A AN Z OF CORONATIONS

On the eve of King Charles III’s coronation, Nige Tassell takes us on an alphabetical tour through the history of the royal ritual in all its glory

- Nige Tassell

A is for... Archbishop of Canterbury

Almost all English coronations since 1066 have been conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior member of the Church of England. While it is arguably the pinnacle of any archbishop's service, not all have been dutiful and willing to carry out the high-prestige role. In 1689, the then archbishop, William Sancroft, did not officiate at the joint coronation of William III and Mary II as he failed to acknowledge the legitimacy of their ascension to the throne after the removal of Mary's father, James VII and II, in the Glorious Revolution. The Bishop of London officiated instead.

B is for... balcony appearance

When the pomp of the ceremony has finished, and the coronation procession undertaken back to Buckingham Palace from Westminster Abbey, another aspect of modern coronations takes place: an appearance from the newly crowned monarch on the balcony of the palace. The first such appearance was in 1902 when Edward VII and Queen Alexandra stepped out to receive the acclaim of the crowds gathered down below. Since then, a balcony appearance has been a fixture of post-coronation celebrations, and in 1953 was accompanied by a fly-past of massed planes something that Edward, his coronation a year before the Wright brothers first took to the skies, wasn't treated to.

C is for... Cromwell