NLXYXI, 1931 -

Crown Jewelsiilind Regalia’

Treasures The Tower

The Gems And Their History

(By the lion. George Bellow. MN. 0., Somerset Herald of Arnﬂ)

w (Continuqilflonr pngeilé) the same pattern and design, ex- cepting that Curtanu, which is sorrielimes known as the Siwolld 0X

'Mere,\'. has the point broken off, or Trlirntrd, as a. symbol of

Mercy, a Cll‘l'ilill.~lﬂ1'l(’£ from which it pro- bably derives its name. The Jexvelled Sword of State has hilt. handle, and qulilions of gold, so richly adorned with icwcls that the szold is scarcely" v ' Th‘? ' is sirnr. enr- brll cred. This sword was m-rde for George IV at a cost of £6 000. ari is probably the nrmt valuable r i in the world 'ii~.r- Sword of Stein. which is a

5V,

“two-handed" ceremonial

of more simple (lesion, is

.- before the h oil inrporr-

’ I‘(‘l‘(‘ll]"ll\iﬂi oer .< All five of “re swords are l, during tire

‘ ton COrelnonjr

" 4 the King's R: w». Sceptre (the h 12's Royal S: litre with the Cro s». the K: , ire with the Dove. the Qllihui’

zr.

re \v‘lh the Cross, the Qi» ‘ifs Ivory Rod, and St. Ed- ward's Staff.

The King's Royal-Sceptre con- m" n5 already mentioned. the lar-rest portion of the Star of Africa. Portions of this Sceptre.

why-h is about 3ft. in length, ap- pear to be very old. but it has been altered and added to from time to time. 1r is iilO symbol o! Royal Power, and is placed in the King's right hand during the Coronation Ceremony. The King's Sceptre with the Dove. is a goidﬂl rod bearing a white dove at the smnmit. and is believed to date fron-rthc time of Charles II. It is ‘known as the Rod of Equity. and is plat-ed in the King's left hand during the Coronation Ceremony. St Edward's Staff. which l5 nh/“llt 4 l-2ft. long, ls a gdden ro" with a monde and crosspatee at the summit. The base ls tilllﬂd with a point of steel. Known Bs the Rod of Justice and Equity. it is gllljpoScd to mride the Sovereigns footsteps: a staff oi‘ this kind has been peed at Coronations from remote limes. and there is a record of ~l"i‘ll n staff hnvinz been used at ilio Coronation oi’ Etlielrcd ll

Th‘ orirziiral red was evidently de- sl-w ‘l durin-r the C0rrrmoliu'ealil1. an" lire ‘ll. version ls pre- Slll“’fl a copy made by Sir" Rob-rt Vi-nfl‘.

SYMBOLF“ 0F THE ORB DOMINION 0'." CHRISTIANITY

Tlze symbolism of the Orb, 0r NKJTCO with the (i155, in State . ' .'1 of Clrristi~

',_ ll has. by itwl" ‘been a irrrri (ii “r Rosalia of En ' ‘r Ki r-i- at 11- l sirrce the tin of Eduard tl~r~ (fonfessor. and ls 1' iv used as n finial to all the crrr ‘rs and some of the seeptrcs.

Th» (‘Xhiillﬂ Klrvfs Oil), which i5 “FW-“v l" lied in (‘m-citation pro- be. a-rrs within t“r~ A‘ v hv the Drive» of Sorncrrsl and plireeci in

__ the King's hand during the 06m-

rnony, was made originally by Sir Robert Vyner for Charles II: it has since-been siglrtly altered. It 00n- sists of a golden ball 6in‘ Ill damet/er, the horizontal circular- erroc of “Ylrich is embellished with a circlet rchly adorned with dim- monds and precious stones, and edged with pearls. A sinrllar em- bellishment half encircles the top, and supports a large amethyst on which rests a cfosely bejewelled eross-patee.

The Queen's Orb is smaller, but i.. otherwise sirrrilar- to that of the King. except that the stones and pearls used are larger and there are fewer of them. It is used 0n‘y at the Coronation of e Queen Regnant.

Probably the inuSt ancient object in the whole Regalia is the Ampulla. It is a vessel shaped like an eagle with trings raised; it con- tains the oil with which the King is anointed during the Coronation Ceremony. About nine inches in lreipirt, it is of sold gold, and, al- though the pedestal and chasing zrnpear to be of the seventeenth century, tire body is possibly Byzantine. It is perhaps. with the anoirriimz spoon which is used with it, part of tire trrigrnal English royal irPQIISllFI‘, and escaped do. r-truction during the Common- wealth ovriiry: t0 the fact that it urns llislltllirt‘ kept in Westminster Abbey. and not at the Tower oi’ london with the ~ther Jewels and “Plzﬂiia- The anointing spoon is of silver, heavily gilt, and has been much altered and repaired from ilnte to time.

s1‘ nnoncrrs SPUns rm: corrouanou 1mm

St. Georges Spurs _are of solid £1011. and date from the time of Charles II. They are carried in the" Pr- ‘on in Westmlnister Abbey, Mid are placed at the heels of cho Sovereign during the ceremony a; PPOErH-mme emblems of knight- hood and chivalry. The right, jure sangulnls, to carry the Spurs during the procession has been often disputed, At the last Coronation the Lord; Grey d9 Rlii-liyn and London proved an "quill rillht. and each peer carried one spur.

'I'he. Coronation Ring Ls composed of a cabochon sapphire set with rubies in the form of n, cross (presumably the red cross of St. George), and surrounded by dia- monds. 1t has been worn by W11. 1M1! IV, by lildward VII, and by the late King George, Queen Vic- toria wore an exact copy on a slightly reduced scalg

Among the very interesting col- lection of’ plate in the Crown Jewels are II Great Salt-Cellars, the Salt of State,.n1ld Queen Ellin- betlns Salt-Cellar. All except the last date from the reign o! Charles II. The most OOUSIfCUOlIS nieces are Perhaps the Salt of State and Queen Elizabeth's Salt, the former of which is in the

ghapg o! a castle. and we; Pfesmg;

ed to Charles II by the city Exeter. The wine fountain. 0i 511V"

heavily gilt, also dating from the reign of crimes n. is perhaps the finest piece of plate in the col- lection. It was presented to Charles 1'I by the borough of Ply- mouth. Probably used at Corona- tion Banquets (discontinued . since 1821) as a table centre-piece. there is no record of its ever havrnl,’ served its original purpose. It i5 30in. in height. and required, on one occasion. no less than 43202 of pure gold to replete it.

The Maundy Dish, which dates, as does nearly all the plate, from the seventeenth century, is a 1Y5!‘- feetly plain silver-gilt dish about 24in. in diameter It is used for the distribution of "lvlzrrmdy Money" at Weetinirrisier i Abbey, the nunrrber of the poor benefiting bcine the same as the King's age at tire time.

The ornamental Mares. which are carried at the Coronation Cere- mony by Serjermts-nt-Arms, date from the reigns of Charles 1'1, James II. and William and Mary

The State Trumpets, 15 in number are of silver. From them hang embroidered banners of the Royal Arms. Frrnfnres are blown on these trumpets during the Corona- tion Ceremonies.

Duke of Winds0r’s Ranch

The report that the Dirice of Windsor has decided to sell his Canadian ranch underlies tire fact that since 19W he has paid taxes to the Government of Alberta at the rate of about £60 a year on the 3840 acres of the hofding.

He took out a ninety-nine year lease on the petroleum and coal rights on his property, for which he pays a dollar a year. The Duke declined to sweet any remission 0i’ taxes. saying he did not desim to receive any special favours rm an Alberta, rancher.

Handwriting Counts

Good handwriting. legible and pleasing, is still rm asset in Court circlss, and the ability to write nicely is a. distinct swat in the case o! a lﬂdy-in-waiting (says the Daily Telegrilph )

0i course, times have changed Royal correspondence is volumin- ous in these modem days, and the tyrperwritcr is business-like and desirable. At the moment practic- ally all the letters sent out from Buckingham Paliwe m? being typed. 'I‘ime does not pennit at! the lmndivritten letter. .

There are, however, many letter-s which seem to acquire a more personal note when written. Queen Marry has always taken the view that there is a friendly yet digni- fled feeling about the handwritten letter when it is o! r1 more personal nature. That is why so many let- ters from Marlborough House are written ones.

T91!‘ Ollenlnt! and answering I the letters addressed to Queen Marv has always, been an 1m- portant item in the day's pro- gammc and one demanding an early morning start.

r

ii

Legend ofthe Coronation Stone

THE CHAIR 0F ST. EDWARD

(B! HARRY I. FARMEB)

One of the most interesting ob- jects in connection with the forth- coming Coronation of King George VI is an old and broken stone which rests on a specially con- structed shelt beneath the Royal throne, the chair at St. Edward.

It is known variously. as the Stone o! Destiny, the Stone of Boone, and the Coronation stone, and, according to ancient tradi- tion, is the stone which Jacob used tor a pillow when he dream- ed his famous dream at Bethel.

Just how the stone reached Europe is not clear, but in the ear- ly Middle Ages it was housed in the cathedral of Cashel, Ireland. where it was used as the corona- tion seat of the Kings o! Munster.

‘Thence it was removed, some- where about the end of the fifth century, by Fergus, a. more or less legendary Irish hero, who migrat- ed from his native country, taking the stone with him, to become King of Scotland. It was used at his coronation, and was kept at Dunstaffnage until late In the

ninth century, when it was carried 1

to Scone by Kenneth IL 1n 925.

Edward I. at the and of his sun- cemful campaign against Scotlaul carried the stone to England ll 1296, in order to humiliate til Scots, and there it has remains! since.

Its presence beneath the corona- tion throne is considered the sym- bollcal equivalent of the British Monarchs being crowned on S000 tish soil, and in earlier corona- tlons, it was customary tor thl Sovereign to place one foot on thl stone during the ceremony.

However, the Scottish historian Bkene, casts doubts not only on the Bethel origin oi.’ the stone. bll on its authenticity as the Li Fail, or Stone of Destiny, of thl Irish Kings, for he asserts that I was quarried from the rocks neu Scone, the scene of the crorwnim of early Scottish rulers. Supportinl this is the contention of Irish au- thorities, that the Stone of Dea- tiny was still at Tara 400 years n.8- tad the alleged removal to Boob

who ‘dlnt

—Sold in any quaniit_v_

WHARF OFHQI, 88 Lower: WATER STREET,

T the occasion of the British Coronation we would express Loyalty and extend sincere felicitations to our Sovereign

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’ LONG MAY THEY REIGN

to enjoy the respect and devotion of their eaun

world oven __ r

UPTOWN OFFICE, 1% GREAT. GEORGE srlzunl ~

..':.....~.-. -r~....,.

tless subjects the

A. PICKARD s» co.

"All" (IOAL. sorr COAL AND com:

——Teleplrone 240-

onl-no-IIJWJ-OQD-Ililllllrlwllllllllvnlﬁlvanduv-n - ~

PROMPT CAREFUL DELIVERY . " ~

r