touched the Crown and kissed the King's cheek. This was modified, however, so as to enable each grade of the nobility to perform the function through its representative of oldest patent—the Duke of Norfolk, the Marquess of Winchester, the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Viscount Hereford and the Baron de Ros. After this had been done the trumpets once more sounded their acclaims and the audience joined in shouting "God save King Edward."
A short but stately ceremony of crowning the Queen then followed. The Archbishop of York officiated and four Peeresses upheld the Cloth of Gold over Her Majesty as she was anointed upon the head. A ring was placed upon her finger with a brief prayer, and a sceptre in her hand with the following words: "Grant unto this thy servant Alexandra, our Queen, that by the powerful and mild influence of her piety and virtue, she may adorn the high dignity which she hath obtained, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Her Majesty was then escorted from the Altar to her own Throne, bowing reverently to the King as she passed him to take her place.
The King and Queen then passed to the Altar together, taking off their Crowns and kneeling on faldstools and His Majesty formally offered the Sacrament of Communion to the Archbishop. After thus indicating his headship of the National Church, the King returned with his Consort to their chairs and listened to some brief prayers. Thence they returned to the Altar, received Communion from the Archbishop of Canterbury and then passed into the Chapel of Edward the Confessor accompanied by a stately procession. There they were arrayed in Royal robes of purple and velvet, in place of the mantels previously worn, and passed with slow and stately dignity down the nave, out to their carriage and thence through masses of cheering people to Buckingham Palace.
There were several incidents in connection with the Coronation ceremonies which deeply impressed the onlookers. One was the spontaneous and obvious sincerity of the King's affectionate greeting to his son. Another was the enfeebled condition of the aged Archbishop of Canterbury. With his massive frame, brilliant intellect, and piercing eyes Dr. Temple had lived a life of intense mental activity and religious zeal, but in these declining days the massive form had become bent and trembling, the memory and the eyes found difficulties in the solemn words of the service, and his shaking hands could hardly place the Crown upon the head of his King. But the latter's solicitude and anxious care to save the Primate any exertion, not absolutely essential, were marked and noticed by all that vast assemblage. The Royal patient was transformed, by kindly sympathy, into a guardian of the Archbishop's weakness. When tendering his homage as first of all the subjects of the King, the aged Primate almost fainted and was unable to rise from his knees until His Majesty assisted him. Prior to the actual Coronation, Mr. Edwin A. Abbey, R.A., who had been commissioned by the King to paint a picture of the historic scene, was allowed to take note of the surroundings. Another incident of the event was the presence of the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz—placed by desire of Queen Alexandra in a seat at the exact spot which she had held during the Coronation of Queen Victoria.
On the day following the great event a final bulletin was issued by Sir F. Laking and Sir F. Treves, which stated that "His Majesty bore the strain of the Coronation ceremony perfectly well, and experienced but little fatigue. The King has had a good night, and his condition is in every way satisfactory." Being Sunday, special services were held in the St. James's Chapel Royal, at St. Paul's Cathedral, in Marlborough House Chapel, and at St. Margaret's, Westminster. On Monday, a Royal message to the nation was made public through Mr. Balfour, the Prime Minister. Dated on Coronation Day, it described the Osborne House estate, on the Isle of Wight, as being the private property of the Sovereign, and expressed his wish to establish this once favourite residence of the late Queen as a National Convalescent Home for Officers of the Army and Navy—maintaining intact, however, the rooms which were in her late Majesty's personal occupation. "Having to spend a considerable part of the year in the capital of this Kingdom and in its neighbourhood, at Windsor, and having also strong home ties in the County of Norfolk, which have existed now for nearly forty years, the King feels he will be unable to make adequate use of Osborne House as a Royal residence, and he accordingly has determined to offer the property in the Isle of Wight as a gift to the nation." Following the Coronation came multitudes of editorial comments upon the event, and one of the most concise and expressive was that of the London Times: "The significance of the Coronation ceremony on Saturday lay in its profound sincerity, as a solemn compact between the Sovereign and his subjects, ratified by oath, and blessed by the highest dignitaries of the National Church. It was a covenant between a free people, accustomed for long centuries to be governed according to statutes in Parliament agreed on, and their hereditary King, and a supplication from both to God that the King may be endowed with all princely virtues in the exercise of his great office. Though the details of the ceremony do not mean to us all they meant to our forefathers, the ceremony itself is a no less strong and enduring bond between the King and subjects. The most striking feature of the Coronation was that it was the first to be attended by the statesmen of self-governing Colonies, and by the feudatory Princes of India."