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The Coronation: William and Mary

The coronation of William and Mary stands quite alone in the history of our coronations, as, during their reign as joint sovereigns, we possessed an actual King and an actual Queen. William declined to be Regent, and Mary refused to accept the crown, except with her husband, so it became in fact necessary that they should become joint sovereigns. This, of course, necessitated the making of a new orb, the smaller one now in the Tower. On their Great Seal they are represented as each having one hand upon a large orb; and in a print in the Bagford collection in the British Museum, dated 1689, and called the "Protestants' Joy," William and Mary are shown sitting under one canopy, each crowned and bearing a sceptre fleury in the right hand, and an orb with a cross in the left.

The next important book concerning the coronations of our kings was that issued under the authority, and by the care of, Sir George Nayler, Garter King of Arms, published in London in 1839, and illustrated magnificently by several artists- Stephanoff and others. The official cost of the book was £238,238, and it is an account of the coronation of George IV., July 19th, 1821, which was the most magnificent that has ever been held in England. Some £5,000 were allowed to Sir George Nayler by the Government towards the cost of this splendid work, but even including this, as well as the fees paid by several peers for their portraits , the book is said to have been a financial failure. It not only shows the manner in which the various items of the regalia were carried in the procession, but the details of the official costume of the peers are so carefully reproduced that it may be fairly considered the best existing authority on that subject also. The Dean of Westminster is shown as carrying what is called the "New Crown," the setting of which was in the possession of the late Lord Amherst of Hackney. The cap still remaining within it is of blue velvet. As a general rule, the caps of English peers and sovereigns have been of crimson or royal purple velvet, but in the case of this state crown of George IV., and in that of Queen Elizabeth, the colour has been blue. It may be added, however, that the only authority existing for the blue cap in a crown of Queen Elizabeth's is a charming little book B that was bound for her about 1570 in crimson velvet and adorned with enamels on gold, and which now forms part of the "Old Royal" Library in the British Museum. In the centre of the upper side of this book there is a golden diamond shaped plaque, on which is enamelled a red rose, ensigned with a royal crown having a blue cap. It cannot be said that this is an absolute authority, but in Queen Elizabeth's time the art of heraldry was much more exact than it is now, and it seems unlikely that so great a difference as that between blue and red would have been lightly made, especially on a book evidently intended for the Queen's own use.

The coronation of kings and queens of England to this day follows with great exactitude the precedents initiated or evolved in former reigns. These are set forth in full detail in a later place.* * See Appendix B.