The Sun.
London, England, 1838-06-28 00:00:00

THE CORONATION.

Mr. Thompson, in his work on
' The Processions and Ceremonies
observed in the Coronation of the
Kings and Queens of England,'
gives the following account of
KING EDWARD'S CHAIR.

This chair (commonly called
St. Edward's Chair) is an ancient
seat of solid, hard wood, with back
and sides of the same, variously
painted, in which the kings of
Scotland were in former periods
constantly crowned ; but, having
been brought out of the kingdom
by King Edward 1., in the year
1296, after he had totally overcome
John Baliol king of Scots, it has.
ever since remained in the abbey of
Westminster, and has been the
royal chair in which the succeeding
kings and queens of this realm have
been inaugurated. It is in height
6 ft. 7 in., in breadth at the bot-
tom, 38 in., and in depth 24 in. ;
from the seat to the bottom is 25 in.,
the breadth of the seat within the
sides is 28 in., and the depth 18 in.
At 9 inches from the ground is a
board, supported at the four corners
by as many lions. Between the
seat and this board is enclosed a
stone, commonly called Jacob's, or
the Fatal Marble Stone, which- is
an oblong, of about 22 in. in length,
13 in. broad, and 11 in. deep ; of a
steel colour, mixed with some veins
of red'. History relates that it is
the stone whereon the patriarch
Jacob laid his head in the plain of
Luz. It is also added, that it was
brought to Brigantia, in the king-
dom of Gallicia in Spain, in which
place Gathol king of Scots sat on
it as his throne. Thence it was
conveyed into Ireland by Simon
Brach, who was king of Scots, about
700 years before Christ's time ;
from thence into Scotland by king
Fergus, about 370 years after-
wards ; and, in the year 850, it was
placed in the abbey of Scone, in
the sheriffdom of Perth, by King
Kenneth, who caused it to be en-
closed in this wooden chair, and a
prophetical verse to be engraved,
of which the following is a trans-
lation
Should fate not fail, where'er this stone
is found
The Scots shall monarchs of that realm
be crown'd.'
" This is the more remarkable by
its having been fulfilled in the per-
son of King James 1., grandfather
to the Princess Sophia, electress
dowager of Hanover, grandmother
to King George 11., who was
grandfather to his late Majesty,
George 111. This antique regal
chair, having (together with the
g, olden sceptre and crown of Scot-
land) been solemnly offered by
King Edward I. to St. Edward
the Confessor, in the year 1297
(from whence it derives the appel-
lation of St. Edward's chair), has
ever since been kept in the chapel
called by his name, with a tablet
affixed to it, whereon several Latin
verses are written in the old Eng-
lish character. The ornaments of
this chair consist of crockets and
fret-work, richly gilt. It has a
cushion, covered with the same ma-
terials. The stone maintains its
usual place under the seat of the
chair, but is hid from observation
by the fringe which surrounds it."
THE REGALIA.
These are—St. Edward's Staff—

the Spurs the Sceptre with the
Cross—the Pointed Sword of Tem-
poral Justice—the Sword of Mercy
—the Sword of State—the Sceptre
with the Dove—the Orb—St. Ed-
ward's Crown—the Patina, the Cha-
lice, and the Bible.
St. Edward's Staff, in length four
feet eleven inches and a half, is a
sceptre of gold, having a foot of
steel about four inches and a quar-
ter in length, with a mound and
cross at the top ; the ornaments are
also of gold, and the diameter is up-
wards of three-quarters of an inch.
The Spurs, called the great gold-
en Spurs, are elaborately wrought ;
they have no rowels, but end in an
ornamented point.
The Sceptre with the Cross, or
Sceptre Royal, is likewise of gold,
the handle plain, and the upper part
wreathed ; it is in length two feet nine
inches and a quarter, and is of the
same thickness as the former. The
point at the lower part is enriched
with rubies, emeralds, and small
diamonds ; and the space of five
inches and a half in length, above
the handle, is elegantly embellished
with similar precious stones. The
top rises into a fleur-de-lis, with six
leaves, of which three are upright,
and the other three are hanging
down, all enriched with precious
stones ; out of the fleur-de-lis issues
a mound made of an amethyst, set
round with table-diamonds, and
f upon the mound a cross, wholly
covered with precious stones, and a
large table-diamond in the centre.
The Sword of Justice of the Tem-
porality, or Third Sword, is sharp-
pointed ; the length of the handle
is four inches, the pommel an inch
and three-quarters, and the cross

AJVVJr+
the hai
wreath
inches
same t
point ;
with
diamoi
inches
the ha:
• with F.
top ris
leaves,
and ti
down,
stones
a mot
round
I. upon
covere
large I
Th(
poralil
pointe
is foul
1"1 and t