Re-enact your own coronation!

Did you know?

Key words:
Sovereign = the King or Queen
Orb = a gold sphere with a cross at the top – a key part of the crown jewels
Sceptre = a long ‘staff’ with a symbol at the top. In the coronation ceremony there are two, one with a cross and one with a dove. These, along with the orb and the crown make up the crown jewels.
Homage = a sign of respect.

You will need:

• A large chair
• Crimson velvet robes with ermine capes (or imagine that everyone is wearing one –the King or Queen has an extra long one with a train)
• A large canopy with four people holding each corner (could be a large bed sheet or it could be imagined)
• 2 sceptres (see key words)
• 1 orb (This looks like a tennis-ball-sized sphere with a cross on top –this could be made or improvised)
• 1 crown (this can be made using our ‘make your own crown!’ worksheet or can be improvised)

Characters:

  • 1 King or Queen (who will be crowned)
  • 1 Archbishop of Canterbury (who conducts the ceremony and has done since 1066)
  • 2-4 people to hold the long train of the sovereign’s robes
  • A group of onlookers made up of British Members of Parliament, senior church officials (bishops and deans etc), the Prime Minister, leaders and dignitaries from commonwealth countries and other religious groups.

Set the scene:

You are in Westminster Abbey surrounded by huge arches and large painted windows. The coronation has taken place here for the last 900 years –so there is a lot of history and importance in this building. There is a long aisle down the middle of two set of chairs and there is a very large and important looking throne at the end of the aisle.

Act out the following:

• The sovereign walks down the aisle with 2-4 people carrying their long train behind.
• The sovereign sits in the large chair and is greeted by the Archbishop.
• The sovereign takes the coronation oath: S/he agrees to rule according to law, to exercise justice with mercy and to maintain the Church of England.
• 4 people hold a canopy over the sovereign’s head and the archbishop anoints the sovereign (this is a religious act and a simple touch on the forehead will represent this perfectly) after this is done, the canopy can disappear.
• The sovereign is given the orb and the sceptres by 3 onlookers.
• The archbishop places the crown on the sovereign’s head.
• ‘Homage’ is paid to the new King or Queen by the Archbishop, and each onlooker. (this can be represented by the onlookers queuing up to bow to the sovereign and then returning to their original positions)
• Everybody claps as the sovereign walks back down the aisle and out of the church as the new monarch of Great Britain.

Try and do this with Handel’s Coronation Anthems playing in the background.