Guided walking tours in London
Two open spaces. Embankment Gardens and Parliament Square.
Can you find a link between them? Clue in the photo below.
So who are they?
And was there something a little unusual about how they met?
Discover more on a walk around the Embankment Gardens and Strand area. For dates use the link below:
1 The crown in the photo is the Imperial State Crown. Charles III was crowned with St Edward’s crown. After retreating to St Edward’s chapel he emerged wearing the Imperial State crown for the procession to Buckingham Palace. It’s a much lighter and more valuable crown
2 Henry IV’s head was allegedly full of lice
3 The almost blind Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, placed the crown the wrong way round on the head of Edward VII. The Archbishop died before the end of the year.
4 The queen who refused to have anything to do with her husband’s coronation was Marie Antoinette in 1626. She was a catholic and objected to the protestant ceremony
5 The queen who insisted on attending but was refused entry to the Abbey was Caroline of Brunswick , estranged queen of George IV. She died of laudanum poisoning two or three weeks later.
6 The king who spent thousands on his queen’s dress and jewellery was James II for Mary of Modena.
7 The Scottish King Alexander III and his nobles released their horses for anyone to claim them at the coronation of Edward I. The English nobles apparently followed suit.
8 The acclamations of rival groups of Norman and Saxon nobles panicked the soldiers guarding the Abbey at the coronation of William I
9 The writer holding one corner of the canopy at the coronation of James II was Samuel Pepys!
10 The coronation of Edward VII was postponed owing to the need for an appendectomy. Edward was keen to go ahead with the coronation at the abbey. His doctor informed him it was a choice between the operation or going to the Abbey in a wooden box. The doctor was Sir Frederick Treves, the man who befriended Joseph Merrick, often known as ‘the Elephant Man’
A coronation quiz. Email the answers to info@walkinglondonhistory. com
2. Which king’s head was allegedly full of lice when he was crowned?
3. On which king’s head did the Archbishop of Canterbury place the crown back to front?
4. Which king’s queen simply refused to take part in the coronation?
5. Which king’s queen insisted on taking part but was turned away at the door of the Abbey?
6. Which 17th century king abandoned the traditional pre-coronation procession but spent £100,000 on his queen’s jewels and dresses? (that is £100,000 in ‘old money’ not current values-it is an enormous amount)
7. At which coronation did the invited king of Scotland and his nobles free all their horses to be claimed by anyone who could catch them?
8. At whose coronation did the king’s guard outside the Abbey panic on hearing the shouts of acclamation from within, and set fire to local buildings, thinking an insurrection was taking place?
9. Which writer was one of James II’s canopy bearers?
10. Which coronation had to be delayed for the performance of a crucial medical operation?
Last week’s post featuring the King’s Champions asked which coronation featured a piebald horse borrowed from a circus, and asked which statesman accompanied the King’s champion into the hall. The answer was the coronation of George IV and the statesman in question was the Duke of Wellington