Coronation
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The coronation of Empress Farah, of Iran in 1967. The Nader throne is in the background, studded with an array of some 26,733 ruby, diamond, and emerald gems, all set in a matrix of 23k gold. |
A
coronation is a ceremony marking the investment of a
monarch with regal power through, amongst other symbolic acts, the placement of a
crown upon his or her head. Where the monarch is
anointed, the
ritual may have religious significance. Coronation has been little practiced in recent years, although it remains the norm for the formal installation of the monarch of the
Commonwealth Realms.
Formerly, in many
kingdoms and
empires, the coronation was a highly solemn ceremony in which anointing with
holy oil, followed by ratification as the proper occupant of the
throne, were important parts. This is still the case in the
United Kingdom, one of the few nations that continue formal coronations to this day, and was true for the historical monarchies of France, and many other former Kingdoms and
Empires.
The shahs of the Achaemenid
Persian Empire were crowned with the
diadem by a high priest of the
Zoroastrian religion.
The Roman Emperors, traditionally acclaimed either by the senate or by a
legion speaking for the armies as a whole, were confirmed by the other body, without a coronation. The Eastern diadem was introduced by Diocletian. In theory, the Imperial crown should be imposed by a representative of those who conferred the sovereign authority that it symbolized. And in the 4th century the
Prefect Sallustius Secundus crowned
Valentinian I (in whose election he had taken the prominent part). But the Emperor seems to have felt some hesitation in receiving the diadem from the hands of a subject, and the selection for the office was likely to cause jealousy. Yet a formality was necessary. In the 5th century the difficulty was overcome in an ingenious and tactful way. The duty of coronation was assigned to the
Patriarch of Constantinople, possibly at the coronation of
Marcian (AD 450), but certainly at the coronation of his successor
Leo (457) (
Bury 1923).
A coronation following the Byzantine formula was instigated with the coronation of King
Clovis of the Franks at Rheims (497), in which a dove was made to descend with an ampoule of oil, with which the king was anointed. All succeeding kings of France were anointed — with the same oil, miraculously resupplied — and crowned at Rheims.
Coronations were often centuries-old
ceremonies with a great many formal and solemn
traditions. Usually the climax of the coronation ceremony is the monarch's recital of an
oath, followed by a religious leader placing a
crown on the monarch's head. Some monarchs have crowned themselves: this was the custom of the
Shahs in
Iran, the
Tsars of
Russia and
self-proclaimed monarchs like the
Bonaparte Emperor of
France.
The crown is not the only item bestowed on a sovereign at his or her coronation. Usually there is an
orb and
scepter and — depending on the country — other items from the
crown jewels, all highly charged with historic, religious, and territorial symbolism.
The ceremony usually takes place in the premier
Cathedral or most holy
basilica of a country, often in the present or former monarchical and/or ecclesiastical capital. In the
United Kingdom, the
coronation ceremony takes place in
Westminster Abbey, with the monarch seated on the ancient
St. Edward's Chair or Coronation chair (which then again includes the Scottish
Stone of Scone). The French monarchs were crowned at
Notre-Dame de Reims.
A coronation ceremony is generally religious in character, because from the earliest times it was believed that monarchs were chosen by God, in accordance with the
Divine Right of Kings, hence the crown was bestowed by God himself. While this belief is now not generally held, many sovereigns are still proclaimed as Monarch "By Grace of God", even though legally nearly all are subject to the constitution, some even subject to parliamentary sanction.
Before 1917 many
Russian peasants, unofficially, prayed to God and the Tsar; while in
Japan the Emperor was believed to be a descendant of
Amaterasu the sun goddess . Hence, the concept of monarch, coronation, and God are inexorably linked.
A monarch succeeding by right (e.g. hereditary) does not have to undergo the ceremony of coronation to ascend the throne and execute the duties of the office. King
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, for example, did not reign long enough for a coronation ceremony to occur before he
abdicated, yet he was unquestionably the King of the
United Kingdom and Emperor of
India during his brief
reign. This is because in Great Britain, the law stipulates that the moment one monarch dies, the new monarch assumes the throne.
The British Monarch is usually proclaimed in an outdoor ceremony at
St. James's Palace within hours of the death of his predecessor. In France, the new monarch ascended the throne when the coffin of the previous monarch descended into the vault at
Saint Denis Basilica, and the
Duke of
Uzes proclaimed '
Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi' (
French: 'The [old] king is dead; long live the [new] King!')
From 1305 to 1963 the
Popes were crowned with the
Papal Tiara in a coronation ceremony in
St. Peter's Basilica in
Rome. Following the decision of the last crowned Pope
Paul VI to lay the Papal tiara on the high
altar of the
basilica as a symbol of humility, the next three popes have declined to wear it, and have thus had a ceremony of
papal inauguration rather than coronation, as the placing of a crown or coronet of some description upon the head is a requisite of a coronation ceremony. While
John Paul I,
John Paul II (who also completely abandoned the use of the
sedia gestatoria, a portable throne) and
Benedict XVI opted for an inauguration instead of an old-fashioned coronation, a future pope can in theory opt for the coronation ceremony.
Many European monarchies have dispensed with the ceremony of coronation altogether.
Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands had an oath-taking and induction ceremony rather than a coronation, and in
Sweden, no king has been crowned since
Oscar II in 1873. In Spain, although the crown is present and evident at the ceremony it is never actually placed on the monarch's head. Today's coronations of
constitutional monarchs are more akin to political
inaugurations. Belgium actually never had a crown (except as a 'virtual' heraldic emblem), the formal installation is a solemn oath on the constitution in parliament, symbolic of the restricted rule of the king under the then cutting-edge constitution of 1831.
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King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway.
They were photographed wearing their coronation crowns and robes in 1906. |
Among the last grand coronation ceremonies the
World saw were that of Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran in 1967 and that of the
Central African Republic's president
Bokassa in 1977. Bokassa crowned himself Emperor in an imitation of Napoleon I's pomp. Furthermore grand ceremonial is still customary in some South East Asian monarchies, notably for the King of
Thailand, the Sultan of
Brunei and
Malaysia, where every five years one of the continental state monarchs (Sultans and one Radja) is crowned
Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Paramount Ruler), i.e. elective head of state of the federation. Also, upon the eventual death of
Queen Elizabeth II,
Prince Charles of Wales will almost certainly have an extremely grand coronation, in keeping with British Imperial tradition, and because he may at the same time receive the title of Head of the Commonwealth (subject to agreement of the member states of the Commonwealth).
*
Royal coronations in Poland*
Coronation of the British Monarch*Bury, J.B. 1923.
History of the Later Roman Empire-
