 The King and Queen in their coronation robes, official coronation photograph byEmery Walker | |
| Date | 22 June 1911; 114 years ago (1911-06-22) |
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| Location | Westminster Abbey, London, England |
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Thecoronation ofGeorge V and his wife,Mary, asking andqueen of theUnited Kingdom and the BritishDominions took place atWestminster Abbey, London, on Thursday 22 June 1911. This wasthe second of four such events held during the 20th century and the last to be attended by royal representatives of the great continental European empires.
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The overall planning of the coronation was theoretically the role of theearl marshal, a hereditary office held by thedukes of Norfolk for several centuries. At thecoronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1902, the driving force had beenViscount Esher in his capacity as Secretary to theOffice of Works, a position which had since been filled by SirSchomberg Kerr McDonnell. However, in the interim, the earl marshal,Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, had reasserted his ancient right to organise the great state events, despite having a personal dislike of the ceremonial and having little capability as an organiser. He had no permanent staff and was obliged to appoint a new one for each event. This arrangement had proved highly unsatisfactory forEdward VII's state funeral, when the ceremonial directions were found to be full of errors and had to be rewritten by courtiers on the previous evening, the printed order of service was wrong, and the seating of guests was alleged to be "a mosaic of indecision and confusion". King George described Norfolk as "a charming, honourable, straightforward little gentleman, the finest in the world. But as a man of business he is absolutely impossible."[1]
Despite the objections of theCollege of Heralds and the Duke of Norfolk, a compromise was reached at the insistence of theprime minister,H. H. Asquith, whereby Norfolk would be chairman of the Coronation Executive Committee, but the detailed work would be done by the professional staff of the Office of Works rather than by Norfolk's appointees.[2]
As with all the 20th-century British coronations, a temporary extension orannexe was built at the west front ofWestminster Abbey to allow the forming up of the processions before their entry into the church. As in the 1902 coronation, it was designed by the architectAlfred Young Nutt in theGothic Revival style, matching the architecture of the abbey. Inside the abbey, the traditional ceremonial areas known as the theatre and the sacrarium had to be constructed, along with the galleries and boxes to accommodate the congregation. Following the arrangements for 1902, it was decided to limit the congregation to 6,000, far fewer than at earlier coronations.[3] More than 50grandstands were erected along the route of the processions, varying in size from seating 250 to 3,500 spectators each. The construction of these required 2,100Imperial tons (2,134 tonnes) of timber and 70 tons (71 tonnes) of bolts, nails and screws.[4]
The Festival of Empire opened on 12 May 1911 atthe Crystal Palace in London, anexhibition of British and Imperial trade and culture to celebrate the upcoming coronation.
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Queen Mary's coronation gown was made of cream coloured silksatin and incorporated the floral emblems and symbols of Great Britain and the British Empire, namely theTudor rose, theScottish thistle, the Irishshamrock, thelotus flower of India, theStar of India, andEnglish oak leaves and acorns, all of which were embroidered by the Princess Louise Needlework School using gold thread.[5] A border of waves at the hem represented the oceans connecting the Empire.[5] Cream silktaffeta was used to make the inner bodice, which was trimmed at neck with handmade Irish needlepoint lace.[5] Reville and Rossiter, a London couture house, designed the gown, while Jessie Charlotte Robinson traced the pattern and embroidery on both the gown and robe.[5]
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The order of service was prepared byClaude Jenkins, theLambeth Palace librarian, an eccentric character who was an antiquarian andpatristic scholar. He was supervised byArmitage Robinson, thedean of Westminster, who insisted that innovation be balanced by tradition. In fact, there was little change from the 1902 coronation, or at least that which had been intended, since the service had been shortened because of Edward's poor health.Randall Davidson, who as thebishop of Winchester, had largely compiled the 1902 coronation service, was nowarchbishop of Canterbury. Davidson sought the advice ofFrank Edward Brightman, a liturgist fromMagdalen College, Oxford. The main changes were to the words spoken at the actual crowning, which replaced those first used at thecoronation of James II and VII and Mary with a translation of the simpler medieval form,[6] and the coronationsermon, which had been omitted in 1902, was reintroduced but in a shorter form.[7] The service was conducted by Davidson, including the crowning of the queen, which in 1902 had been delegated to thearchbishop of York.[8] Mary was crowned witha new crown containing theKoh-i-Noor diamond.[9]
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The director of music, as in 1902, was SirFrederick Bridge. As at the previous event, Bridge aimed to produce a celebration of four hundred years of English music,[10] including work byThomas Tallis,John Merbecke andGeorge Frederick Handel. Bridge himself wrote a newanthem,Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous, thetenor solo for which was performed byEdward Lloyd. The organist wasWalter Alcock, who also wrote a new setting for theSanctus.[11] SirHubert Parry wrote an orchestral introduction for his setting ofPsalm 122,I was glad which had made a great impact at the 1902 coronation, and also a new setting of theTe Deum, which was less well received, perhaps because the choir was exhausted at the end of the three-hour service.[12] More successful was a new setting of theGloria byCharles Villiers Stanford which was also used at the coronations of 1937 and 1953.[13] New orchestral music included aCoronation March byEdward Elgar, who despite being awarded theOrder of Merit in the coronationhonours list, inexplicably refused to attend in person.[14]
The first of three processions leftBuckingham Palace at 9:30 am. It consisted of representatives of foreign royal families and governments, carried in fourteen carriages.[15] The second procession had five statelandaus for members of the British royal family; the fifth contained the King and Queen's children, thePrince of Wales,Princess Mary and the young PrincesAlbert,Henry andGeorge.[16] The third procession brought the officers of state in a further four carriages and the twenty-fifth and final carriage, theGold State Coach carrying the King and Queen. They were surrounded by equerries,aides-de-camp and the commanders of the armed forces mounted on horseback, all escorted byYeomen of the Guard, colonial and Indian cavalry and theRoyal Horse Guards.[17]
Following the coronation service, the three processions returned to the palace in reverse order and by an extended route, passing throughPall Mall,St James's Street,Piccadilly andConstitution Hill.[18] Some 45,000 soldiers and sailors from across the empire either participated in the procession or lined the route.[4]
After the end of the procession, the King and Queen appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. This created such excitement that the soldiers outside the palace broke ranks and joined in the cheering. According to one account, "some of them put their helmets on their rifles and waved them vigorously aloft".[19] Mary wrote of the day in her diaries: "The ceremony was beautiful & most impressive... Magnificent reception both going & coming back".[20] That evening, the principal buildings in central London were illuminated with strings of electric lights until 12:30 am.[21]
On the following day, the return procession was reconstituted for a further parade through the streets of the capital, this time passing alongThe Strand and into theCity of London, pastSt Paul's Cathedral, across theRiver Thames byLondon Bridge, alongBorough High Street, back overWestminster Bridge and finally returning upThe Mall to Buckingham Palace. Instead of the Gold State Coach, the King and Queen were driven in an open landau. The place of the foreign royalty was taken by Indian princes and colonial rulers.[22] This time, 55,000 troops were on duty.[4]
The following extracts are from George's account of the events, which he wrote in his diaries.
It was overcast & cloudy with slight showers & a strongish cool breeze, but better for the people than great heat. Today was indeed a great & memorable day in our lives & one which we can never forget, but it brought back to me many sad memories of 9 years ago when thebeloved Parents were crowned.May & I leftB.P. in the Coronation coach at 10.30. with 8 cream coloured horses. There were over 50,000 troops lining the streets under the command ofLd. Kitchener. There were hundreds of thousands of people who gave us a magnificent reception. The Service in the Abbey was most beautiful & impressive, but it was a terrible ordeal. It was grand, yet simple & most dignified & went without a hitch. I nearly broke down when dearDavid came to do homage to me, as it reminded me so much when I did the same thing to beloved Papa, he did it so well. Darling May looked lovely & it was indeed a comfort to me to have her by my side, as she has been ever to me during these last 18 years. We left Westminster Abbey at 2.15. (having arrived there before 11.0) with our Crowns on & sceptres in our hands. This time we drove by the Mall, St James' Street & Piccadilly, crowds enormous & decorations very pretty. On reaching B.P. just before 3.0. May & I went out on the balcony to show ourselves to the people.Downey photographed us in our robes with Crowns on. Had some lunch with our guests here. Worked all the afternoon withBigge & others answering telegrams & letters of which I have hundreds. Such a large crowd collected in front of the Palace that I went out on balcony again. Our guests dined with us at 8.30. May & I showed ourselves again to the people. Wrote & read. Rather tired. Bed at 11.45. Beautiful illuminations everywhere.[20]
On 24 June, the King and Queen attended the CoronationReview of the Fleet atSpithead between thenaval base ofPortsmouth and theIsle of Wight. TheRoyal Navy had 167 warships in attendance, together with 18 ships from foreign navies; they were arranged in five lines, each 6 miles (10 kilometres) in length, through which the royal party steamed in review, aboard theroyal yacht,HMY Victoria and Albert. The crowd of spectators ashore was estimated to number a quarter of a million.[23]
On 29 June, the King and Queen attended a thanksgiving service atSt Paul's Cathedral.[20]
On 11 November 1911, the King and Queen left Portsmouth aboardRMS Medina bound for theIndian Empire.[24] Arriving in Bombay (present dayMumbai) on 2 December, they reachedDelhi by train on 7 December for a ceremonial state entry.[25] Thedurbar itself was on 12 December, attended by an estimated 100,000 people, both watching and participating.[26]
TheDowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Duchess of Edinburgh),the King's paternal aunt by marriage
TheCrown Princess andCrown Prince of Romania,the King's first cousin and the King's third cousin (representing his uncle, theKing of the Romanians)
TheCrown Princess andCrown Prince of Sweden,the King's first cousin and the Queen's third cousin (representing his father, theKing of Sweden) TheDuke andDuchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Duke and Duchess of Albany),the King's first cousin and the King's second cousin
TheGerman Crown Prince andCrown Princess,the King's first cousin once removed and his wife (representing his father, theGerman Emperor)
TheHereditary Princess of Saxe-Meiningen,the King's first cousin (representing her father-in-law, theDuke of Saxe-Meiningen)
Prince Henry of Prussia,the King's first cousin
TheGrand Duke andGrand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine,the King's first cousin and his wife
TheCrown Prince of Denmark,the King's first cousin (representing his father, theKing of Denmark)
TheDuke andDuchess of Sparta,the King's first cousins, (representing his father, theKing of the Hellenes)Prince George of Greece and Denmark,the King's double first cousin once removedPrince andPrincess George of Greece and Denmark,the King's first cousin and his wife
Princess andPrince Maximilian of Baden,the King's first cousin and her husband (representing his first cousin, theGrand Duke of Baden)
TheGrand Duchess andGrand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,the King's first cousin and her husband TheGrand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,the Queen's first cousin
TheCrown Princess andCrown Prince of Montenegro,the Queen's first cousin once removed and her husband (representing his father, theKing of Montenegro) TheHereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,the Queen's first cousin once removedPrince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,the King's second cousin once removedPrince Leopold Clement of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,the King's third cousin
ThePrince of Tarnovo,the King's third cousin (representing his father, theTsar of the Bulgarians)
Duke Albrecht of Württemberg,the King and Queen's mutual third cousin (representing his cousin, theKing of Württemberg)
Prince andPrincess Johann Georg of Saxony,the King's third cousin and his wife (representing his brother, theKing of Saxony)
TheCrown Prince of the Ottoman Empire (representing his first cousin, theOttoman Sultan)
Archduke Karl of Austria (representing his great-uncle, theEmperor of Austria)
TheDuke andDuchess of Aosta (representing his first cousin, theKing of Italy)
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia (representing his first cousin, theTsar of Russia)
Infante Ferdinand of Spain (representing his brother-in-law, theKing of Spain)
Prince and Princess Higashifushimi of Japan (representing his cousin, theEmperor of Japan)
TheCrown Prince of Serbia (representing his father, theKing of Serbia)
The Prince of Phitsanulok (representing his brother, theKing of Siam)
Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria (representing his grandfather, thePrince Regent of Bavaria)
ThePrince of the Netherlands (representing his wife theQueen of the Netherlands)
Prince Zaizhen of China (representing his cousin, theEmperor of China)
Prince Kassa Haile Darge of Ethiopia (representing his first cousin once removed, theEmperor of Ethiopia)
Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfik of Egypt (representing his brother, theKhedive of Egypt and Sudan)
TheHereditary Prince of Monaco (representing his father, thePrince of Monaco)
Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi (representing his cousin, theKing of Tonga)[27]
Madho Rao Scindia, Maharaja ofGwalior
Pratap Singh, Maharaja ofIdar
Ganga Singh, Maharaja ofBikaner
John Hays Hammond (representing thePresident of the United States) Major GeneralAdolphus Greely of theUnited States Army
Vice-Admiral Fauques de Jonquieres (representing the French Republic)[28]
MonsignorEugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (representing theHoly See)
Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister of CanadaVarious [newsreel] shots of the Coronation procession for King George V.
Coronation procession passing under Admiralty Arch. Various cavalry troops and carriages... Yeomen of the Guard. Colonial troops... The state coach bearing King George V and Queen Mary to the Coronation comes past.
King George V attends a naval review. The royal yacht steams slowly up and down the long lines of warships assembled for the review.
Delhi, India. Pan across huge dais in the midst of a massive arena. Thousands of troops form up and hundreds of civil and military dignitaries arrive. King George V and Queen Mary arrive and take the place on the dais where they receive homage.