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| ], of ] in ]. <small>The Nader throne is in the background, studded with an array of some 26,733 ruby, diamond, and emerald gems, all set in a matrix of 23k gold. </small>]]A '''coronation''' is a ceremony marking the investment of a ] with regal power through, amongst other symbolic acts, the placement of a ] upon his or her head. Where the monarch is ], the ] may have religious significance. Coronation has been little practised in recent years, although it remains the norm for the formal installation of the monarch of the ]. | ], of ] in ]. <small>The Nader throne is in the background, studded with an array of some 26,733 ruby, diamond, and emerald gems, all set in a matrix of 23k gold. </small>]]A '''coronation''' is a ceremony marking the investment of a ] with regal power through, amongst other symbolic acts, the placement of a ] upon his or her head. Where the monarch is ], the ] may have religious significance. Coronation has been little practised in recent years, although it remains the norm for the formal installation of the monarch of the ]s. | ||
| Formerly, in many ] and ]s, the coronation was a highly solemn ceremony in which anointing with ], followed by ratification as the proper occupant of the ], were important parts. This is still the case in the ], one of the few nations that continue formal coronations to this day, and was true for the historical monarchies of France, and many other former Kingdoms and ]s. | Formerly, in many ] and ]s, the coronation was a highly solemn ceremony in which anointing with ], followed by ratification as the proper occupant of the ], were important parts. This is still the case in the ], one of the few nations that continue formal coronations to this day, and was true for the historical monarchies of France, and many other former Kingdoms and ]s. | ||
Revision as of 16:18, 31 March 2006
A coronation is a ceremony marking the investment of a monarch with regal power through, amongst other symbolic acts, the placement of a crown upon his or her head. Where the monarch is anointed, the ritual may have religious significance. Coronation has been little practised in recent years, although it remains the norm for the formal installation of the monarch of the Commonwealth Realms.
Formerly, in many kingdoms and empires, the coronation was a highly solemn ceremony in which anointing with holy oil, followed by ratification as the proper occupant of the throne, were important parts. This is still the case in the United Kingdom, one of the few nations that continue formal coronations to this day, and was true for the historical monarchies of France, and many other former Kingdoms and Empires.
In Antiquity
The shahs of the Achaemenid Persian empire were crowned with the diadem by a high priest of the Zoroasterian religion.
The Roman Emperors, traditionally acclaimed either by the senate or by a legion speaking for the armies as a whole, were confirmed by the other body, without a coronation. The Eastern diadem was introduced by Diocletian. In theory the Imperial crown should be imposed by a representative of those who conferred the sovereign authority that it symbolised. And in the 4th century the Prefect Sallustius Secundus crowned Valentinian I (in whose election he had taken the prominent part). But the Emperor seems to have felt some hesitation in receiving the diadem from the hands of a subject, and the selection for the office was likely to cause jealousy. Yet a formality was necessary. In the fifth century the difficulty was overcome in an ingenious and tactful way. The duty of coronation was assigned to the Patriarch of Constantinople, possibly at the coronation of Marcian (AD 450), but certainly at the coronation of his successor Leo (457) (Bury 1923).
Since the feudal age
Official coronation portrait, Budapest, December 1916.
A coronation following the Byzantine formula was instigated with the coronation of King Clovis of the Franks at Rheims (497), in which a dove was made to descend with an ampule of oil, with which the king was anointed. All succeeding kings of France were anointed — with the same oil, miraculously resupplied — and crowned at Rheims.
Coronations were often centuries-old ceremonies with a great many formal and solemn traditions. Usually the climax of the coronation ceremony is the monarch's recital of an oath, followed by a religious leader placing a crown on the monarch's head. Some monarchs have crowned themselves: this was the custom of the Shahs in Iran, the Tsars of Russia and self-proclaimed monarchs like the Bonaparte Emperor of France.
The crown is not the only item bestowed on a sovereign at his or her coronation. Usually there is an orb and sceptre and — depending on the country — other items from the crown jewels, all highly charged with historic, religious, and territorial symbolism.
The ceremony usually takes place in the premier Cathedral or most holy basilica of a country, often in the present or former monarchical and/or ecclesiastical capital. In the United Kingdom, the coronation ceremony takes place in Westminster Abbey, with the monarch seated on the ancient St. Edward's Chair or Coronation chair (which then again includes the Scottish Stone of Scone). The French monarchs were crowned at Notre-Dame de Reims.
A coronation ceremony is generally religious because from the earliest times it was believed that monarchs were chosen by God, in accordance with the Divine Right of Kings, hence the crown was bestowed by God himself. While this belief is now not generally held, many sovereigns are still proclaimed as Monarch "By Grace of God", even though legally nearly all are subject to the constitution, some even subject to parliamentary sanction.
Westminster Abbey, 1953.
Before 1917 many Russian peasants, unofficially, prayed to God and the Tsar; while in Japan the Emperor was believed to be a descendant of Amaterasu the sun goddess . Hence the concept of monarch, coronation, and God are inexorably linked.
A monarch succeeding by right (e.g. hereditary) does not have to undergo the ceremony of coronation to ascend a throne and execute the duties of the office. King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, for example, did not reign long enough for a coronation ceremony to occur before he abdicated, yet he was unquestionably the King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India during his brief reign. This is because in Great Britain, the law stipulates that the moment one monarch dies, the new monarch assumes the throne. The British King is usually proclaimed King in an outdoor ceremony at St. James's Palace within hours of the death of his predecessor. In France, the new monarch ascended the throne when the coffin of the previous monarch descended into the vault at Saint Denis Basilica, and the Duke of Uzes proclaimed 'Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi' (French: 'The king is dead; long live the King!')
From 1305 to 1963 the Popes were crowned with the Papal Tiara in a coronation ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Following the decision of the last crowned Pope Paul VI to lay the Papal tiara on the high altar of the basilica as a symbol of humility, the next three popes have declined to wear it, and have thus had a ceremony of papal inauguration rather than coronation, as the placing of a crown or coronet of some description upon the head is a requisite of a coronation ceremony. While John Paul I, John Paul II (who also completely abandoned the use of the sedia gestatoria, a portable throne) and Benedict XVI opted for an inauguration instead of an old-fashioned coronation, a future pope can in theory opt for the coronation ceremony.
Many European monarchies have dispensed with the ceremony of coronation altogether. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands had an oath-taking and induction ceremony rather than a coronation, and in Sweden, no king has been crowned since Oscar II in 1873. In Spain, although the crown is present and evident at the ceremony it is never actually placed on the monarch's head. Today's coronations of constitutional monarchs are more akin to political inaugurations. Belgium actually never had a crown (except as a 'virtual' heraldic emblem), the formal installation is a solemn oath on the constitution in parliament, symbolic of the restricted rule of the king under the then cutting-edge constitution of 1831.
They were photographed wearing their coronation crowns and robes in 1906.
Among the last grand coronation ceremonies the World saw were that of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran in 1967 and that of the Central African Republic's president Bokassa in 1977. Bokassa crowned himself emperor in an imitation of Napoleon I's pomp. Furthermore grand ceremonial is still customary in some South East Asian monarchies, notably for the King of Thailand, the Sultan of Brunei and Malaysia, where every five years one of the continental state monarchs (Sultans and one Radja) is crowned Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Paramount Ruler), i.e. elective head of state of the federation. Also upon the eventual death of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles of Wales will most certainly have an extremely grand coronation in keeping with British Imperial tradition and in keeping with the fact that he will be being coronated as the King of the Commonwealth realms, so an elaborate coronation may be deemed appropriate.
See also
Source
- Bury, J.B. 1923. History of the Later Roman Empire
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