A
coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture
of a
monarch or their consort with regal
power, specifically involving the placement of a
crown upon his or her head, and the
presentation of other items of
regalia. This
rite may also include the taking of a special vow, acts of homage
by the new ruler's subjects, and/or performance of other ritual
deeds of special significance to a given nation. Coronations were
once a vital ritual in many of the world's monarchies, but this
changed over time due to a variety of socio-political and religious
factors.
While most monarchies have dispensed with
formal coronation rites, preferring simpler enthronement, investiture, or benediction rites, coronations are still held in
the United Kingdom, Tonga
and several
Asian countries. In common usage, "coronation" often simply
refers to the official investiture or enthronement of the monarch,
whether an actual crown is bestowed or not.
In addition to the investing of the monarch with a diadem and other
symbols of state, coronations often involve
anointing with
holy oil,
or
chrism as it is often called. Wherever a
ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, this
ritual takes on an overtly religious
significance, following examples found in the
Bible. Some other lands use bathing or cleansing
rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious
practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the
granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant
spiritual-religious paradigm of the country.
In the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often
inexorably linked.
In some ancient cultures, rulers were
considered to be divine or partially divine: the Egyptian Pharaoh was
believed to be the son of Ra, the sun god, while
in Japan
the Emperor was believed to be a descendant of
Amaterasu, the sun goddess.
Rome promulgated the practice of
emperor worship; in
Medieval Europe, monarchs claimed to have a
divine right to rule.
Coronations were once a direct visual expression of these alleged
connections, but recent centuries have seen the lessening of such
beliefs due to increasing
secularization and
democratization. Thus coronations (or their
religious elements, at least) have often been discarded altogether,
or altered to reflect the constitutional nature of the states in
which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to
retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals.
Others have adopted simpler "
enthronement or "inauguration" ceremonies, or
even no ceremony at all.
History and development
Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient
times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of
Seti I in 1290 B.C., while the
Judeo-Christian
scriptures testify to
particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the
most detailed accounts of which are found in
II
Kings 11:12 and
II Chronicles
23:11.
These Biblical accounts influenced later
European ceremonies, together with those of Ethiopia
and Tonga, following
the conversion of those lands to Christianity. In non-Christian states,
coronation rituals evolved from a variety of sources, often related
to the religious beliefs of that particular nation.
Buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation
rituals of Thailand
, Cambodia
and Bhutan
, while
Hindu elements played a significant role in
Nepalese
rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt
, Malaysia
, Brunei
and Iran
were shaped
by Islam, while Tonga's ritual combines
ancient Polynesian influences with more modern Anglican ones. However it is the European
coronation ceremonies, most specifically that used in Great Britain
(the last of which occurred in 1953), that are perhaps best-known
to most Westerners. These descend from rites initially created in
the
Holy Roman Empire and
Byzantium, and brought to their apogee during the
Medieval era.
The European coronation ceremonies of the Middle Ages were
essentially a combination of the Christian rite of
anointing with additional elements. In some
European countries prior to the adoption of Christianity, the ruler
upon his election was raised on a
shield, and
while standing upon it, was borne on the shoulders of several chief
men of the nation (or tribe) in a procession around his assembled
subjects. This was usually performed three times. Following this,
the king was given a
spear, and a diadem,
wrought of
silk or
linen
(not to be confused with a
crown)
was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority.
Following Europe's conversion to Christianity, crowning ceremonies
became more and more ornate, depending on the country in question,
and their Christian elements—especially anointing—became the
paramount concern. Crowns and
sceptres, used
in coronations since ancient times, took on a Christian
significance together with the
orb
as symbols of the purported divine order of things, with the
monarch as the divinely ordained overlord and protector of his
dominion. During the
Middle Ages, this
rite was considered so vital in some European kingdoms that it was
sometimes referred to as an "eighth
sacrament". The anointed ruler was viewed as a
mixta persona, part priest and part layman, but never
wholly either.
This notion persisted into the twentieth
century in Tsarist
Russia
, where the Tsar was considered
to be "wedded" to his subjects through the Orthodox coronation
service.
Crowning ceremonies arose from a world-view in which monarchs were
seen as ordained by God to serve not merely as political or
military leaders, nor as figureheads or historical symbols—a role
played by most royals today—but rather to occupy a vital (and very
real)
spiritual place in their dominions as well.
Coronations were created to reflect and enable these alleged
connections; however, the belief systems that gave birth to them
have been radically altered in recent centuries by secularism,
egalitarianism and the rise of
constitutionalism and democracy. During
the
Protestant Reformation,
the idea of
divinely-ordained
monarchs began to be challenged. The
Age of Enlightenment and various
revolutions of the last three centuries all helped to further this
trend, until the religious dimension of the ceremony has become
relatively meaningless in all but a few kingdoms (mostly in Asia
and Oceania). Hence, many monarchies—especially in Europe—have
dispensed with coronations altogether, or transformed them into
simpler "inauguration" or "benediction" rites that better reflect
the secular nature of those states.
Of all European monarchies today, only the
United
Kingdom
still retains its medieval coronation rite, though
even this ritual has been altered in the last few centuries.
Other
nations still crowning their rulers include Cambodia, Thailand, Tonga, Bhutan, Lesotho
, Brunei, the
Toro Kingdom and Swaziland
. The
Papacy retains
the option of a coronation, though no pope has used it since
1963.
Monarchical power
In most kingdoms, a monarch succeeding hereditarily does not have
to undergo a coronation to ascend the throne or exercise the
prerogatives of their office. King
Edward VIII of the United
Kingdom, for example, did not reign long enough to be crowned
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 Britain, the law stipulates
that the moment one monarch dies, the new one assumes the throne;
thus, there is no point at which the throne is vacant.
In France, the new
king 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"! In Hungary
, on the other hand, no ruler was regarded as being
truly legitimate until he was physically crowned with St. Stephen's Crown, while monarchs of
Belgium
or Albania
were not allowed to succeed or exercise any of
their prerogatives until swearing a formal constitutional oath
before their respective nations' parliaments. Following their
election, the kings of Poland
were
permitted to perform a variety of political acts prior to their
coronation, but were not allowed to exercise any of their judicial
powers prior to being crowned.
Heirs apparent
During the
Middle Ages,
Capetian Kings of France chose to have their
heirs apparent crowned during their
own lifetime in order to avoid succession disputes. This practice
was later adopted by
Angevin King of England and
Kings of Hungary. From the moment
of their coronation, the heirs were regarded as junior kings
(
rex iunior), but they exercised little power and were not
included in the numbering of monarchs. The nobility disliked this
custom, as it reduced their chances to benefit from a possible
succession dispute.
The last heir apparent to the French throne to be crowned during
his father's lifetime was the future
Philip II of France, while the only
crowned heir apparent to the English throne was
Henry the Young King, who was first
crowned alone and then with his wife,
Margaret of France.
The practice was eventually abandoned by all kingdoms that had
adopted it, as the rules of primogeniture became stronger. The last
coronation of an heir apparent was the coronation of the future
Emperor
Ferdinand I of
Austria as junior King of Hungary in 1830.
In antiquity
Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs of
Ancient
Egypt were believed to be directly descended from the
gods. These deities were believed to confer special
powers upon the ruler, all of which were essential to maintaining
earthly and cosmic order. Thus, a Pharaoh's coronation was not
merely a rite to proclaim him as king or to legitimize his
political right to rule; it literally facilitated the transmission
of these unearthly powers to the new Egyptian ruler. In this
ceremony, the king was transformed into a god by means of his union
with the royal
ka, or
lifeforce of the soul. All previous kings of Egypt had possessed
this royal
ka, and at his or her coronation, the monarch
became divine as "one with the royal
ka when his human
form was overtaken by his immortal element, which flows through his
whole being and dwells in it". This made him the son of
Ra, the sun god,
Horus, the falcon
god, and
Osiris, the god of life, death and
fertility. From the
Middle
Kingdom on, the Pharaoh also came to be seen as the son of
Amun, the king of Egyptian gods, until his cult
faded in later centuries. At his death, the king became fully
divine, according to Egyptian belief, being assimilated with Osiris
and Ra.
Upon the death of the reigning Pharaoh, his successor was named
immediately, so that the nation's cosmic protection would continue
unbroken. While the new monarch ascended the throne the very next
day, the coronation ceremony did not take place until the first day
of a new season, thus symbolising the beginning of a new era.
The
ceremony was usually carried out at Memphis
by the high priest, who invested the new king with
the necessary powers to continue his predecessors'
work.
As a permanent reminder to his people of his divine birthright, the
Pharaoh wore various elements of royal regalia that varied
depending upon the particular period in Egyptian history. Among
these were a false beard made from
goat's hair,
identifying him with the god
Osiris; a
sceptre shaped like a
shepherd's crook
known as a
Heka, which meant "ruler"
and was often associated with
magic; and a fly whip called the
Nekhakha, symbol of his power and authority. The new
monarch also wore a
Shemset apron, while his back was
protected by a
bull's tail hanging from his
belt, symbolic of strength, though this was later done away with.
He was invested with a crown during his coronation: depending upon
the timeframe in question, the king might have been given the White
Crown, or
Hedjet (the crown of
Upper Egypt), the
Deshret
or Red Crown (diadem of
Lower Egypt),
the
Pschent or
Sekhemti (the Double
Crown, combining the White and the Red Crowns), the
Nemes or striped headcloth, or the
Khepresh or Blue Crown. The
Pschent was
generally used for the highest state occasions, and was conferred
on all Pharaohs from at least the
First
Dynasty on. When the Hedjet was combined with red
Ostrich feathers of the Osiris cult, the resulting
diadem was referred to as the
Atef crown.
Ancient Israel
According
to the Bible, Kings in Biblical Israel
were crowned
and anointed, most often by (or at the behest of) a prophet or high
priest. In
I Samuel 10:1, the
prophet
Samuel anoints
Saul to be Israel's first king; later, in I Samuel
16:13, he anoints
David to replace him. In
II Samuel 12:30, David is crowned with the
Ammonite crown, after his conquest of
Rabbah, the Ammonite capital.
II
Kings 9:1-6 tells of the anointing of
Jehu
as king of
Israel.
Esther 2:17 relates the crowning of
Esther as consort of
Ahasuerus, king of
Persia. Ahasuerus was once identified with
Xerxes I of Persia, though most scholars
reject this connection today. He has also been identified with
Artaxerxes I and
Artaxerxes II.
A more detailed account of a coronation in ancient
Judah is found in II Kings 11:12 and
II Chronicles 23:11, in which the
seven-year-old
Jehoash is crowned
in a
coup against the usurper
Athaliah.
This ceremony took place in the doorway of
the Temple in
Jerusalem
. The king was led to "his pillar", "as the
manner was", where a crown was placed upon his head, and "the
testimony" given to him, followed by anointing at the hands of the
high priest and his sons. Afterwards, the people "clapped their
hands" and shouted "God save the King" as trumpets blew, music
played, and singers offered hymns of praise. All of these elements
would find their way in some form or another into future
European coronation rituals after the conversion of
Europe to
Christianity many centuries
later, and all Christian coronation rites continue to borrow from
these examples.
Ancient Persia
The
Greek historian and philosopher Plutarch
wrote in his Life of King Artaxerxes that the Persian king was
required to go to the ancient capital of Pasargadae
for his coronation ceremony. Once there, he
entered a temple "to a warlike
goddess, whom
one might liken to
Artemis" (whose name is
unknown today, nor can this temple be located), and there divested
himself of his own robe, substituting the one worn by
Cyrus I at his crowning. After this, he had to
consume a "frail" of
figs, eat
turpentine and drink a cup of sour
milk. Plutarch observed that "if they add any other
rites, it is unknown to any but those that are present at
them".
Imperial Rome and Byzantium
Roman emperors were traditionally
acclaimed by the
senate or by a
legion speaking for the armies as a whole, and
were subsequently confirmed without any special ritual. The Eastern
diadem was later introduced by
Aurelian,
but did not truly become part of the
imperator's regalia
until the reign of
Constantine. Prior
to this, Roman sovereigns wore the purple
paludamentum, and sometimes a
laurel wreath as emblems of their
office.
Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, future Roman
and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the supreme symbol
of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was
observed at first, one gradually evolved over the next century. The
emperor
Julian was hoisted upon
a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his
standard-bearers; he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Future
emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a similar manner, until the
momentous decision was taken to permit the
Patriarch of Constantinople to
physically place the crown on the emperor's head. Historians debate
exactly when this first took place, but the precedent was clearly
established by the reign of
Leo II,
who was crowned by the Patriarch
Acacius in 473. This ritual
included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the
crown, a further—and extremely vital—development in the liturgical
ordo of crowning. After this event, according to the
Catholic Encyclopedia, "the ecclesiastical element in the
coronation ceremonial rapidly develop[ed]".
The Byzantine coronation ritual, from at least 795 on, incorporated
a partial clothing of the new emperor in various items of special
clothing prior to his entrance to the church, following which he
entered the cathedral and received the prostrations of the
Senator and other
patrician. The Patriarch then
read a set of lengthy prayers, as the sovereign was invested first
with the
chlamys and then finally with the
crown. Following this, the emperor received
Holy Communion followed by further acts of
homage. From the moment of his coronation, Byzantine emperor was
regarded as holy; while the Patriarch was holding the crown over
the emperor's head, the attending people repeatedly cried:
Holy!
In later centuries, after receiving their crown from the Patriarch,
Byzantine emperors placed it upon their own head, symbolizing that
their dominion came directly from God. Anointing was added to the
ritual after the eleventh century, with the monarch receiving the
Sign of the Cross on their
forehead from the Patriarch. The purple chalamys also disappeared
from the rite during this time, being replaced with the
mandyas, or cope.
Two prayers for the coronation of Byzantine emperors are found in
the Byzantine
Archieratikon (Slavonic:
Chinovnik). The second of these prayers is proceeded by
the
diaconal command: "Bow your heads to the
Lord" and the assembly’s response: "To you, O Lord." This pattern
of two prayers corresponds to the ritual form found in the
Byzantine
liturgy for the ordinations of
bishops, priests and deacons and also for major blessings, such as
the Great Blessing of Waters on the Feast of the
Theophany. In some texts, the first prayer is
associated with the act of clothing the emperor in the chalamys and
the second with the act of crowning him. Although the Byzantine
coronation ritual underwent various changes throughout the
centuries, these two prayers are found consistently in every
version. They also occur in the Russian ritual for the crowning of
the
Tsar, beginning with
Ivan IV, and also in the ritual for the
coronation of an
emperor beginning with that
of
Catherine I.
In the modern era
Africa
Ashanti
The
Asantehene, the ruler
of the
Ashanti of Ghana begins his reign by
being raised and lowered over the
Golden
Stool (sika 'dwa), which is believed to embody the very soul of
the Ashanti people, without touching it. The Golden Stool is the
most sacred ritual object in Ashanti culture and only the
Asantehene is allowed to touch it.
Central African Empire
The
Central African Empire was a
short-lived monarchical regime established in 1976 in what was then
the Central
African Republic
, by Jean-Bedel
Bokassa, the nation's president. Inspired by Napoleon's coronation in 1804, "Bokassa
I" staged his own elaborate ritual inside a large outdoor stadium
in Bangui
, his
capital, on 4 December 1977. While guests sweltered in the
100-degree heat, the self-proclaimed emperor ascended a giant
golden
throne shaped like an
eagle with outstretched wings, donned a 32-pound
coronation robe containing 785,000
pearls and
1,220,000
crystal beads, and then crowned
himself with a gold crown topped by a 138-caret
diamond that cost over $2,000,000 to manufacture.
His empress, Catherine—the youngest of his three wives—was then
invested with a smaller diadem. The total bill for Bokassa's
regalia alone came to $5,000,000.
240 tons of food and drink were flown into Bangui for Bokassa's
coronation banquet, including a tureen of
caviar so large that two chefs had to carry it, and a
seven-layer cake. Sixty new
Mercedes-Benz limousines were airlifted into
the capital, at a hefty cost of $300,000 for airfreight alone. All
in all, the entire ceremony cost $20,000,000 to stage, an
astronomical sum in a nation whose annual gross domestic product
was only $250,000,000. The newly-crowned Emperor used French aid
grants to cover a significant portion of the bill, saying:
"Everything here was financed by the French government. We ask the
French for money, get it and waste it".
In 1979, Bokassa was overthrown in a coup, carried out with French
military support, by the very man he himself had overthrown in
1965,
David Dacko. The monarchy was
abolished, the emperor was exiled, and his empire reverted to its
former name.
Egypt
The
Kingdom of Egypt (1922-53) held
an enthronement rite for its last ruling king,
Farouk I. A controversy arose as to whether
the ritual should be religious in nature, an option favored by the
king, or whether it should be purely secular, which was desired by
Farouk's Prime Minister at the time, Mustafa El-Nahhas. The
religious ceremony envisaged the new king taking special vows in an
Islamic ritual, followed by his receipt of the sword of
Muhammad Ali Pasha. However, El-Nahhas
insisted upon Farouk simply taking a constitutional oath before
parliament, followed by a formal reception at his palace. The
Prince Regent proposed combining the two ideas, but the government
refused.
The ceremony, which took place on 29 July 1937, followed the Prime
Minister's directives. The
Egyptian
army swore loyalty to the new monarch, who then entered the
Parliament chamber where he first greeted his mother, then listened
to two speeches given by the Prime Minister and the speaker of the
Upper House. Following this, the king took his constitutional oath,
and was acclaimed by the assembled legislators and guests.
Farouk was overthrown in the
Egyptian Revolution of 1952. His
son,
Fuad II, was deposed in 1953
while still an infant, and the monarchy abolished. Egypt is now a
republic.
Ethiopia
The
Ethiopian Empire used a
coronation ritual for its
Emperors. The last such event was held
on 2 November 1930, for Emperor
Haile
Selassie, the final monarch of Ethiopia.
Heavily influenced by Ethiopia's
Coptic Christian
tradition, preparation for the coronation ceremony commenced seven
days prior to the actual event.
Following an ancient Ethiopian custom,
forty-nine Coptic bishops and priests continually chanted from the
Psalter in groups of seven, in seven corners
of the Cathedral of St. George, in Addis Ababa
, where the crowning was to take place. On
the eve of the ceremony, the imperial robes and regalia were taken
into the church to be blessed and prayed over by the Abuna, or
Archbishop, followed by the new Emperor and his family, who arrived
at midnight and remained inside the cathedral that night in
prayer.
The following morning, the Emperor was met inside the cathedral by
the Archbishop, who presented him with a
Gospel book and asked him to take a four-part
coronation oath. This oath required him to defend the Ethiopian
Orthodox Faith, rule according to law and the interest of his
subjects, safeguard the realm and establish schools for teaching of
both secular and Orthodox religious subjects. After this, the Abuna
read a special prayer of blessing, while drums and harps
accompanied the chanting of Psalm 48. Various items of the Imperial
Regalia were brought forward, blessed and presented to the new
sovereign one-by-one. These items included a golden sword, a
scepter of ivory and gold, the orb, a diamond-encrusted ring, two
traditional lances filigreed in gold, the imperial vestments, and
finally the crown. Each item was accompanied by an anointing with
seven differently-scented oils. After this, the new monarch and his
consort were taken on a tour of the church, then escorted outside
by a procession of notables carrying palm branches and chanting:
"Blessed be the King of Israel".
Ethiopian tradition required the Emperor's consort to be crowned at
the palace, three days after the coronation. However, Haile
Selassie broke with this precedent, and had his wife crowned (but
not anointed) in the cathedral with him. Selassie was overthrown by
a military coup in 1974, and the monarchy was abolished in
1975.
Lesotho
The tiny
African kingdom of Lesotho crowns its monarchs. The last such ritual
was held on 31 October 1997, when current king Letsie III was crowned in a sports stadium in the
capital city of Maseru
. King
Letsie entered the stadium escorted by units of mounted police clad
in red uniforms and carrying
sabers and
lances. Donning a traditional coat of animal skins, the new ruler
was crowned by two
chieftains with a
beaded headband containing a brown and white
feather. Traditional dances and songs
followed.
Swaziland
Swaziland, a small independent kingdom in southern Africa,
held a coronation ritual in April 1986 for its current monarch,
Mswati III. Although Swazi
tradition required the king to wait until his twenty-first year to
be crowned, Mswati was crowned three years early due to disputes
between different factions in the regency council. Swazi chiefs
paid a tribute of 105 cattle to the family of Mswati's mother,
Ntombi, as a dowry for the woman who was to become the new "Mother
of the Nation". The rite itself included various secret rituals,
after which the new king took part in several ritual dances in full
feathered regalia. At the coronation, tribal singers repeated his
imposing chain of official titles, which include "the Bull",
"Guardian of the Sacred Shields", "the Inexplicable" and "the Great
Mountain". The dances were described by William Smith of
Time as "exhausting".
Toro Kingdom
The
Toro Kingdom—located in modern
Uganda—crowned its current ruler,
Rukidi IV, on 12 September 1995. Rukidi
was the world's youngest monarch at the time, being only three
years old. The boy was awakened at 2AM, then led to the palace
where the rites would take place. At the entrance, Rukidi and his
entourage engaged in a mock battle with a "rebel" prince, then
entered to the accompaniment of the
Omujaguza, the
traditional Toro war-drum.
Once inside, Rukidi was led to the regalia room, where the
Omusuga, or head of royal rituals, called upon the gods to
strike the boy dead if he was not of royal blood. Once the Omusuga
was satisfied as to the new king's lineage, Rukidi was permitted to
ring the royal bell, then he sounded the
Nyalebe or sacred
drum, following which he was blessed with blood from a slaughtered
bull and a white hen. As morning broke, women (who had been barred
from the ritual up to this time) were admitted to the palace. The
king was seated upon the lap of a virgin girl, and was fed with a
royal meal of
millet dough. A coronation oath
was administered with the boy lying on his side, in accordance with
Toro tradition.
At 10AM, the king, wearing a jewel-studded crown, was led to St.
John's Anglican Cathedral where he was crowned by Anglican Bishop
Eustance Kamanyire. Rukidi was given a
Bible
by the local Roman Catholic prelate, then returned to his palace
where he was presented with a centuries-old copper spear and
leather shield. Following this the king led a procession of Toro
notables to inspect the royal
corral, then
concluded his coronation by greeting his subjects from a
traditional shed.
Americas
Brazil
Brazilian
emperors, of which there
were two (
Pedro I and
Pedro II), were crowned with the
Imperial Crown of Brazil in a
Catholic
Coronation Mass. The
constitution required the monarch to have reached their eighteenth
birthday before the ceremony could take place. Brazil abolished its
monarchy in 1889.
Haiti
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, one of the
founding fathers of Haiti
, proclaimed
himself Emperor of Haiti soon after its independence.
He was
crowned on 6 October 1804 in Le Cap
, but was assassinated two years later. A
Kingdom of Haiti was established in
1811 by
Henri Christophe, another
leader in the Haitian independence struggle. He was crowned in June
1811 in a lavish ritual presided over by Archbishop Corneil Breuil
of Milot, but committed suicide in 1820.
Faustin-Élie
Soulouque later proclaimed himself to be Emperor Faustin I of Haiti; he was crowned in an
extremely elaborate ceremony held in Port-au-Prince
on 18 April 1852, but was forced to abdicate in
1859, bringing his nascent Haitian imperium to an
end.
Mexico
Mexico
was twice
ruled by emperors: Agustín de
Iturbide ruled from 1822 to 1823; he was crowned in a lavish
ceremony on 21 July 1822 at the Catedral
Metropolitana de Mexico
in Mexico
City
, placing the diadem on his own head just as
Napoleon I did. Agustin was overthrown in March 1823, and
the monarchy abolished. Mexico's second monarch was
Maximilian, an Austrian
archduke who was persuaded to take the
newly-revived Mexican throne in 1864 by
Napoleon III of France (whose troops,
in conjunction with Mexican conservatives, had instituted it). A
crown and sceptre were
manufactured for an intended coronation at the Catedral
Metropolitana, but the ceremony was never carried out due to the
instability of Maximilian's regime. Maximilian was defeated by
Republican forces led by Mexican President
Benito Juarez and executed in 1867, bringing
his empire to an end.
United States
James J. Strang, a would-be successor to Joseph Smith, Jr. in the leadership of the
Latter-day Saint movement from
1844-56, openly established an ecclesiastical monarchy on Beaver
Island
, Michigan
in 1850. On 8 July of that year, he staged
an elaborate coronation ceremony complete with a throne, wooden
sceptre, breastplate and a crown described by one observer as "a
shiny metal ring with a cluster of glass stars in the front". "King
Strang" reigned over his followers until 16 June 1856, when he was
assassinated by two disgruntled subjects. His people were driven
from the island, and Strang's kingdom—together with his royal
regalia—vanished.
Some
observers compare the American
presidential
inauguration to a coronation, with the American constitutional
requirement for a presidential
oath identical to the oaths required of the world's
monarchs. Some historians and comparative government experts
indicate that the former stems directly from the latter. The pomp
and pageantry of the modern event is certainly comparable in many
ways to monarchical coronations.
Asia
Bhutan
Kings of
Bhutan are enthroned in a special Buddhist ceremony that involves the offering of
various ritual prayers by the new king, the royal family and other
notables. The king dons a special diadem known as the "Raven
Crown", symbolic not merely of his own authority, but also of the
raven-faced protector deity of Bhutan,
Legoen Jarog
Dongchen.
As in neighboring Nepal (prior to
2008), the precise date for the ritual is selected by court
astrologers.
Brunei
The
Sultanate of Brunei crowns its
ruler. The last such coronation was held on 1 August 1968,
for the present Sultan,
Hassanal
Bolkiah in the
Lapau, or ceremonial hall.
Various
items of royal regalia are exhibited at the Royal Regalia Building
in the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan
.
Cambodia
The
King of Cambodia is crowned in
a ceremony that combines
Brahmanic and
Buddhist elements.
The new monarch
begins his coronation rite inside the Royal
Palace
in Phnom
Penh
by placing two wreaths of jasmine atop a golden pillow. Then, bowing
before the offerings, he lights a bundle of incense sticks and
placed them around the table before taking a seat on the
red-carpeted floor. Prayers are read, punctuated by the sound of
conch-shell horns. The ruler then enters the Tevea Venichhay
Temple, where he lights a stout candle encased in gold-gilded
glass. This candle, which represents victory throughout the king’s
reign, is left burning until the final day of the coronation
festival. Nine Buddhist monks then shower the King with jasmine
buds. Finally, the monarch makes his way to the throne, bowing
three times to it before retreating to his private area of the
palace.
The following day commences with the new king taking a ritual bath
in water drawn from the Kulen Mountains, whose water is believed by
Cambodian royals to be exceptionally pure. The bath is said to wash
away the king's impurities, and increase his prestige. The new
monarch is carried into the
Preah Thineang Dheva
Vinnichay, or Throne Hall, of the Palace on a gold chair, at
the head of a large procession. Orange-clad Buddhist monks, one for
every year of the king's life plus one, chant blessings. The king
prays before statues of his ancestors inside the Hall. While
priests blow on conch shells outside, the ruler next takes a formal
oath to observe the constitution and to rule in the country's best
interests. Following this, he receives various items of the royal
regalia, including a calico cat, golden slippers, and the
jewel-encrusted gold crown and sword.
The last such ceremony was held in 2004 for the current monarch,
Norodom Sihamoni. Unlike some
previous Cambodian rulers, Sihamoni chose not to wear the crown
during his coronation.
Iran
The
Islamic Shahs of
Persia (or Iran, after 1935)
crowned themselves in an elaborate coronation ritual staged in
Tehran
, their
capital. The last of these was the coronation of Shah
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of
Iran in 1967. The ceremony took place in the Grand Hall of the
Golestan Palace, and commenced with the
Imam
Djomeh reciting several verses from the
Quran
and offering a special coronation prayer. Following this, various
items of the
Iranian regalia
were brought forward. The Shah first received the Emerald Belt,
followed by the Imperial Sword and Robe. Finally, the
Pahlavi Crown was presented, and the Iranian
ruler placed it upon his own head in accordance with Iranian
custom. After this, the Shah was given the Imperial Sceptre, after
which he crowned his empress and listened to three speeches. The
Shah then offered an address of his own, following which he
received the homage of all male members of his family.
Japan
The
Japanese enthronement ceremony
consists of three main parts. The first takes place immediately
after the death of the preceding sovereign. The new emperor is
given the
Three Sacred
Treasures of Japan: (1) a replica sword representing the sword
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (lit.
"Grasscutter Sword")
(草薙劍)--the original being enshrined the in the Atsuta Shrine
in Nagoya; (2) the Yasakani no magatama (八尺瓊曲玉), a
necklace of comma-shaped stone beads; and (3) a mirror, called
Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡). Unlike
most other monarchies, Japan has no crown for its ruler.
The second part of the ceremony is the enthronement ritual itself,
held in
Kyoto, the former capital of Japan.
The ritual is not public, and the regalia itself is generally seen
only by the emperor himself and a few
Shinto
priests.
The Daijo-sai or the Great Thanksgiving Festival is the final
inauguration rituals, involving sacred rice,
sake, fish and a variety of other foods from both land
and sea that are offered to the Sun-goddess
Amaterasu-ōmikami. This ceremony effects a
singular union with the goddess, thus making the new emperor (in
Shinto tradition) the immediate intermediary between
Amaterasu-ōmikami and the Japanese people.
Jerusalem
The first
two Kings of Jerusalem, Baldwin I and Baldwin II, were crowned in the
Church of
the Nativity
in Bethlehem
. Between 1131 and 1186, coronations were held
in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
. Frederick II, Holy Roman
Emperor, was the only king crowned in Jerusalem in the 13th
century.
The new monarch was dressed in the palace by the chamberlain. The
chamberlain, who bore the royal sword, then headed procession to
the Church in which the coronation ceremony took place. The
chamberlain then handed the crown, sceptre and the rest of the
regalia to the monarch. The coronation was followed by a feast for
the noblemen who attended the ceremony.
The regalia possessed by the Kings of Jerusalem, as well as
coronation ceremony itself, were influenced by those of Byzantine
emperors. The coronation of
Baldwin I of Constantinople was
notably similar to the coronation of the Kings and Queens of
Jerusalem.
Korea
A record
of the 1724 coronation of Korean Emperor Yeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty
has been preserved. According to this
account, Yeongjo began his crowning ritual at noon on 26 October,
by entering the funeral chamber where his deceased predecessor,
Gyeongjong, lay in state.
Having
announced to his departed brother that he was assuming the royal
mantle, Yeongjo burned incense before his remains, then entered the
Injeongjeon
Hall
, where he was seated upon his throne. In the
courtyard below, ranks of servants and bureaucrats bowed to him
four times, shouting in unison each time:
"Long live the
king"! Following this, the new monarch left the throne room
and changed back into mourning clothes for the reading of his
accession edict. The decree contained the new emperor's pledge to
rule justly and benevolently; it equally promised reductions in
criminal sentences, provisions for the needy, and gifts for all of
Yeongjo's loyal officials. The edict closed with a plea for help
and cooperation throughout the reign to come. The Empire of Korea
ended in 1910 with annexation by Japan, with the country
subsequently splitting into a communist state (North) and republic
(South) after the events of World War II.
Laos
Laos
crowned its
kings, with the last coronation being
that of Sisavang Vong at the Royal
Palace on 4 March 1905. These rites included rituals in
which the king made a symbolic payment to representatives of his
people for their land, with them in turn acknowledging his
legitimacy. The last King of Laos,
Savang Vatthana, was not crowned due to a
communist insurgency which led to the abolition of the Laotian
monarchy in 1975.
Malaysia
The nine
royal rulers of Malaysia elect one of their number every five years to serve
as Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or
King of Malaysia. The new ruler is enthroned in a special
ceremony after his election, which involves usage of several items
of
regalia including the
Tengkolok Diraja, or Royal Headdress—as opposed to a
crown. According to legend, the first
Sultan of Perak swore off the wearing of any
diadems after the miraculous refloating of his ship, which had run
aground during his journey to establish his reign in Perak. Hence,
while Malaysian coronations are rather elaborate affairs, they do
not involve the imposition of a crown. Instead, a special headdress
is worn by the new king.
The new king proceeds into the Istana Negara Throne Hall at the
head of a large procession also consisting of his spouse,
specially-picked soldiers carrying the royal regalia, and other
notables including the
Grand
Chamberlain, or
Datuk Paduka Maharaja Lela. The king
and his wife are seated upon their thrones, and the regalia are
brought forward. Following this, the
Datuk Paduka Maharaja
Lela brings forward a copy of the
Quran,
which the new monarch reverently receives, kisses, and places on a
special table located between his throne and the queen's. A formal
proclamation of the new king's reign is read, followed by the
taking of a special coronation oath. The
Prime Minister gives a special
speech, which is followed by an address by the new king from the
throne. A prayer is said, the Quran as returned to the Chamberlain,
and the ceremony is completed.
Nepal
Kings of
Nepal were crowned in a Hindu
ceremony whose date was determined by court astrologers. Prior to the actual
coronation, eight different kinds of
clay were
ceremonially applied to various parts of his body, and the new king
took a ritual bath in
holy water.
Afterwards he was sprinkled with clarified butter, milk, curd and
honey by representatives of the four traditional Hindu
castes: a Brahman, a warrior, a merchant and an
Untouchable. Only then was he ready to be crowned. At precisely the
"right" moment, the royal priest placed a jewel-studded crown on
the new king's head.
The royals next rode on elephants through
the streets of Kathmandu
, together with other distinguished
guests.
The Nepalese monarchy was
abolished in 2008,
following several years of pro-democracy and
Maoist agitation.
Thailand
Thailand holds a coronation ceremony for its king upon his accession to the
throne. The last such ritual was held on 5 May 1950, upon
the accession of the current monarch,
Bhumibol Adulyadej. This ceremony
included several ancient
Buddhist and
Brahmanic rites, including the
presentation of a
nine-tiered
umbrella (symbol of royal authority) and other items of the
royal regalia to the sovereign. Without this, no Thai king can
assume the title of "Phrabat" or use the umbrella.
Bhumibol's coronation began with a ceremonial bath, following which
the new king put on the white robes of a Brahmin
monk, and had sacred water poured over his shoulders
while a "
gong of victory" was struck by the
court
astrologer. Afterwards, he received
nine pitchers filled with sacred water, drawn from eighteen
different sites in Thailand. The nine-tiered umbrella was then
presented, followed by five other items of the royal regalia: the
Great Crown of Victory, the
Sword of Victory, the
Royal Staff, the Whisk of the Tail Hairs of a
White
Elephant, a Small Flat Fan, and a
pair of Golden Slippers. In accordance with Thai tradition,
Bhumibol placed the crown upon his own head, then received a
special golden Ring of Kingship.
After
this, the new Thai ruler seated himself upon the Bhatarabit Throne
at the Grand
Palace
, where he pronounced the Oath of Accession,
promising that he would reign for the benefit and happiness of his
people. He also poured ceremonial water to symbolize his
complete dedication to his royal responsibilities, in accordance
with the "Tenfold Moral Principles of the Sovereign": alms-giving
and charity, strict moral standards, self-sacrifice, honesty and
integrity, courtesy and kindness, austerity in his habits,
harboring no anger or hatred, practicing and promoting
non-violence, exuding patience, forbearance and tolerance, and
displaying impartiality to all. After this, Bhumibol elevated his
wife, Sirikit, to be the Queen of Thailand.
Finally, the royal
couple visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha
where he made a solemn vow to protect the Buddhist
religion.
Eastern Europe
Albania
King
Zog I, last monarch of modern Albania, was crowned in a ritual that took place on 1
September 1928. His coronation attire included rose-colored
breeches, gold spurs, and a gold crown weighing seven and
five-eighths pounds. Europe's only
Muslim
king swore a required constitutional oath on the Bible and the
Quran, symbolizing his desire to unify his
country. Zog was forced into exile by Italian invaders in 1939, and
the monarchy was formally abolished in 1945.
Bosnia
The first crowned ruler of
Bosnia was
Stephen Tvrtko I. His coronation, held on
26 October 1377, created the Kingdom of Bosnia. It was
traditionally held that Stephen Tvrtko I was crowned in the
Mileševo monastery by its
metropolitan bishop, but it has
been proposed that he was crowned in the monastery of Mile, where
most Bosnian coronations were held, with crown sent by King
Louis I of Hungary.
The last coronation in Bosnia was held in
Jajce in November 1461. Although all kings of Bosnia
were at least formally Roman Catholic, only the last king,
Stephen Tomašević, was
crowned with the Pope's approval and with crown sent by
Pope Pius II. The coronation was performed by
papal legate. The Kingdom of Bosnia ceased to exist when Stephen
Tomašević was overthrown by
Mehmed
the Conqueror and executed in June 1463.
Bulgaria
The rulers of the
Second
Bulgarian Empire were crowned in the same manner as Byzantine
emperors, while the manner of coronation of the rulers of the
First Bulgarian Empire
remains unknown.
While
Bulgaria
was a monarchy from its independence in 1878 until
1946, no modern Bulgarian king was
ever crowned.
Croatia
According to legend, the first crowned monarch of Croatia was King
Tomislav.
He was allegedly
crowned on the Plain of Duvno
in
925. However, it is disputed whether Tomislav was ever
crowned; some sources identify
Držislav as the first crowned King of Croatia,
ignoring the legend of Tomislav's coronation.
In 1102, upon the death of the last member of the
House of Trpimirović, Croatia
entered a
personal union with
Hungary. It was agreed that every King of Hungary would come to
Croatia for a separate coronation as King of Croatia. This second
coronation was required to soothe Croatian sensibilities, by
demonstrating that Croatia remained an independent state. The last
King of Croatia to be crowned in Croatia was King
Andrew II of Hungary. His son and
successor, King
Bela IV of
Hungary, refused to be crowned in Croatia in 1235, and the
custom afterward died out. Some scholars claim that Bela IV's
father was never crowned as King of Croatia either. The issue
remains unsettled, because there are no documents on either of
Andrew II's supposed coronations.
In 1941, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was occupied and partitioned by
the Axis powers.
A puppet state, the Independent
State of Croatia
(NDH), was formed on a part of occupied Yugoslav
territory and Aimone, 4th Duke
of Aosta, was installed as King by fascist Italy. The Italians planned to
have Aimone crowned as "Tomislav II" at the Field of Duvno, where
King Tomislav was allegedly crowned. The coronation was never held,
due to Italy taking Yugoslav coastal territory that was claimed by
the NDH.
Greece
Although
Greece
retains a
set of crown jewels given to it
by its first king, Otto I, no Greek
king was ever crowned with them. The Greek monarchy was
abolished in 1974.
Hungary
Rulers of Hungary were not considered legitimate monarchs until
they were crowned King of Hungary with the
Holy Crown of Hungary. As women were
not considered fit to rule Hungary, the two queens regnant,
Maria I and
Maria II Theresa, were crowned
kings of Hungary.
All Hungarian coronations took place at
Székesfehérvár
, the burial place of the first crowned ruler of
Hungary, Saint Stephen
I. The final such rite was held in Budapest
on 30 December 1916, when Emperor Charles I of Austria and Empress
Zita were crowned as King
Charles IV and Queen Zita of Hungary. The Hungarian monarchy
perished with the end of
World War I,
although the nation would later restore a titular monarchy from
1920-45—while
forbidding
Charles to resume the throne. A
communist
takeover in 1945 spelled the final end of this "kingdom without a
king".
Poland
Poland crowned its
rulers beginning in 1025; the final such ceremony occurred in 1764,
when the last Polish King, Stanisław August
Poniatowski, was crowned at St. John's
Cathedral, Warsaw
. Other coronations took place at Wawel
Cathedral
in
Kraków
, and also
in Poznań
and
Gniezno
Cathedral
. Though many of the Polish Crown Jewels were destroyed by
Prussian King Frederick
William III, a few pieces are exhibited at the National
Museum in Warsaw
. Polish coronations were whenever possible
conducted as close as possible to the date of the previous
sovereign's funeral; this was a concept expressed by Joachim
Bielski in the sixteenth century:
osoba umiera, korona nie
umiera (the royal person dies, the crown dies not).
Romania
Romania
used a coronation ceremony during its monarchial
period (1881-1947). Its
crown was rather unique, being made of
steel rather than
gold or some
other
precious metal.
In 1922, King
Ferdinand I and Queen
Marie were crowned on the public
square in Alba
Iulia
, an important city in the new Romanian province of
Transylvania. The coronation
service was interdenominational rather than
Romanian Orthodox (the majority
religion and then the
state church),
in part because Ferdinand was Roman Catholic, while his wife was
Anglican at the time. Ferdinand's son,
Carol II, intended to be crowned
in September 1930, but abandoned his plans due to marital
difficulties with his wife,
Queen Helen, which included an
ongoing affair with
Magda Lupescu.
Upon his
abdication, his son, Michael I,
was crowned and anointed on 6 September 1940 at the Romanian
Patriarchal Cathedral
in Bucharest
by Patriarch Nicodim Munteanu.
Russia
Following the tradition of the
Byzantine Emperors, the Tsar placed the
crown upon his own head.
This was intended to indicate the imperial power, which the Tsars
viewed as the direct
continuation of the
Christian Roman Empire (see
Byzantium),
came directly from God. The prayer of the
Metropolitan, similar to that of the
Patriarch of
Constantinople for the Byzantine Emperor, confirmed the
imperial supremacy.
After the Tsar recited the
Orthodox Nicene
Creed, an invocation of the
Holy
Ghost and a litany were intoned. Following this, the emperor
assumed the purple
Chlamys, and the crown
was presented to him. He took it and placed it upon his own
head.
The Tsar next received other items of the Imperial regalia, and was
seated upon his throne. His wife then knelt before him. He handed
the orb and sceptre to an attendant, then took off his crown and
placed it briefly upon her head before returning it to his own. The
Tsar next placed a smaller crown upon his consort's head, and a
purple mantle, signifying her sharing in his imperial dignity and
responsibility for the nation's welfare. Following this, both Tsar
and Tsaritsa were anointed with
myrrh by the
presiding prelate.
Russia's last coronation was that of Tsar
Nicholas II and Tsaritsa
Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896. The last
occasion on which the Imperial Crown was officially used was the
State Opening of the
Duma in 1906.
Serbia
The first crowned King of Serbia,
Stephen Nemanjić, was crowned twice. In
1217, he was crowned in a Roman Catholic ceremony by papal legate
with crown sent by the Pope. However, Stephen and the Serbian
people were Eastern Orthodox, so he appealed to the Patriarch of
Constantinople. The Patriarch elevated Stephan's brother
Sava to the rank of archbishop of Eastern
Orthodox Church and authorized Stephan's second coronation,
performed by Sava himself in 1222. His successors were also crowned
kings at the monastery of Žiča.
Stephen Uroš IV
Dušan had himself and his wife crowned emperor and empress by
patriarchs of Bulgaria and Serbia, as he was aware that the
Patriarch of Constantinople wouldn't bestow the imperial title upon
ruler of a Balkan country. Nevertheless, the coronation ceremony
was an elaborate replica of Byzantine coronation.
Serbia
's last
coronation was in 1904, when King Peter I was crowned in
an Orthodox Christian ceremony at
the Cathedral of the Host of Holy Archangels in Belgrade
. Serbia became a part of the state of
Yugoslavia after World War I, but Peter
did not hold a second coronation and neither of his two successors,
Alexander and
Peter II, were crowned.
Western Europe
Austria
Emperors of Austria were never
physically crowned (unlike their predecessors in the
Holy Roman Empire), as a coronation was
not viewed as being necessary to legitimize their rule in that
country. However, these rulers were sometimes crowned in other
portions of their domain. For instance,
Ferdinand I of Austria was crowned
King of Bohemia with the
Crown of Saint Wenceslas in 1836,
and as King of
Lombardy
and Venetia in 1838, using the
Iron Crown of Lombardy.
Habsburg emperors of Austria were crowned
as
Kings of Hungary during their
rule over that country.
Bavaria
A kingdom
from 1806-1918, Bavaria
possessed its own set of crown jewels. However, there
was no coronation ceremony, and the king never wore the crown in
public. Rather, it was placed on a cushion at his feet. The
Bavarian monarchy was abolished in 1918.
Belgium
Belgium has no crown (except as a heraldic emblem); the monarch's
formal installation requires only a solemn oath on the constitution
in parliament, symbolic of the limited power allowed to the king
under the
1831 Constitution.
During the enthronements of
Baudouin and
Albert II, one legislator cried "long
live the Republic of Europe", only to be shouted down by the
others, who cried "Vive le Roi", with the entire chamber rising to
applaud the king.
Bohemia
During
Middle Ages, it was held that
enthronement would make a person
Duke of
Bohemia and that only coronation would make a person
King of Bohemia.
St. Vitus
Cathedral
was the coronation church. Monarchs of
Bohemia were crowned with the
Crown of Saint Wenceslas and
invested with royal insignia, among which a cap or miter and a
lance (symbols of
Saint Wenceslas)
were specific for Bohemian coronations.
Vratislaus II of Bohemia
was the first crowned ruler of Bohemia.
Maria Theresa, the only
female monarch of Bohemia, was crowned king in
order to emphasize that she was the monarch and not consort. The
last King of Bohemia to be crowned as such was Emperor
Ferdinand of Austria.
The
Abbess of the St. George's Abbey
had the privilege to crown the wife of the King of
Bohemia. In 1791, the right to crown the Queen of
Bohemia was transferred to the Abbess ofthe Damenstift (a post
always filled by an Archduchess of Austria). The coronation of the
Queen of Bohemia was the only instance where Christian coronation
was performed by a woman. In fact, this was the only instance where
a woman was allowed to perform full episcopal function.
Denmark
Danish
enthronements may be divided into three distinct types of rituals:
the medieval coronation, which existed during the period of
elective monarchy; the anointing
ritual, which replaced coronation with the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660; and finally the
simple proclamation, which has been used since the introduction of
the Danish Constitution in
1849.
The
coronation ritual (as of 1537) began with a procession of the ruler
and his consort into St. Mary's cathedral in Copenhagen
, followed by the Danish crown jewels. The monarch
was seated before the altar, where he swore to govern justly,
preserve the
Lutheran religion, support
schools, and help the poor. Following this, the king was anointed
on the lower right arm and between the shoulders, but not on the
head. Then the royal couple retired to a tented enclosure where
they were robed in royal attire, returning to hear a sermon, the
Kyrie and Gloria, and then a prayer and the
Epistle reading.
Following the Epistle, the king knelt before the altar, where he
was first given a sword. After flourishing and sheathing it, the
still-kneeling monarch was crowned by the clergy and nobility, who
jointly placed the diadem upon their ruler's head. The sceptre and
orb were presented, then returned to attendants. The queen was
anointed and crowned in a similar manner, but she received only a
sceptre and not an orb. Finally, a choral hymn was sung, following
which the newly-crowned royals listened to a second sermon and the
reading of the
Gospel, which brought the
service to an end.
In 1660 the coronation ritual was replaced with a ceremony of
anointing, where the new king would
arrive at the coronation site already wearing the crown, where he
was then anointed. This rite was in turn abolished with the
introduction of the Danish Constitution in 1849. Today the
crown of Denmark is only displayed at
the monarch's funeral, when it sits atop their coffin. The present
Queen,
Margrethe II, did not have any
formal enthronement service; a public announcement of her accession
was made from the balcony of Christianborg Palace, with the new
sovereign being acclaimed by her Prime Minister at the time (1972),
Otto Krag, then cheered with a ninefold "hurrah" by the crowds
below.
France
A
coronation following the Byzantine formula was instigated in France
with the crowning of King Clovis I of the
Franks at Rheims
in 497
A.D. The French coronation ritual was similar to that used
in England. The last royal coronation was that of
Charles X, in 1824. Heirs to the French
throne were also sometimes crowned during their predecessors'
reigns during the
Middle Ages, but this
was discontinued as laws of
primogeniture became stronger.
During
the First French Empire, Emperor
Napoleon I and Empress Josephine were crowned in
December 1804 in an extremely elaborate ritual presided over by
Pope Pius VII and conducted at the
Notre Dame
Cathedral
in Paris
.
Napoleon III chose not to be crowned.
The French republican government broke up and sold off most of the
Crown Jewels, in hopes of avoiding any
public sentiment for a restoration of the monarchy after the
collapse of the
Second French
Empire in 1871.
Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Emperors were crowned
by the pope until
Charles
V became the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope
at Bologna, in 1530. Thereafter, until the abolition of the empire
in 1806, Imperial coronations were held in Frankfurt and were
performed by the Spiritual Princes-Electors,the Archbishops of
Cologne,Mainz and Trier . Later rulers simply proclaimed themselves
Electus Romanorum Imperator or "Elected Emperor of the
Romans", without the formality of a coronation by the
Pontiff.
Coronations were held in Rome
(under the
pope), Milan
(the
Kingdom of Italy), Arles
(Burgundy)
and Aix-la-Chapelle
(Germany). Although the Roman ceremony was
initially the most important, it was eventually eclipsed by the
German ritual. The custom of the emperors going to Rome to be
crowned was last observed by Frederick III in 1440; after that only
the German coronation was celebrated.
Italy
The
medieval Monarchs of the Kingdom
of the Lombards and Kingdom of Italy were crowned
with the Iron Crown of
Lombardy, usually at Pavia
or
Milan. From the 9th to the 18th century, the Kings
of Italy were also the Holy Roman Emperors, so many of them were
crowned in Germany, with the Iron Crown in Pavia, and then by the
Pope in Rome. The last coronation with the Iron Crown was Napoleon
I's in 1805. The modern
Kingdom of Italy, which existed
from 1861 to 1946, did not crown its monarchs.
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein does not use a coronation or
enthronement ceremony, although Prince Hans
Adam II did attend a mass by the Archbishop of Vaduz
, followed
by a choral display. Liechtenstein has no royal crown or
regalia.
Luxembourg
The
Grand Duke of Luxembourg is enthroned
at a ceremony held in the nation's parliament at the beginning of
his or her reign.
The monarch takes an oath of loyalty to the
state constitution, then attends a solemn mass at the Notre-Dame
Cathedral
. No crown or other regalia exists for the
rulers of Europe's last sovereign
Grand
Duchy.
Monaco
The
Principality of Monaco
does not
possess any regalia, and thus does not physically crown its
ruler. However, the Prince or Princess does attend a special
investiture ceremony, consisting of a festive mass in the Cathedral
of Monaco, followed by a reception where the new ruler meets his
subjects.
Netherlands
Although the Netherlands has a
crown and other regalia, these have
never been physically bestowed upon any Dutch monarch.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
, like each of her predecessors, had an inauguration
ceremony rather than a coronation. This ritual was held
at the Nieuwe Kerk, in the
capital city of Amsterdam
. The crown, orb and sceptre were placed on
cushions surrounding a copy of the Dutch constitution, with the
Queen seated on a throne opposite them as she took her formal oath
to uphold the kingdom's fundamental law.
Norway
The first
coronation in Norway, and Scandinavia, took place in Bergen
in 1163
or 1164. The Christ Church (Old Cathedral) in Bergen
remained the place of coronations in Norway until the capital was
moved to Oslo
under
King Haakon V.
From then
on some coronations were held in Oslo, but most were held in
Nidaros
Cathedral
in Trondheim
.
While the
Norwegian
constitution
of 1814 required the King of Norway
to be crowned in
Trondheim, this mandate was repealed in 1908. Thereafter, the ruler
has only been required to take his formal accession oath in the
Council of State and thereafter in
the Parliament, the Storting
. King
Olav
V, desiring a religious ceremony to mark his ascession to the
throne in 1957, instituted a ceremony of royal consecration, known
as . This ritual took place again in 1991, when
King Harald V and
Queen Sonja were similarly
consecrated.
Portugal
In 1646, immediately after his Coronation, King
John IV of Portugal consecrated the
Crown of Portugal to the
Virgin Mary,
proclaiming her to be the Queen and patroness of his nation. After
this act, no Portuguese sovereign ever wore a crown. The Portuguese
monarchy was abolished in 1910.
John IV's Coronation followed a pattern similar to the Coronation
of the Kings of France and pre-reformation England, as laid out in
the
Roman Pontifical. The Spanish
Hapsburg monarchs that preceded John IV as Kings of Portugal were
also not crowned; during the
Iberian
Union, the Spanish practice of not having a coronation ceremony
was extended to Portugal.
Before
the assumption of the Portuguese Throne by the Spanish Hapsburgs,
Kings of Portugal used to be anointed and crowned in the Jeronimos
Monastery
in Lisbon, in a manner similar to the Coronation of
John IV.
Prussia
William I was crowned in 1861
as King of Prussia, prior to the establishment of the German Empire
(1871). He was crowned with great pomp, becoming the first king to
be crowned in Prussia since the coronation of King
Frederick I of Prussia in 1701,
although a significant number of politicians opposed the idea.
William I took the crown with his own hands from the altar and
crowned himself, while saying that he was receiving the crown from
God's hands. These words were intended as a warning to Prussian
Constitutionalists and Liberals.
The King
of Prussia was also ruler of Imperial Germany
from 1871 to 1918. Although a design and
model for a
German State Crown
were made, no final diadem was ever produced, and none of three
German emperors were ever formally crowned.
Scotland
- This section describes coronations held in Scotland prior
to its unification with England. For coronations after
that time, see below under "United Kingdom".
Kings of
Scotland
were crowned at Scone Abbey
, in the town of Scone
, a few
miles north of Perth
. Prior to 1296, the king was seated upon
the famed
Stone of Scone throughout
the ceremony; this was considered an essential element of the
ritual.
Following the removal of the stone to
England by Edward I, coronations
continued to be staged at the abbey or at Stirling
. Scotland has its own
crown jewels, which were used in all
coronation ceremonies up to that of
Charles II, the final king to be
crowned in Scotland.
One feature of Scottish coronations was the
ollamh rígh,
or royal poet, who addressed the new monarch with
Beannachd Dé
Rígh Alban, or "God Bless the King of Scotland". The poet went
on to recite the monarch's
genealogy back
to the first ever
Scotsman. It was
traditional in
Gaelic-speaking
cultures like Scotland that a king's legitimacy be established by
recitation of the royal pedigree. Scottish rulers did not
necessarily have to wait for any certain age to be crowned:
Mary I was crowned at nine months
of age, while her son,
James VI,
was crowned at thirteen months. Mary's father,
James V, was barely seventeen months of
age at the time of his coronation. After the unification with
England, the Scottish coronation rite was subsumed into the
British.
Sicily and Naples
The exact coronation customs of the
Kings and Queens of Sicily are
disputed. According to a Cassino manuscript of c. 1200, the
coronation of the Kings of Sicily was based on a German model,
though variations were made to adapt it to Sicilian
tradition.
Several different parts were included in the coronation ceremony.
First, the new monarch was asked whether he wished to be the
defender of the Church and a just ruler of his kingdom. After that,
the people were asked whether they wish to submit themselves to the
person who was to be crowned. The king or queen were then anointed
on their hands, head, chest and both shoulders. The monarch was
then girded with sword and vested with
armillas,
pallium, and ring. The sceptre was
put in their right hand and the orb in their left hand. Finally,
the presiding archbishop placed the crown on the monarch's
head.
The
Kings and Queens of
Naples were crowned in the City of Naples
. The Pope was the only person entitled
to crown the monarch of Naples.
Spain
No monarch of Spain has been crowned as such since
John I of Castile. Instead, the new
monarch appears at the
Cortes,
where he or she takes a formal oath to uphold the Constitution.
Although the
crown is evident at
the ceremony, it is never actually placed on the monarch's head.
Five days
after his visit to the Cortes, current Spanish King Juan Carlos I attended an "Enthronement Mass"
at the Church of San Jerónimo el Real in Madrid
. Accompanied by his wife
Sofia, he was escorted beneath a canopy
to a set of thrones set up near the high altar.
Following the
service, the Royals returned to the palace
, where they greeted their subjects from the
balcony, reviewed troops and attended a formal
banquet.
Historical Castilian coronations were
performed at Toledo
, or in the Church of St Jerome at Madrid, with the
king being anointed by the archbishop of Toledo. The monarch
assumed the royal sword, sceptre, crown of gold and the apple of
gold, after receiving his anointing.
Aragonese coronations
were performed at Zaragoza
by the Archbishop of Tarragona
.
Sweden
In
Sweden
, no king has been
crowned since Oscar II in
1873. The current monarch, Carl XVI Gustaf, was enthroned in
a simple ceremony at the throne room of the Royal Palace in
Stockholm
on 19 September 1973. The crown jewels were
displayed on cushions to the right and left of the royal throne,
but were never given to the king. Carl Gustaf made an accession
speech, which comprised the main purpose of the undertaking.
Previously, Swedish kings were crowned at the "Storkyrka", at
Stockholm. The monarch was anointed by the
Archbishop of Uppsala, highest prelate
in the
Church of Sweden, on the
breast, temples, forehead and palms of both hands. The crown was
then placed on the king's head by the archbishop and the
Minister of Justice jointly, whereupon
the herald of the realm proclaimed: "Now is crowned king of the
Swedes, Goths and Wends, he and no other". When there was a queen
consort, she was then anointed, crowned and proclaimed in the same
manner.
Earlier coronations were also held at
Uppsala
, the ecclesiastical center of Sweden. Prior
to Sweden's change into a hereditary monarchy, the focus of the
coronation rite was on legitimising an elected king.
United Kingdom
The
coronation
ceremony takes place in Westminster Abbey
. Since the British sovereign is the
Supreme Governor
of the
Church of England, and his
or her coronation does not take place in a cathedral—which would be
the domain of a bishop—but at Westminster Abbey, which is a
Royal Peculiar (a church directly
under the monarch). The king or queen enters the abbey in
procession, and is seated on a "Chair of Estate" as the
Archbishop of Canterbury goes to
the east, south, west and north of the building asking if those
present are willing to pay homage to their new ruler.
Once the attendees
respond affirmatively, the Archbishop administers the Coronation
Oath, and a Bible is presented by both the Archbishop (representing
the Church of England) and the Moderator
of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
. Once this is done, the actual crowning can
take place.
The monarch is crowned while seated upon the ancient
St. Edward's Chair, or Coronation chair,
which includes the Scottish
Stone of
Scone. A canopy is held over the new ruler's head, while the
Archbishop anoints him or her with holy oil on the hands, breast
and head, concluding with a special blessing. Spurs and the
Sword of State are presented,
followed by the
Sovereign's Orb
(which is immediately returned to the altar), the
Sceptre with the Dove and the
Sceptre with the Cross. Once this is
done, the Archbishop of Canterbury places the
Crown of St. Edward upon the monarch's
head. If a
queen consort is present,
she is crowned at this point in a simple ritual.
Afterwards, the new ruler is seated upon the throne, and receives
homage from various members of the British clergy and nobility.
Holy Communion is given to the
sovereign, who then enters St. Edward's Chapel as the
Te Deum is sung, where he or she exchanges St.
Edward's Crown for the
Imperial
State Crown and exits the church wearing the crown and carrying
the Sceptre with the Cross and Orb as "
God Save the King (or Queen)" is
sung.
The ceremony as conducted in 1953 also functioned as the coronation
rite for the
realms within the
Commonwealth which recognise
Elizabeth II as their
monarch, by the text of the administered oath including the seven
separate Commonwealth kingdoms in existence as the time, as well as
a general statement regarding other territories.
The
Prince of Wales, a title
traditionally held by the heir to the British throne, may go
through a ceremony of his own known as the
Investiture of the Prince of
Wales, though such a ritual is not required to hold this title
or the privileges that come with it.
The ceremony, when
held, may take place in Wales
or in
England
(the most recent investure took place at Caernarvon Castle, Wales), and includes
the placement of a coronet upon the
prince's head.
The Vatican
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 cathedral as a symbol of
humility, the next three popes declined to wear it, and instituted
a ceremony of
papal inauguration
rather than a formal coronation. While the popes
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 a coronation, any future pope can, in theory, opt for
the coronation ritual.
Oceania
Hawaii
The
Kingdom of Hawaii held a
coronation ritual for King
Kalakaua and
Queen Kapiolani in February 1883,
nine years after his accession.
Prior to this, the two monarchs were
inaugurated at Kawaiahao Church
, where the feather Cloak of Kamehameha was placed upon their
shoulders. Two golden crowns were manufactured in
England for Kalakaua's subsequent crowning ceremony, and a large
pavilion was erected in front of the newly-completed Iolani
Palace
, into which the royals proceeded accompanied by
bearers carrying the kahili, the ancient symbols of
Hawaiian royalty. Given the diadem by a Reverend McIntosh,
Kalakaua crowned himself, since no one was deemed sacred enough to
crown an
alii. He then crowned his queen. When
the crown was unable to sit on Kapiolani's hair, it was forced on,
bringing the queen to tears. Kalakaua's sister
Liliuokalani reported that at the moment of his
crowning, the sun was obscured by a cloud which gave way to reveal
a single bright star. Since this incident occurred during daylight,
it caused a sensation among the assembled witnesses.
Liliuokalani, who succeeded Kalakua in 1891, did not have a
coronation prior to her
overthrow in 1893 and the
abolition of the Hawaiian monarchy.
Tahiti
Tahiti
was ruled by native
kings (and one queen) of the Pomare dynasty from 1788 to 1880,
when the last monarch, Pomare V, ceded his
country to France
. Details from the coronation ritual of
Pomare II, second King of Tahiti (1791),
have been preserved. The rite centered upon the
maro ura,
a sacred
girdle symbolizing Pomare's status
and power, composed of yellow and red
feathers, five yards long by fifteen inches wide.
Black feathers bordered the garment's top and bottom. This robe
also contained the auburn hair of Richard Skinner, one of the
mutineers from the
H.M.S. Bounty who had
elected to stay in Tahiti when Fletcher Christian set out for Pitcairn
Island
. As the ship's barber, Skinner commanded
special prestige among Tahitians, who valued his red hair and wove
some of it into their
maro ura. Also incorporated into the
girdle was a red British pennant, which
Samuel Wallis of the
H.M.S.
Dolphin had raised on Tahiti when he took possession of it
for the British crown in 1767. The Tahitians had torn down this
flag, and woven it into their royal robe as a symbol of their own
sovereignty over their island.
To receive this cloak, Pomare went to his sacred
marae, donned the cloak, then took the left eyes of
certain sacrificial victims and acted as if he were going to eat
them. He also listened to the cries of sacred birds and to a volley
of musketry fired in his honor by certain
Bounty mutineers
who were on the scene. Following this, the new king was treated to
a dance, with Tahitian men pretending to cover him with excrement
and semen as a kind of honor.
By 1824, when Pomare's son
Pomare III was
crowned, the Tahitian coronation ritual had changed significantly,
under the influence of foreign
Christian
missionaries.
This time, a
European-style rite was enacted, with the new king escorted to the
Royal Chapel in Papeete
behind a procession of flower-strewing girls
accompanied by governors, judges and other civil servants.
After being anointed and crowned, Pomare was given a
Bible and had a
sermon preached
to him. The festivities concluded with the proclamation of an
amnesty and a coronation banquet.
Tonga
In 1967
and again in 2008, Tonga crowned its
king (Taufa'ahau Tupou IV and
George Tupou V, respectively) in
elaborate ceremonies complete with a large gold crown, sceptre, and
throne. The Christian character of Tonga's monarchy was
reiterated in the 2008 event — as were Tonga's former ties to
Great Britain — as Anglican Archbishop of Polynesia Jabez
Brice anointed King George Topou V with sacred chrism just as in
the British rite. This ceremony, introduced to the islands by
Western
missionaries, followed a
centuries-old traditional Tongan rite, which involved the ritual
drinking of
kava by the new king, together with
the receipt of dozens of cooked
pigs and baskets
of food. The Master of the Royal Household, the Honourable
Tu'ivauavou, described this as "the true coronation", a sentiment
echoed by royal spokesman Ma'u Kakala.
Other uses
The term "coronation" is sometimes used in a semi-ironic sense to
refer to uncontested party leadership elections, with all potential
party leaders choosing to back a single candidate or to stay
silent, rather than stand in an election they are likely to lose.
This typically happens where there has been a protracted
behind-the-scenes attempt to remove the outgoing leader, leading to
a significant amount of time to determine who has the most party
support before the election proper.
See also
Notes
This section contains expansions on the main text of the article,
as well as links provided for context that may not meet Wikipedia
standards for
reliable sources, due largely to
being
self-published.
- Christian references include I Peter 2:13,17 and Romans 13:1-7.
Information on the Islamic viewpoint may be found at Islamic Monarchy, from the Science
Encyclopedia website. A Hindu perspective on this subject may
be explored at the hindujagruti.org website; Why is it Said that Only a Brahman is Capable of
Creating an Ideal King?. Retrieved on 10 September 2008.
- An account of this service, written by Count Miklos Banffy, a
witness, may be read at The Last Habsburg Coronation: Budapest, 1916.
From Theodore's Royalty and Monarchy Website.
- See also Tacitus,
Ann., XV, 29.
- Several photos of Bokassa's coronation may be seen at Central African Empire: Emperor Bokassa. From
theroyalforums.com website. Retrieved on 5 September
2008.
- A photo of King Farouk taken during this ceremony can be seen
at " What European papers said"; Al Ahram
Weekly Website
- Background information on the coronation may be found at the
rastaites.com website, Coronation of HIM Haile Selassie I. Retrieved on 24
August 2008.
- The Boy King. From the safariweb.com website.
Contains photos from the ceremony. Retrieved on 8 September
2008.
- A photo of the last Nepalese king, Gyanendra, in
coronation regalia may be seen at Cross-Cultural Studies: Ethnographic Performances
in Nepal (May 2004).
- http://www.cabinet.thaigov.go.th/eng/d_Ninegem00.htm
- John Van Antwerp Fine, The Late Medieval Balkans, A
Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman
Conquest, University of Michigan Press, 1987
- Malcolm D. Lambert, The Cathars, Blackwell Publishing,
1998
- Mitja Velikonja, Religious separation and political
intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Texas A&M University
Press, 2003
- Bernard Newman, The New Europe, 1972
- M. Bielski, Kronika polska, 1st ed. (1597, reprinted
Sanok, 1856), 3:1207.
- "The Joys of Suffering," Volume 2, "Dialogue with a few
intellectuals", by Rev. Fr. Dimitrie Bejan — Retrieved 9
June 2007
- The Coronation of King Peter I of Serbia.
Retrieved 2009-10-28.
- Lisa Wolverton, Hastening Toward Prague: Power and Society
in the Medieval Czech Lands, University of Pennsylvania Press,
2001
- The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911
- The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1974
- The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913
- Fontenoy, William II, Germany: Francis Joseph,
Austria-Hungary, George Barrie & Son, 1900
- See also Guy Stair Sainty, The Holy Roman Empire: Introduction. From the Almanach de la
Cour website. Retrieved on 14 September 2008.
-
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/press_releases/2008/luxury/luxury_for_export_catalogue_entries.pdf
- George Barnett Smith, William I. and the German empire. A
biographical and historical sketch, London, S. Low, Marston,
Searle, & Rivington, 1887
- Philip Coppens, The Stone of Destiny: Sacred Kingship in the 21st
Century. From the personal website of Philip Coppens. Retrieved
on 21 September 2008.
- This applies to female consorts only. If the new monarch is a
female, her husband (if any) is not crowned.
- Possessing Tahiti. Taken from an article of this title
in Dening, Greg: Performances. University of Chicago
Press, 1996, pp. 129-35. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
- Possessing Tahiti. Taken from an article of this title
in Dening, Greg: Performances. University of Chicago
Press, 1996, pp. 129-35. Retrieved on 2009-06-29. Retrieved on
2009-06-29.
References
- Christian references include I Peter 2:13,17 and Romans 13:1-7.
Information on the Islamic viewpoint may be found at Islamic Monarchy, from the Science
Encyclopedia website. A Hindu perspective on this subject may
be explored at the hindujagruti.org website; Why is it Said that Only a Brahman is Capable of
Creating an Ideal King?. Retrieved on 10 September 2008.
- An account of this service, written by Count Miklos Banffy, a
witness, may be read at The Last Habsburg Coronation: Budapest, 1916.
From Theodore's Royalty and Monarchy Website.
- See also Tacitus,
Ann., XV, 29.
- Several photos of Bokassa's coronation may be seen at Central African Empire: Emperor Bokassa. From
theroyalforums.com website. Retrieved on 5 September
2008.
- A photo of King Farouk taken during this ceremony can be seen
at " What European papers said"; Al Ahram
Weekly Website
- Background information on the coronation may be found at the
rastaites.com website, Coronation of HIM Haile Selassie I. Retrieved on 24
August 2008.
- The Boy King. From the safariweb.com website.
Contains photos from the ceremony. Retrieved on 8 September
2008.
- A photo of the last Nepalese king, Gyanendra, in
coronation regalia may be seen at Cross-Cultural Studies: Ethnographic Performances
in Nepal (May 2004).
- http://www.cabinet.thaigov.go.th/eng/d_Ninegem00.htm
- John Van Antwerp Fine, The Late Medieval Balkans, A
Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman
Conquest, University of Michigan Press, 1987
- Malcolm D. Lambert, The Cathars, Blackwell Publishing,
1998
- Mitja Velikonja, Religious separation and political
intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Texas A&M University
Press, 2003
- Bernard Newman, The New Europe, 1972
- M. Bielski, Kronika polska, 1st ed. (1597, reprinted
Sanok, 1856), 3:1207.
- "The Joys of Suffering," Volume 2, "Dialogue with a few
intellectuals", by Rev. Fr. Dimitrie Bejan — Retrieved 9
June 2007
- The Coronation of King Peter I of Serbia.
Retrieved 2009-10-28.
- Lisa Wolverton, Hastening Toward Prague: Power and Society
in the Medieval Czech Lands, University of Pennsylvania Press,
2001
- The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911
- The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1974
- The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913
- Fontenoy, William II, Germany: Francis Joseph,
Austria-Hungary, George Barrie & Son, 1900
- See also Guy Stair Sainty, The Holy Roman Empire: Introduction. From the Almanach de la
Cour website. Retrieved on 14 September 2008.
-
http://www.gardnermuseum.org/press_releases/2008/luxury/luxury_for_export_catalogue_entries.pdf
- George Barnett Smith, William I. and the German empire. A
biographical and historical sketch, London, S. Low, Marston,
Searle, & Rivington, 1887
- Philip Coppens, The Stone of Destiny: Sacred Kingship in the 21st
Century. From the personal website of Philip Coppens. Retrieved
on 21 September 2008.
- This applies to female consorts only. If the new monarch is a
female, her husband (if any) is not crowned.
- Possessing Tahiti. Taken from an article of this title
in Dening, Greg: Performances. University of Chicago
Press, 1996, pp. 129-35. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
- Possessing Tahiti. Taken from an article of this title
in Dening, Greg: Performances. University of Chicago
Press, 1996, pp. 129-35. Retrieved on 2009-06-29. Retrieved on
2009-06-29.
External links
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