At the coronation of King Edward VII the vestments which we have described were all used with the exception of the albe, and to the other devices on the imperial mantle the lotus flower was added as a symbol for India, as the King was the first sovereign to be crowned as Emperor of India.
The robe which the King wears at the opening of Parliament has a cape of ermine made up in miniver style, and it is lined throughout with the same fur. We might here say that ordinary ermine is decorated with the tails of the stoat, which remain black when this animal puts on its winter dress, whereas in the case of miniver the fur is spotted all over with little black pieces made from the skin of some other animal. This has not always been the same, but at the present time Persian lamb is used.
The magnificence of the King’s parliamentary robe and its train of crimson velvet may be gathered from the fact that in the making of the miniver, upwards of ten thousand pieces of black fur were used. In a portrait of the King, taken when wearing this robe, he is shown in the uniform of a Field Marshal, and holds in his hand the Field Marshal’s baton. The latter originally was a box in which the general carried the orders of his sovereign, and it is rather curious that what was once the emblem of the servant should come to be used by a crowned head himself.
The rank of noblemen is indicated on their parliamentary robes by the number of bands of ermine with which they are decorated. A Baron has two, a Viscount two and a half, an Earl three, a Marquis three and a half, and a Duke four, whereas on their coronation robes the same effect is gained by a similar number of rows of black spots on the miniver, which forms a kind of cape.
As in connection with life at Court there are a number of special uniforms and official dresses which are carefully prescribed, it is likely that we should find among the dress of those surrounding the sovereign, many and excellent examples of survivals. There is, indeed, one uniform which has come down to us practically unaltered from the year 1485. This is the dress worn by the Yeomen of the Guard, who may be looked upon as the King’s Retainers. (See Figure [142].)
It is an obvious example of the point that we have dwelt upon in connection with badges and liveries, for borne on the back and chest are the royal crown and initials. Of course, the latter have altered from time to time, and when the King came to the throne the Tudor crown, which had been superseded by that of St. Edward, was replaced.
Fig. 142.—A Yeoman of the Guard of the present reign.
The development of the badges on the coat is interesting. In Henry VII’s reign there was the crown and the red and white rose. In the time of Anne the thistle was added, and the rose was placed upon a stalk. The Tudor crown was also replaced, for during the Stuart period, St. Edward’s crown had appeared, and the royal motto was added. In the Georgian period St. Edward’s crown again was made use of, while George III added the shamrock. Now, in King Edward VII’s time, we have the Tudor crown, the rose, thistle, and shamrock, the motto “Dieu et mon droit,” and the initials “E.R.”