The archbishop, standing before the altar, took the crown into his hands, and laying it again before him upon the altar, said,

O God, who crownest thy faithful servants with mercy and loving kindnesses, &c.

Then the king sat down in king Edward's chair; the archbishop, assisted with other bishops, came from the altar; the dean of brought the crown, and the archbishop taking it of him, reverently put it upon the king's head. At the sight whereof the people, with loud and repeated shouts, cried,

God save the king!

The noise ceasing, the archbishop rose and said,

Be strong and of good courage: observe the commandments of God, and walk in his holy ways: fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life; that in this world you may be crowned with success and honour, and when you have finished your course, you may receive a crown of righteousness, which God the righteous Judge shall give you in that day. Amen.

Then the choir sung this short anthem:--

The King shall rejoice in thy strength, O Lord, &c.

As soon as the king was crowned, the peers, bishops, &c. put on their coronets and caps.

The dean of took the Holy Bible, which was carried in the procession, from off the altar, and delivered it to the archbishop, who, with the rest of the bishops going along with him, presented it to the king, saying these words to him:--

Our gracious King; we present unto your Majesty this book, the most valuable thing that this world affordeth, &c.

Then the king delivered back the Bible to the archbishop, who gave it to the dean of , to be reverently placed again upon the holy altar.

And now the king having been thus anointed and crowned, and having received all the ensigns of royalty, the archbishop solemnly blessed him, and all the bishops standing about him, with the rest of the peers, with a loud and hearty Amen.

The Lord bless and keep you: the Lord make the light of his countenance to shine forever upon you, &c.

Then the archbishop turned to the people and said:--

And the same Lord God Almighty grant, &c.

The blessing being thus given, the king sat down in his chair, and vouchsafed to kiss the archbishop and bishops assisting at his coronation, they kneeling before him after another.

Then the choir began to sing the , and the king went up to the theatre on which the throne is placed, all the bishops, great officers, and other peers, attending him, and then he sat down and reposed himself in his chair, below the throne.

The being ended, the king was lifted up into his throne by the archbishop and bishops, and other peers of the kingdom. And being inthronized or placed therein, all the great officers, those that bore the swords and the sceptres, and the rest of the nobles, stood round about the steps of the throne, and the archbishop standing before the king, said,

Stand fast and hold from henceforth, the seat and imperial dignity which is this day delivered unto you in the name, and by the authority of Almighty God, and by the hands of us the bishops and servants of God, though unworthy; and as you see us approach nearer to God's altar, so vouchsafe the more graciously to continue to us your royal favour and protection. And the Lord God Almighty, whose ministers we are, and the stewards of his mysteries, establish your throne in righteousness, that it may stand fast for evermore, like as the sun before Him, and as the faithful witness in heaven. Amen.

The exhortation being ended, all the peers present did homage publicly and solemnly unto the king upon the theatre, and in the meantime the treasurer of the household threw among the people medals of gold and silver, as the king's princely largess or donative.

The archbishop knelt down before his majesty's knees, and the rest of the bishops knelt on either hand, and about him; and they did their homage together, for the shortening of the ceremony, the archbishop saying:--

I Charles archbishop of Canterbury [and so every

one

of the rest, I. N. bishop of N. repeating the rest audibly after the archbishop] will be faithful and true, and faith and truth will bear, unto you our Sovereign Lord, and your heirs, kings of the united kingdom of Great

Britain

and Ireland. And I will do, and truly acknowledge the service of the lands which I claim to hold of you, as in right of the church.--So help me God.

Then the archbishop kissed the king's left cheek, and so the rest of the bishops present after him.

After which the other peers of the realm did their homage in like manner, the dukes by themselves, and so the marquesses, the earls, the viscounts, and the barons, severally; the of each order kneeling before his majesty, and the rest with and about him, all putting off their coronets, and the of each class beginning, and the last saying after him:--

I N. duke or earl, &c. of N. do become your liege man of life and limb, and of earthly worship, and faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die, against all manner of folks.-So help me God.

The peers having done their homage, they stood all together round about the king; and each class or degree going by themselves, or (as it was at the coronation of king Charles the and ) every peer by , in order, put off their coronets, singly ascended the throne again, and stretching forth their hands, touched the crown on his majesty's head, as promising by that ceremony to be ever ready to support it with all their power, and then every of them kissed the king's cheek.

While the peers were thus doing their homage, and the medals thrown about, the king delivered his sceptre with the cross to the

And the bishops that supported the king in the procession also eased him, by supporting the crown, as there was occasion.

While the medals were scattered, and the homage of the lords performed, the choir sung the anthem, with instrumental music of all sorts, as a solemn conclusion of the king's coronation.

Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our Father, &c.

At the end of this anthem the drums beat, and the trumpets sounded, and all the people shouted, crying out,

God save King George the

Fourth

!

Long live King George!

May the King live for ever!

The solemnity of the king's coronation being thus ended, the archbishop left the king in his throne, and went down to the altar.

Then the offertory began, the archbishop reading these sentences:--

Let your light so shine before men; &c.

The king descended from his throne, supported and attended as before, and went to the steps of the altar, and knelt down there.

At the king offered bread and wine for the communion, which were brought out of king Edward's chapel, and delivered into his hands, the bread upon the paten by the bishop that read the Epistle, and the wine in the chalice by the bishop that read the Gospel; these were by the archbishop received from the king, and reverently placed upon the altar, and decently covered with a fair linen cloth, the archbishop saying this prayer:--

Bless, O Lord, we beseech thee, these thy gifts, &c.

Then the king kneeling, as before, made his oblation, offering a mark weight of gold, which the treasurer of the household delivered to the lord great chamberlain, and he to his majesty. And the archbishop came to him, and received it in the basin, and placed it upon the altar. After which the bishop said:--

O God, who dwellest in the high and holy place, &c.

Then the king returned to his chair, and knelt down at his faldstool; the archbishop said :

Let us pray for the whole state of Christ's church militant here on earth.

Almighty and ever living God, &c.

After the prayer of consecration, the archbishop, and dean of , with the bishops' assistants, namely, the preacher, and those who read the Litany, and the Epistle and Gospel, had communicated in both kinds, the archbishop administered the bread, and the dean of the cup, to the king.

At the delivery of the bread, was said,

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c.

At the delivery of the cup,

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for the preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed

for

thee, and be thankful.

While the king received, the bishop appointed for that service held a towel of white silk, or fine linen, before him.

Then the archbishop went on to the post communion, saying,

Our Father which art in Heaven, &.

Then this prayer,

O Lord and heavenly Father, &c.

The king returned to his throne upon the theatre, and afterwards the archbishop read the final prayers.

The whole coronation office being thus performed, the king, attended and accompanied as before, the swords being carried before him, descended from his throne crowned, and carrying the sceptre and rod in his hands, went up to the area eastward of the theatre, and passed on through the door, on the south side of the altar, into king Edward's chapel; and as they passed by the altar, the rest of the regalia lying upon it were delivered by the dean of to the lords that carried them in the procession, and so they proceeded in state into the chapel; the organ all the while playing.

The king then came into the chapel, and standing before the altar, took off his crown, and delivered it, together with his sceptre, to the archbishop, who laid them upon the altar there; and the rest of the regalia were given into the hands of the dean of , and by him laid there also.

Then the king withdrew himself into his traverse prepared for him upon the western wall of that chapel.

Within his traverse the king was disrobed by the lord great chamberlain of his royal robe of slate (which was forthwith delivered to the dean of to be laid also upon the altar)and again arrayed with his robe of purple velvet, which was before laid ready in the traverse for that purpose.

When the king, thus habited, came forth of his traverse, he stood before the altar, and the archbishop being still vested in his cope, set the crown of slate, provided for the king to wear during the rest of the ceremony, upon his head. Then he gave the sceptre with the cross into the king's right hand, and the orb with the cross into his left; which being done, both the archbishop and dean divested themselves of their copes, and left them there, and proceeded in their usual habits.

Then the king carried his sceptre with the cross in his left hand, the swords being borne before the king, and the heralds having again put the rest of the procession in order, he went on from king Edward's chapel to the theatre, and thence through the midst of the choir and body of the church, out at the west door, and so returned to Westminster-hall.

At about minutes to the gates of the hall were thrown open to admit the procession on its return.

Viewed from the upper end of the hall through the arched way, the appearance of the white plumes of the knights of the Bath was most magnificent. On their entrance to the hall, the knights took off their hats, but the peers continued to wear their coronets. The procession then entered in the following order :--

As the procession entered the hall, the fifes, drums, and trumpets went to their gallery, and the several other persons composing it were directed to their respective places by the officers of arms.

On entering the hall, the barons of the Cinque Ports, bearing the canopy, remained at the bottom of the steps. His majesty ascended the elevated platform, and retired in his chamber near the state.

The company at the table then sat down; and the barons of the Cinque Ports carried away the canopy as their fee.

It is mentioned above that the several orders of knighthood returned wearing their hats. This was the case until they got to the entrance of Westminster-hall. There all the knights of the Bath took off their hats, as did some of the bishops and several other individuals who took part in the procession. There were only knights of the Garter who appeared in the full dress of the order. These were his royal highness the prince Leopold and the marquess of Londonderry. The noble marquess, as attired in his robes, added very considerably to the splendour of the scene by his graceful and elegant appearance. His lordship's hat was encircled with a band of diamonds, which had a most brilliant effect. As his majesty passed up the hall he was received with loud and continued acclamations, the gentlemen waving their hats, and the ladies their handkerchiefs; his majesty seemed to feel sensibly the enthusiasm with which he was greeted, and returned the salutation with repeated bows to the assemblage on both sides. The peers took their seats at the table appointed for them, and began to partake of