King’s coronation: What the monarch will wear and hold, all the crowns and what they mean

Published

2 years ago

April 9, 2023

admin

The coronation regalia is at the heart of the crown jewels, locked away in the Tower of London.

The King’s crowning ceremony will be a rare outing for the sacred collection, with dozens of important and symbolic objects to keep an eye out for.

From crowns and swords to sceptres and orbs, here’s what you can expect to see on 6 May as the King and Queen Consort are officially crowned – and what they all mean.

St Edward’s Crown

Starting with one of the biggest first – literally, as St Edward’s Crown weighs 2.23kg (nearly 5lbs).

This solid gold crown, set with precious stones and fringed with ermine, will be put on the King’s head at the moment of crowning.

That is the only time the crown is worn. Historically it wasn’t allowed out of Westminster Abbey, and so a second crown was made for the monarch to wear as they processed out of the coronation ceremony.

The Queen reportedly practised walking with bags of flour on her head to get used to the weight of the crowns.

Imperial state crown

This is the monarch’s “working crown”, worn on formal occasions such as the state opening of parliament.

Like the St Edward’s Crown, it features a plush purple velvet cap beneath its gold arches.

Made for the coronation of King George VI in 1937, the crown is set with 2,868 diamonds as well as 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 269 pearls.

According to legend, one of its stones, the black prince ruby, was worn by Henry V in his helmet at the Battle of Agincourt.

Queen Mary’s crown

The Queen Consort will also be crowned during the coronation and will wear Queen Mary’s crown.

It’s been moved from the Tower of London, where it is normally kept, to be resized and updated to suit her preferences; the number of arches will be reduced from eight to four.

The crown was originally commissioned for the coronation of Mary of Teck as Queen Consort at the coronation of King George V in 1911.

After the coronation, the Queen Consort will be known as Queen Camilla.

Ampulla and spoon

The gold ampulla, cast in the form of an eagle with outspread wings, and the coronation spoon are used for the most sacred part of the service – the anointing of the monarch with holy oil.

The eagle’s head unscrews so it can be filled with oil and there is a tiny hole in its beak from which oil is poured into the spoon.

Legend has it Thomas A Becket saw the objects in a dream, presented to him by the Virgin Mary to use to anoint future kings.

The 12th-century spoon is the oldest object used in the coronation and a “great survivor”, according to Kathryn Jones, senior curator at the Royal Collection Trust.

Almost all regalia was melted down in 1649 during the English Civil War but the spoon escaped, bought by a man who looked after Charles I’s wardrobe and later sold back to Charles II.

The archbishop pours oil from the ampulla into the spoon, then dips two fingers in the oil to anoint the head, breast and hands of the monarch.

The holy oil – chrism – was consecrated at a ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in March.

It was created using olives which had been harvested from groves on the Mount of Olives, a mountain ridge which runs from Jerusalem’s Old City which has major religious symbolism for Christians and Jews.

It’s perfumed with sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber as well as orange blossom.

St Edward’s staff

The staff is described as an “enigmatic object” by Charles Farris, public historian for Historic Royal Palaces.

That’s because no one is quite sure what it was originally used for.

In 1660, regalia was remade for the coronation of Charles II after it had all been destroyed, and despite the purpose and appearance of the staff having been forgotten, it too was reconstructed.

It has continued to be carried in coronation processions although it serves no function in the ceremony.

Three swords

The swords of mercy, spiritual justice and temporal justice are likely to be some of the first objects you see in the coronation, as they are carried – upright and unsheathed – before the sovereign in the procession into Westminster Abbey.

The swords symbolise royal powers and responsibilities and the sword of mercy has a symbolically blunt end.

Jewelled sword of offering, spurs and armills

The sword of offering is one of the objects the sovereign is invested with during the ceremony, after the anointing.

The King will be robed and presented with a number of symbolic objects, including the sword, spurs and armills, or bracelets.

The spurs represent the knightly values of protecting the weak and the church while the armills symbolise the bond the monarch has with their people and the values of sincerity and wisdom.

Two sceptres

The sceptre with cross represents temporal and spiritual power. It is placed in the monarch’s right hand and they keep hold of it during crowning and throning and carry it in the procession.

The sceptre with dove goes in the left hand and represents spiritual power, with the dove symbolising the holy spirit.

Orb

The orb is a symbol of the globe, divided into the three continents known of in England in Medieval times and representing worldly and Christian power.

Sovereign’s ring

The sovereign’s ring features rubies set in the shape of a St George’s cross on top of a sapphire.

The ring symbolises dignity, faith and the monarch’s commitment to their people and the church.

UK

Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman’s body found in car boot

Published

2 hours ago

November 17, 2024

admin

Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman's body found in car boot

An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.

The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.

On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.

Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.

“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.

“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”

“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.

Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road, Ilford, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.

More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.

“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.

“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”

Force referred to police watchdog

On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.

Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.

East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.

UK

King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

Published

2 hours ago

November 17, 2024

admin

King Richard III given Yorkshire accent using state-of-the-art technology

State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.

A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.

Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.

His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.

Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.

A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.

Experts from various fields helped put the pieces of the puzzle together, including speech and language therapy, dentistry, forensic psychology and archaeology.

His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.

The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.

Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a good physical match.

Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.

The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.

The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.

History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”

Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life

UK

South Yorkshire Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in 48 hours

Published

2 hours ago

November 17, 2024

admin

South Yorkshire Police warning after 13 dangerous dog reports in 48 hours

South Yorkshire Police have warned pet owners to “step up before someone dies” after receiving 13 reports of dangerous dogs in less than 48 hours.

One man was attacked by his own American bulldog in Sheffield on Thursday afternoon, the force said, when he attempted to separate it and a pocket bully inside a property.

The owner suffered lacerations to his face, neck and head, and was taken to hospital, while his dog was seized and remains in police kennels.

Warning: Distressing images below

Another incident saw a woman walking home with her baby in a carrier on her chest, when she was approached by a loose XL bully who began to show aggression and jump up to her baby.

An elderly woman and her grandchild were attacked by another loose dog in Sheffield.

“As dogs causing harm and fear in our communities continues to place significant demand on our force, we’re urging owners to step up, before someone dies,” South Yorkshire Police said in a statement.

The warning comes after 10-year-old Savannah Bentham was killed at her family’s home in North Yorkshire by their dog on 1 November.

Chief Inspector Emma Cheney, leading the work on dangerous dogs across South Yorkshire, said: “Recently we have sadly seen another fatal incident in the UK of a dog causing death.

“People think it won’t happen to them, that their dog won’t cause harm, but it can happen to anyone. Any dog can cause fear and harm and owners who do not step up and prevent harm to our communities will not be tolerated.

“You are responsible for your dog’s actions, and we continue to put people before the courts.

“We only have a limited number of resources, attending dangerous dog incidents takes officers away from other calls. If every owner steps up and makes small changes, we can make a difference.”