The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-04-08
J. S. VAN ANTWERP.
CORONATION PRIVILEGES.
A Few of the Curious Customs That
King Edward May Revive.

lNeW 4Ork IElpuue-(
Although the coronation of King Ed
ward is still distant many months,
English newspapers are busy speculat-
ing on the probability of the revival of
those time-hOnored if absurd ceremo-
malls. which were features of the
browning of George ", but which were
unobserved when William " and Vic
toria came to the throne. Among the
ceremonialS which may be resuScitated
for the occasion are the coronation ban
quet, the challenge of the champion and
the procession of the peers.
Peculiar privileges accrue to certain
of the coronation officers, who perform
their duties through hereditary right;
for instance, the lord great chamber
! lain is entitled to the clothing worn by
the sovereign on the eve of the corona
ton and also to the furniture of the
kings bed room. He also carries the
silver basin in which the king washes
his hands before he is crownz5 and this,
together with silver pitcher, becomes
the property of the chamberlain, who
may also claim forty yards of the
crimson velvet over which the SOVer-
eign walks TO his throne.
The Office Of champion, which is vest
ed in the Dymoke family, involves the
ridiculous privilege of publicly chal-
longing anyone to dispute the kings
2
warded by the possession of a gold cup.
The Duke of Norfolk, who is hereditary
chief butler, as well as earl marshal Of
I the kingdom, may serve his Hege lord
with wine from a gold cup and keep
! the cup; the lord mayor of London en-
/ joys a similar privilege. The Duke OF
/ Newcastle, as lord of the Manor OF
/ Wooksop, may claim the Weighty re-
B SpOnSibility of supplying the sovereign
with a glove for his right hand and
loo xss17
elbow when the royal hand grabs the
3 sceDter. Another royal dignity is that
/ Of herbstrewer, which allows some WO-
J man of noble lineage to head the coro-
/ nation procession and to scatter flowers
/ in front of the king. The Earl of Den
J high has the right to act as grand
carver at the coronation banquet and
the Duke Of AthOll may present two
falcons to the king. The list Of curious
privileges closes with the exclusive
right of the Duke Of st. Adams to drive
along Rotten Row on the day of the
coronation this right by the way.
was exercised at the time of Queen
Victoria's coronation.
Since the conquest there have been,
say, thirty-five kings and queens
crowned as sovereigns, and, taking the
average length of time between the
dates of their accessions and corona
tions, it viii be found that the period
is, as near as may be. four months. In
excluded, as he was but years old on
his accession and was not crowned till
more than seven years afterward. Nor
are the second installations OF Henry
! III and Henry " reckOned. In the
/ case of George ". the date orig naIv
fixed by his majesty's proclamation Of
1 February, 1920, is taken, by which he
! appointed Aug. 1 following for the cere-
mcny- His second proclamation post
poned the event for nearly twelve
months to enable Queen Caroline to
bring before the priVy council her
/ claim to be crowned as of right at the
same time as the king. It viii be re-
membered that the court Of claims de-
cided against her majesty, and she was
| not crowned.
The shortest intervals between an ac-
cession and a coronation appear to
have been in the case of Henry I who
was chosen king on Aug. ?, hoo. and
| crowned three days afterwards. Henry
/ III was but nine days uncrOwned, Ed
; ward III twelve de yS-indeed, il is evil
/ dent that in those days eoronations
J were carried out on the shortest notice.
/ From King Edward I 0272) to George
/ III Q16l) the average interval was two
months. The longest periods com
/ menced with William ", who bega
to reign June 20, 1880, and was crowned
Sept s, 1881. Then came Queen VIC,
toria, who assembled the throne June 20
| 1881, and was crowned June 2S. 1888.
Kings and queens in the good old
times were, like their subjects, super
stitious-witness the ceremony of
touching for the kings evn"-and the
/ almanacs of the period indicated boldly
the lucky and unlucly days Better
the day. better the deed" SAYS the old
ed &c. and it wouli seem the an
/ n a.. T ~
so, too. A list of ceremonials shows
that nearly half of the coronation
days have been Sundays Edward the
Elder on Whit Sunday. 901. is the nrsl
on the list. and the last is Elizabeth, on
Sunday, Jan 10. 1858. Thursday comes