The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-15
WHEN THE KING COMES IN.
Ceremonies That Will Be Performed
by the College of Arms.
From the London Mail.

from tne IL nuOn Mail
When the time comes (Which may
heaven delay for new king Of Eng
land the College of Arms will proclaim
him, just as they have proclaimed
every monarch for hundreds of years
past.
Times change--and dynasties. Wa
are less like the Englishmen Of Ed
ward | than we are like the modern
Japs. We talk a different tongue, eat
different foods, we wear different
clothes, we think different thoughts
Nothing is the same except the col
umns of Stcnehenge and the College
Of Arms. The college abides, varying
by not so much as a detail of prOce-
dure or button on a uniform. What
is is good and cannot be improved.
Therefore the business of proclamation
VIII be the same in the twentieth CEN
tury as it was in the fifteenth.
When the time unhapply comes for
new king to reign the priVy council
! meet and declare the throne to have
developed on the Prince of Wales.
Orders will at once be given to the
earl marshal and the officers Of the
College of Arms to proclaim him. The
| first proclamation will he made in the
courtyard of st. James palace, where
! the guard is changed.
Garter king, the chief officer Of the
| college, will make the proclamation in
| solemn form, with the earl marshal
the kings and heralds and the pursuiy-
| ants in full uniform and mounted hard
| by. At this proclamation the mon
arch is present, sitting at the window,
where all his predecessors have sat.
That is the chiefest of the rroclama-
! tions. But the news has to be carried
| far and wide to the distant city, the
rank of the proclaiminG officer de-
scending as the business proceeds. The
| second announcement is made al Char.
| ing Cross ana the third at the cor.
ner of Chancery Lane.
At this proclamation there will be n
modification of the ancient form, ow-
ing to the disappearance of Temple
| Bar. Within the city of London the
lord mayor and sh9iffs preserve their
ancient sovereignty and allow no ruler
within their gates except after per-
mission asked and granted.
The old form was for the junior pur-
suivant to rap at the gate ad show
his warrant for proclamation. Then
the lord mayor ordered the gate to be
opened and Joined in the stately pro-
cession.
The ceremony will doubtless remain,
barring the knock at the gate, which
does not exist. The last proclamation
is made either at the corner of Wood
street, Cheapside, or beside the royal
exchange. In the provinces the procla-
nations are made by the local mayors.
| IRAinps nd
king has to offer to fight for his throne.
In the oden times, when a king reigned
by the power Of his right arm. this was
a necessary formality, and because il
was necessary one it is done still. But
the king no longer does his own fight
ing. He has a champion, the hereditary
champion Of England, whose business
it is to do battle with all comers fol
the crown.
The champion is always a member
Of the Dymoke family. When the kina
Is crowned he rides into Westminster
hall, mounted and in full armor, JUS
as the champion was six hundred years
ago. He is accompanied by the ear
: marsha! and the lord great chamber,
, lain, also on horseback. The han is
crowded with ticketed sightseers.
A proclamation is read by one of the
| heralds challenging anybody who dis.
putes the right of the sovereign Il
J combat in an open space. The cham,
pon throws down his gauntlet as &
guarantee Of good faith, and then the
hearts Of all the ladies hutter in an,
ticipatiOn of a fight
But ii is all a disappointing sham
p If some enterprising person were tC
! take up the challenge and the gauntle
he would probably be run in by the po
lice for creating a disturbance. The
= herald takes up the glove and hands Il
back to the champion and then the
king Is firmly seated on his throne.