BRITISH CORONATIONS
Christopher Joll examines the role of the British military in the country’s 1,000-year history of coronations, and suggests it may be coming to an end.
“ The vast majority of the drills and deployments practised today have their origins not in bombastic pageantry, but in practical protection”
The history of Britain’s armed forces involvement in state ceremonial is as longstanding as the monarchy itself. Moreover, unlike today, it has not always had a largely decorative function.
The deployment of troops at the coronation of William I on December 25, 1066, ended in a riot when the Norman soldiers guarding Westminster Abbey thought that cheers of ‘Vivat!’ from within was a Saxon revolution and began clearing and burning nearby buildings.
William’s throne had been secured in blood by his defeat of King Harold Godwinson north of Hastings, but the mishap meant a tense ceremony held in front of those who were not necessarily welcoming also ended with bloodletting and looting. It is no coincidence that work on the Tower of London began soon after, but let’s come to that shortly.
