[78] Gunning’s despatch, Copenhagen, December 6, 1766.
[79] Conway’s despatch, St. James’s, December 29, 1766.
The festivities of the Danish court culminated in the coronation and anointing of the King and Queen, which took place on May 1, 1767.[80] The day dawned brilliantly fine, though the air was clear and cold. At an early hour the bells of the Vor-Frue-Kirke (the Church of Our Lady, the metropolitan church of Denmark) began to ring, and bells chimed merrily from other towers. At eleven o’clock all the gentlemen-in-waiting assembled in the King’s ante-chamber, and all the ladies-in-waiting in the Queen’s. The King donned the anointing robes: “A short jacket and breeches of gold brocade, pearl-coloured silk stockings, white gloves embroidered with gold, and white shoes with red heels; his buckles, garters and coat buttons were set with diamonds, and his cloak of royal ermine was embroidered with golden flowers”. The King, thus arrayed, crowned himself with his own hands according to the Lex Regia, which ordained that “since the Kings of Denmark do not receive the crown from any hands but their own, the ceremony of coronation shall be performed by themselves”.
[80] The following description of the coronation is taken from official documents preserved in the Royal Archives, Copenhagen.
With the crown on his head the King, accompanied by the Grand Chamberlain, who carried the Queen’s crown on a velvet cushion, went to the Queen’s room and crowned her with his own hands.
This ceremony over, the King took the sceptre in his right hand and the orb in his left, and donned the collars of both the great Danish orders, the Elephant and the Dannebrog. Then he passed into his audience chamber, his train upborne by the Counts Reventlow and Danneskjold-Samsöe. There he held a court, and received the homage of the principal personages in the state.
The Queen, likewise attired in her anointing robes, to wit: “A robe of cloth of gold, and a royal mantle of red velvet lined with ermine and embroidered with gold crowns,” and with the crown upon her head, passed into her audience chamber, her train upborne by Madame de Plessen and the Countess St. Germains. Here she held a court, and received the homage of the assembled ladies.
THE CHRISTIANSBORG PALACE, COPENHAGEN.
From an Old Print, temp. 1768.