“My
favourite part of researching this section was actually walking the coronation
route. Somehow while tracing Richard’s steps, I stopped seeing the modern city
and found myself focusing on the history.
At times, I almost expected to see
the procession pass me by as it winded its way through the streets”
Kristie Dean
Once Richard
decided to accept the citizens’ petition and take the crown for himself, he set
events in motion that ultimately led to the Battle of Bosworth. From his grand
coronation to his death at Bosworth, Richard had a short reign, but he is one
of England’s best-known kings.
London:
The Coronation
A grand and
majestic exhibition, a coronation was an elaborate affair and had been for
centuries. Richard has been maligned for his extravagance, but it is fair to
state that he was only following in his predecessors’ footsteps. The procession
was one stage of the coronation. It allowed the citizens of London to see the
king leaving from the Tower. At the head of the coronation train were lords and
knights, then the alderman of the city, dressed in vivid scarlet. The newly
created Knights of the Bath would follow, along with other members of the
train. Directly in front of the king would be the ‘king’s sword’, along with
the Earl Marshal of England and the Lord Great Chamberlain.
Tower of London, London. The White Tower rises in the
distance in this view across the Thames.
According to
Anne Sutton and P. W. Hammond in The Coronation of Richard III:
The Extant Documents, the king wore blue cloth of gold
with nets under his purple velvet gown, furred with ermine. Four knights
carried a silk brocade canopy of red and green above his
head. Behind the king rode more lords and knights. The queen, her
hair streaming down her back, wore a circlet of gold and pearls on her head and
rested on cushions of cloth of gold. She was carried on
her litter by two palfreys covered in white damask, with saddles also
covered in cloth of gold. Anne, her jewels glistening in the sun,
was clothed in damask cloth of gold furred with miniver and garnished
with annulets of silver and gold, and was carried under a canopy
similar to Richard’s. Following behind the queen’s henchmen and
horse of estate came the noble ladies. The women were carried in
four-wheeled carts, pulled by horses covered in crimson cloth of gold,
crimson velvet and crimson damask, fringed with gold.
Houses along the
way would have hung rich tapestries outside their windows. The citizens of
London would have lined the procession route, standing on streets that had been
cleaned and covered with gravel. The procession was slow as it stopped in Cheapside,
at the Standard, the Eleanor Cross and the Little Conduit, along with other stops
where stations were set up for speeches and performances in honour of the king
and queen. The procession route would have
followed those
of previous coronations and would go through Cheapside, St Paul’s, Ludgate
Hill, Fleet Street and then the Strand, ending at Westminster Hall. Here, the
king and queen would have been served ‘of the voyde’, which meant they partook
of wine and spices beneath the cloths of estate in the Great Hall. Afterwards, the
monarchs would have retired to chambers to change clothes and then take an
evening meal.
Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London. Richard’s coronation was
held within the walls of the great abbey.
In preparation
for the joint coronation, a stage would have been set up between the choir and
altar at Westminster Abbey. Steps would have led up to the stage on both the
west and east sides. St Edward’s Chair, with Scotland’s Stone of Scone
underneath, would have sat here for the king, and a richly decorated chair
would have been set up on a lower part of the stage for the queen. At the presbytery
another pair of chairs would have been set up for the royal couple upon their
entry into the abbey.
Early on 6 July
1483, Richard would have arisen, bathed, and then been clothed by his Great
Chamberlain, the Duke of Buckingham. Dressed in his white silk shirt, a coat of
red sarcenet
and silk breeches and stockings, covered
by a red floor-length robe of silk and ermines, Richard must have appeared
regal. He would have gone to the hall to be raised by nobles into the marble
chair of the King’s Bench. Anne would have joined him here. She was dressed in
a robe of crimson velvet with a train, kept in place with silk and gold mantle
laces, covering her crimson kirtle, which was laced down the front with silver
and gilt. Together, they must have looked an imposing pair.
READ THE BOOK TO
HEAR ABOUT THE CORONATION SERVICE IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY!
… A lavish feast
would conclude the coronation ceremonies for the day. The first course was
served on dishes of gold and silver. Beef, mutton, roast, capons, custard,
peacocks, and roe deer, along with many other dishes, made up the first course.
Richard and Anne entered the hall dressed in fresh robes of crimson velvet embroidered
with gold and made their way to the dais.
At the beginning
of the second course, Robert Dymoke, as the King’s Champion, came into the hall
on a horse trapped in white and red silk. He came riding up before the king and
made his
obeisance. The
herald asked the assembly, ‘If there be any man who will say against King
Richard III why he should not pretend and have the crown’. Everyone was silent,
and then in one voice cried, ‘King Richard!’ The King’s Champion threw down his
gauntlet three times and then again made his obeisance to the king. After being
offered wine, he turned the horse and rode out of the hall with the cup in his
right hand as payment for his service. Afterwards, the
heralds and four
kings of arms came from their stage. The senior herald announced Richard as the
King of England and France and Lord of Ireland. The ceremony ended so late that
the third course could not be served. Hippocras and wafers were served to the
king and queen, and they departed from the hall.
The Author, Kristie Dean.
“The World of Richard III”
is available to buy now on Amazon:
