Hugh John Macdonald School - Searchlight Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

Page 37 text:

THE SBAROHtlQHT The Meaning of the Coronation Service By Miss Doris A. Crooksh.anks If we were in London now instead of Winnipeg it would be about nine o’clock at night, and all about us there would be excitement, f ' -r tomorrow Queen Elizabeth II is to be crowned in Westminster Abbey, The streets would be crowded an:; many would be taking up places on the curbs to wait all night for a glimpse of the Queen as she goes to the ..bbey, or returns after the crowning. The crowds °long the streets will see not one procession but nine separate processions, beginning about eight o’clock in the morning. First will be the Lore’. Mayor of London, then the Speaker of the House of Commons; next members of the Royal Family; then visiting Royalty; following them will be the Prime ministers of the Commonwealth; then will come the other members of the Royal Family; then Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother with Princess Margaret; and last of all in the State Coach, which was built in 1762, and drawn by eight grey horses will come the Queen in a. crimson velvet robe, accompanied by her husban , the Duke of Edinburgh, in an udrairal’s uniform of blue and gold. Westminster Abbey will be silent to-night, but n t empty for not Iona ago the regalia, for the Coronation - the Crowns (St. Edward ' s and the Imperial State Crown) the sceptres, spurs, swords of State, the Orb, the .’mpul 0 containing the nnointing oil, the spoon, the ring, and the robe of State - have all been delivered from the Tower of London. These will be carefully guarded until after the ceremony when they will be once more returned to the Tower. Queen Elizabeth will be the 38th sovereign to be crowned in the Abbey. The first crowning there took place almost 900 years ago, when William the Conquerer was crowned on Christmas Day 1066. That day the Norman soldiers, misunderstandin the Saxon shouts of acknowledgement, rushed into the Abbey and set fire to some -uilaings near by. Smoke drove the people out of the Church and William, trembling for perhaps the only time in his life, was crowned in an almost empty Church. The Coronation tomorrow will be very different from that first one, for vary detail has been carefully rehearsed by the principal figures to make it s nearly perfect as possible. The service will last about 2 hours instead of che 5 hours which were required for the Coronation of Queen Victoria. Cfter that ceremony the archbishop said: We ought to have had a rehearsal for almost everything went wrong - from the Archbishop ' s placing the ring on the wrong finger to the Bishop ' s turning over two pages of the book containing the ceremnny- an error not noticed until afterward. There have been changes made in the form of the Coronation service from time to time but one thing remains unchanged through the years: the old grey stone Abbey. But tomorrow it will bo a blaze of colour, the walls will be hung with specially designed and woven drapery; the cold st ne floors will be covered with soft carpet; there will be the sc.arlet and purple robes of the peers and peeresses mingled with the more sombre black and white of the costumes of the 7500 people who are privileged to be in the Abbey; all this will be high-lighted with splashes of colour from, the beautiful stained glass windows. The central figure in this ceremony is a young woman whom nrst of you saw ’. ' hen she came to Winnipeg as the Princess Elizabeth. For her it will be a day of :reat solemnity, for it is the day on which she dedicates herself, in a religious service, to the service of her people. To-night the Queen will spend some time in the Abbey in solitary prayer as a preparation for the service to¬ morrow.

Page 39 text:

J L i us i.uauHT When the Queen celebrated her 21st birthday in Cape Town, South Africa, on April 21st, 1947 she spoke these words over the Radio: There is a motto which has been borne by many of my ancestors - a. noble motto, I serve . These words were an inspiration to many bygone heirs to the throne when they made their knightly dedication as they came to manhood. I cannot do quite as they did but through the invention of science, I can do what was not possible for any of them - I can make my solemn act of dedication with a whole Empire listening. I should like to make my dedication now. It is very simple. I declare before you that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service of the great Imperial family to which we all belong. From Sandringham last Christmas Day the Queen concluded her message thus: At my Coronation next June, I shs.ll dedicate myself anew to your service. I shall do so in the presence of a very large congregation, drawn fr m every part of the Commonwealth s,nd Empire, while millions outside Westminster Abbey will hear the promises and prayers being off ere d up within its walls, an ' see much of the ancient ceremony in which Kings and Queens before me have taken part through centuries upon centuries. You will be keeping it as a holiday; but I want to ask you all, whatever religion you may be, to pray for me on that day - to pray that God may give me wisdom and strength to cs j out tne solemn promises I shall be making, and that I may faithfully rve him and you all the days of my life. Tomorrow the Coronation Service will be the public dedication of our Queen to the responsibilities and duties which have come to hr. Every part of the Service has a special meaning, and because I think you will understand it better when you hear the Service tomorrow, I shall try to explain the various parts to you. As the Queen enters the Abbey by the reot west door, she is greeted by Long live Queen Elizabeth shouted in Latin by the boys from Westminster school who have claimed, this privilege for twelve coronations. The choir inside the Abbey breaks into the anthem, I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the House of the Lord . This anthem hrs been sung at every coronation since the time of Charles I who was crowned in 1625. When the Queen reaches a raised dais or platform on which is the Coronation Chair - St, Edward ' s Chair made in 1297 and with the Stone of Scon.: enclosed in i:, she turns t . the four corners of the Abbey and the archbishop of Canterbury says each tim she turns, Sirs, I here present unto you Queen Elizabeth, your u A.oubted Queen; Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, Are you willing to do ' the same? And tie people will shout, God Save Queen Elizabeth. A fanfare of silver trumpets will sound and the Queen will then return to her chair and swear her solemn oaths n nd promises to govern her peoples truly and with justice and mercy. A Bible is presented to her as a symbol of the sacredness of these oaths and promises. This is followed by solemn prayers and .responses, by the annointing with oil A th palms.of both hands, on her breast and the crown of her head. In turn tr.e Queen receives the spurs, (a symbol of chivalry), the sword of State, the royal robe of gold cloth, the orb, and sceptres.