The Washington herald., 1911-06-04
Drowning the King.

OF Norfolk. as Earl Marshal, kept
order in tho hall while mounted on
his huge horse which was draped In
cloth of gold.
Immediately after the defeat of
Richard III at Bosworth. Henry VII
was crowned on the battlefield. The
defeated monarch had worn his crown
iEto the battle but had lost 1t in the
melee. Lord Stanley. a noble, found
1t in a hawthorn bush. and. in the
presence Of the entire army. picked 1t
up and placed 1t upon the head Of the
new King Henry. A little more than
two months later. however, Henry was
recrowned in Westminster Abbey. His
queen. Elizabeth Of York. was not
crowned until nearly q month after
his coronation.
At the coronation Of Queen Mary,
1853. three crowns were used-that
Of Edward the Confessor. the Imperial
Crown Of England. and another one
made expressly for her. Each in turn
was placed upon her head. One his
torian narrates a peculiar circum-
stance Of her coronation. She was to
have been anointed. It seems, with
oil said to have been given st. Thomas
OF Canterbury by the Virgin Mary:
at the last minute. however. It was
feared that the Oil had lost its efii-
cacy and a fresh supply was forth
with consecrated. She also refused to
sit in the Coronation Chair. claiming
that It had been desecrated by her
Protestant brother. Edward. and used
another one sent by the Pope.
1f hot
January Is. 1858, was an unusually
unique and stormy one. To be a
prisoner in the Tower one minute and
the queen Of England the next Is GER
tainly far out Of the ordinary. The
entire ceremony was fraught with
MISUNDERSTANDING and strife. despite
the fact that an astrologer had de-
clared the day a propitious one. To
begin with, there was the change from
the old Catholic order Of procedure
to the Protestant AS an instance.
Elizabeth agreed to kiss the pax, or
wafer. but would not recognize the
old formula to any further extent.
No little trouble was experienced in
obtaining a church dignitary to per-
form the ceremony. The See OF Can
terbury was vacant; the Primate Of
York objected to reading the Litany
in English and refused to ohiciate; A.
nally, the Bishop Of Carlisle consented
to fill the role. Elizabeth was crowned
under the title. THE Most High. and
Mighty Princess. Our Dread Sovereign
Lady Elizabeth, Queen OF England.
France, and Ireland. Defender Of the
true, ancient and Catholic faith. most
worthy Empress from the Orkney Is
lands to the Pyrenean Mountains"
The superstitiously inclined found
full justification Of their views In the
coronation Of Charles the First on
February 2, 1926. As the chosen day
happened to be the Feast OF the Puri-
fication, and as white was the proper
color for that day. the Kings robe
was of white instead Of the usual pur-
ple velvet. Now. white was always
considered an unlucky color for Eng
lands sovereigns. The next ominous
event was the breaking Of the wing
of the dove on the old sceptre. Fol-
lowing close on the heels OF this mis-
fortune the royal barge stuck fast at
the palace and was eventually brought
to the wrong landing.
To cap the climax and. as though
to dispel any lingering doubt super
titious ones might still entertain. al
London, that afternoon. was, shaken
by an earthquake. Whether or not
this chain of accidents was intended
az a warning. the fact remains that
thew all occurred at the coronation OF
: King who lost his head.
On tho twenty-third Of April. 1851.
St. Georges day. Charles the Second
entered his state barge early In the
morning and went to Westminster.
There he donned his robes Of crimson
yelvet and ermine and moved IN pro-
ceesion TO the Abbey. Knssling. he
took the oath. which had again been
altered. and was crowned By Arch
bishop Juxon. The crown, embel-
s,.h.% nth feveis, Wao q new one 81