Finally, as a seasoned campaigner aged 50, he was summoned to be knighthood in the coronation honours of Edward II in 1308.ĭevon’s earliest and most enduring coronation role was won even further back in time. William Martin of Combe Martin saw action with Edward I (1272-1307) and his son on the battlefields of France, Scotland and Wales. He belonged to an ancient tradition of prized fighters presented at the coronation. Giles’ prize was a knighthood conferred on him by the new King James I at his coronation in July 1603. Edward Giles, of Ashprington, near Totnes, led the defence of the West Country coastline when threatened with Spanish armadas in 1596, 15 later he served with Queen Elizabeth I’s army supporting the Dutch in their battles with the colonial power of Spain. Heard had served king and country from the rank of Midshipman at the age of 15 his pivotal part in the making of his monarch came to him in his ninetieth year.ĭevon was long a recruiting-ground for military service and the county’s sailors and soldiers were often rewarded for their valour with a front-row seat in the coronation festivities. It was an Ottery St Mary naval officer, Isaac Heard (1730-1822), who as royal herald, Garter King of Arms, proclaimed the accession of King George IV on 31 January 1821. The county of Devon accrued more of these honours than most. By William Sherwin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1685. A digital reproduction of the first of 19 sheets of a copper engraving of the coronation procession of James II of England and Queen Mary of Modena. Successive Lords did just this, from the coronation of Richard II (1377) to that of James II (1685). For example, the Lord of the Manor of Liston (Essex) was responsible for presenting five wafers before the crowned monarch at the coronation feast. The counties of England and Wales were encouraged to invest in a coronation through customary contributions that cities, towns and titled families made towards the ceremony. In a pre-industrial age, it was especially important for the incoming monarch to win the backing of the regions. The new reign of the teenage queen required the reinforcement of the head of the elected government. It was not by chance that when the 19-year old Queen Victoria processed into Westminster Abbey for her coronation in 1838, the ancient role of sword carrier was taken by the Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne. Quite literally, they had to be seen to be believed and when they were witnessed, it was essential that the leading figures of the nation – representatives of government, church, the law and the landing-owning classes – were standing alongside. Before the media age, the person of the monarch and the performance of monarchy were remote, shrouded in mystery and more-or-less invisible to the majority of their subjects. In centuries past, the target audience was much closer to home. Naturally, in the 21st century the primary concern for Buckingham Palace and for Downing Street is to approach the ceremony as a PR reception for the world. It may be magnified because monarchy today is under a mass-media spotlight but coronations have always been a focus for political controversy – international, national, regional and also, the politics within the royal family itself. The public chatter and the personal bitterness are nothing new. Already, even before the first sighting of the gilded coach, or the crowded abbey church, there is fall-out from the guest-list of course, those who didn’t make the cut as much those who did. It’s set to become the most talked-about invitation of the decade. By Professor James Clark, Associate Dean for Research and Knowledge Transfer, and Professor of History, in the Department of Archaeology and History.
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