CORONATION: A History of the British Monarchy

Reissued in the run-up to the coronation of King Charles III, Sir Roy Strong's magisterial history is a well-researched delight. The anointing with oil was central from Anglo-Saxon times and was later foregrounded by Handel's coronation anthem "Zadok the Priest anointed Solomon King". In 800 Pope Leo III inaugurated Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor by placing a crown on his head, and over the succeeding centuries the crown came to define kingship as an office whose remit was defined by the Christian church. The depiction of King Harold's coronation on the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry indicates the increasing importance of regalia, which was to reach its zenith in the elaborate costumes of the 18th century Hanoverian kings. The identification of a king as God's representative brought the monarchy into competition with the church. Henry II was "worthy to be adored as the supreme prelate" and in this role was soon at odds with his archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. Church and state gradually separated during the medieval period, and a radical new oath at the coronation of Edward II in 1308 bound the king to accept future laws made by the community of the realm. Government by consent was on its way. As the notion of priest-king disappeared, a new development was that of the king as mystical healer, adopted by James I and revived by Charles II at the Restoration. In the Tudor period and Reformation, the right to the throne now depended on family descent, though the pomp of coronation remained central to consolidating a claim. George IV's coronation robe was modelled on that of Napoleon, and his coronation was dominated by the scandalous exclusion of his queen. A widening of the monarchy's constituency was continued by Victoria and her 20th century successors, who also had the mixed blessing of mass media. 440pp, colour photos.