The procession to the chapel of the Christiansborg was then marshalled, and as the bells rang out it passed down the marble stairs of the palace and across the quadrangle to the chapel. The King walked under a red velvet canopy, upborne by four privy councillors and four Knights of the Elephant. The Queen walked beneath a similar canopy, upborne by four privy councillors and four Knights of the Dannebrog.
The royal chapel was decorated with great splendour. Of this, as of the other arrangements connected with the coronation, it was recorded: “There was nothing lacking to make it beautiful. It was so splendid and superb that even the foreign envoys were forced to admire the beauty and lavish expenditure, to say nothing of the art in which these were turned to account.” The thrones of the King and Queen were placed upon a dais, under a gorgeous canopy, upborne by two figures of angels with drawn swords. On one side of the canopy was the King’s motto, “Gloria ex amore patriae,” and on the other were the initials of the King and Queen. The King’s throne was of solid ivory, surmounted by a huge amethyst nearly as large as a hen’s egg. The Queen’s throne was of silver, elaborately wrought, and polished until it shone like crystal. At the foot of the thrones lay three life-size lions in cast silver.
At the entrance to the royal chapel the King and Queen were received by the three Bishops, who were to officiate at the ceremony of the anointing, vested in copes of gold brocade. The Bishops first conducted the King to his throne while the choir sang an anthem. They then returned and led the Queen to her throne in like manner. Bishop Harboe of Zealand preached a sermon, and then the ceremony of anointing took place; the coronation was considered as already performed. First the King was anointed with the holy oil, and then the Queen. The service concluded with a Te Deum.
As the royal procession returned to the palace, a salute from the ramparts was fired, and the heralds on the gate blew a loud blast on their silver trumpets. The King and Queen received the congratulations of their court, and then the coronation banquet took place. During the banquet a chorale was sung by the choir, of which a verse may be roughly translated as follows:—
And long shall it be before the sons of the North weep,
For while Christian lives, and Matilda,
There shall be nothing but joy,
And every man shall dwell in his tent in peace.
The coronation was a people’s holiday, and ample provision was made for every class to partake in the festivities. When the banquet was over the King and Queen passed on to the balcony of the palace to look down upon the general rejoicings. A free dinner was given to the populace, and wine ran like water from a fountain, “red wine on the right side and on the left white, five hogsheads of each, of which all drank who would”. In the courtyard an ox had been roasted whole, and not an ox only, for it was stuffed with “three wethers, five lambs, eight pigs, ten geese, twenty brace of duck, and fifty-eight brace of old (sic) hens”. The roasted ox reposed upon a carriage painted red, and its horns were gilt.
“The moment their Majesties appeared on the balcony,” continues the chronicle, “the fountain of wine was set running, and the ox was wheeled forward, pulled by eighteen sailors in white breeches and jackets, with sashes of red, and wreaths upon their heads. On either side of the ox-carriage more sailors walked, similarly attired, and carried baskets of bread. The Quarter-master-Sergeant then ascended the ox-carriage and cried in a loud voice: ‘The roast ox will now be given away!’ and he threw to the crowd a number of silver pieces. With shouts of delight the people rushed forward and scrambled for money, food and wine. The feasting and revelry that followed occupied a countless number of the poor all that evening and the greater part of the night, so delighted were they. Their Majesties took great pleasure in watching the tumult from the balcony of the Christiansborg.”