Educational & Informative Videos

Dr Allan Barton's brief over view of the Coronation of HM King Charles III on saturday 6th May 2023

 Dr Allan Barton comments on the traditional coronation robes, explaining they are not just to make the King look grand, they all have a symbolic meaning and express the status of the sovereign and the transformation of their status in the coronation rite. He explore all of that rich history and the religious and political symbolism of the British coronation robes. 

 There is one item of furniture that is very prominent during the coronation and that is St Edward’s Chair, the Coronation Chair.  Commissioned by King Edward the First to contain the Stone of Scone, the Stone of Destiny, most English and later British sovereigns have been anointed and crowned while seated on it.  In this video Dr Alan Barton looks at the history and the significance of the chair, before moving on to look at the elaborate (mostly now lost) decoration of this iconic piece of seven-hundred-year-old furniture, focusing on the symbolism of it and how the chair and its decoration relates to a particular aspect of the wider furnishing of Westminster Abbey – and what that says about English kings conception of their office. 

In this second video Dr Allan Barton continues the story of the English coronation crown, St Edward's Crown.  Created in 1660 for the Coronation of Charles II, it was a recreation of a medieval holy relic.  An extraordinary example of the English Baroque, it is a fine example of the goldsmiths' craft.

 In this video, Dr Allan Barton looks at the tradition and history of the coronation of the Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, within the British coronation ceremony.  He looks at where and when during the coronation ceremony it takes place and what rituals and traditions are involved and how this traditional ceremony might change when Queen Consort Camilla is crowned alongside her husband King Charles III.  This is part 1 of a two-part series and in the next video he will look in-depth at the regalia of the British Queen Consort.   

 Camilla, the Queen Consort was crowned with Queen Mary’s crown, the crown made for and used by Queen Mary at the 1911 coronation – a good political and aesthetic choice.  In this short video Dr Allan Barton talks through the history and significance of the crown for you and why he thinks it was such a good decision. 

 In May the King and Queen travelled back to Buckingham Palace after the Coronation in the Gold State Coach, one of the most opulent carriages ever made.  Constructed in 1761 and commissioned by George III, it was the collaborative work of a number of gifted men.  Not simply a fancy means of transport it is also designed to present the king to his people and has imagery drawn from classical civilisation that reflects the British understanding of who the sovereign is.  In this video Dr Allan Barton explores the making of the coach and the significance of that imagery.
 

 In this video, Dr Allan Barton begins his analysis of the different elements of the British coronation ceremony exploring each one in order and explaining what they mean.  The coronation begins with a transaction between the sovereign and his people taking place.  Firstly the people are presented with their sovereign so that they can recognise him and give assent to his hallowing as king, this is called the Recognition.  In response to that the sovereign makes a series of promises called, the Coronation Oath, in which he makes a contract with his people to govern according to law.  This video explores the origin, purpose and form of these two elements the Recognition and the Oath.  

 In this video (the first of two videos) looking at the anointing of the sovereign and in these two videos Dr Allan Barton explores three things.  He begins by looking at the ceremony of the anointing within the context of the coronation itself, what happens in it, why happens in it and what it is intended to do.  This involves talking about theology, for this ceremony is rooted in deep Christian tradition and symbolism. In the second part he looks at the very complex and fascinating history of the anointing oils used at coronations –surprisingly this is an area of coronation tradition that has seen constant innovation over the years as the religious climate of the nation changed. 

 For the Coronation of King Charles III a new anointing screen was commissioned.  At the anointings of previous sovereigns, they have been shielded from view at this solemn moment by a canopy held by Knights of the Garter.  The canopy used at the coronation in 1953, had been made in 1902 for the coronation of Edward VII – it was of silk and embroidered with eagles.  That object has now been retired, it may well have been too fragile to use – and instead for the king’s coronation a three-sided fabric screen that will wrap around St Edward’s chair will be used instead. Rather than shielding the king from above like the canopies of old, this will shield the king from view from the west, north and south.  It will be open to the east, towards the high altar, so that the archbishop can easily anoint the king.  The screen is apparently a gift from the Corporation of London and some of the livery companies and has been designed by Orthodox iconographer Aidan Hart.    

The robes the King received after his anointing in preparation for his crowning.

Dr Allan Barton comments on The King's decision to use the chairs of estate made for the coronation of his mother Elizabeth II in 1953 and the thrones used by his grandparents in 1937.  These have been thoroughly conserved and updated with the King and Queen's cyphers and their arms.  

 After the king is anointed and is dressed in the cloth of gold supertunica – he is then seated in St Edward’s chair and is ready to be invested with the royal regalia. There are really two parts to the investiture, and Dr Allan Barton treats them separately in two videos. The first part of the ceremony, which this video will be about, has its origin in the medieval ceremonies associated with the creation of knights and the king is presented with spurs and a sword.   
 

 In this video Dr Allan Barton explores the history of the two final elements of the King's coronation, the enthroning in the coronation theatre and the homage.  The latter, which is a hangover from feudal times has been reformed and I offer my opinion on that - rather unusually for me!  

Say something interesting about your business here.

The enduring Coronation legacy of St Dunstan's work from AD 973

 This video from Dr Allan Barton looks at some of the earliest crowns to survive in Europe from Visigothic Spain and Imperial Byzantium, focusing on the tradition that developed across the continent of hanging up these ensigns and symbols of majesty in churches as offerings to God.   

 The Holy Crown of Hungary, also known as St Stephen's Crown, is one of Hungary's greatest cultural treasures.  Dating back to the eleventh century, the crown has witnessed many vicissitudes in the nation's history; it has been stolen and hidden, and it has even left the country entirely.  In this video, Dr Allan Barton looks at this object in some detail, its importance in the political life of Hungary, and how, for over thirty years, it was kept in the United States.    
 

 Surprisingly, given the thoroughness of the French Revolution, and the end of the monarchy in France, the French have retained much more of their medieval royal regalia than the English did—although the majority was still lost between 1590 and 1793. In this video, Dr Allan Barton, discusses the crowns and other regalia used by the Capetian, Valois, and Bourbon dynasties - what we know about the items that have been lost and showcasing those that miraculously still survive.  

Dr Allan Barton discusses the Regalia created for the Emperor Napoleon

 In this video Dr Allan Barton explores the fascinating story of the Honours of Scotland, Scotland's Crown Jewels, the oldest set of regalia in the British Isles.  Once used to crown Scotland's kings and symbols of Scottish independence.

 So many of the individual jewels in the Crown Jewels have really fascinating stories.  Take for example this Sapphire in the cross on top of the Imperial State Crown of 1937.  It was added to the imperial crown in 1837, for Queen Victoria, but has a much longer history.   It is called St Edward’s Sapphire and is believed to have belonged to Edward the Confessor, the penultimate Saxon King.    Edward died in 1066 and the ring was found on Edward’s finger in his coffin in 1163 shortly after he was made saint.    It was kept as a holy relic and put on the finger of every English king and Queen Regnant at their coronation until Charles I.  The stone vanished during the Commonwealth, only to remerge again after the Restoration of the Monarchy – when it was then rose cut. 

 In this video on the first anniversary of the coronation of Charles III, Dr Allan Barton looks at the changing shape of the crowns at the centre of the ceremony and how they have been restored in the past, and were prepared and refurbished in 2023 for the beginning of a new reign.  

 
In this video Dr Allan Barton looks at the remarkable and surprising story of Thomas Blood, an Anglo-Irish soldier who in 1671 attempted to steal the Crown Jewels and very nearly got away with it.  His story doesn't entirely add up, for despite this and many other crimes Charles II gave him not only a full pardon but lands and income too.  People have questioned whether Blood was in fact a spy in the king's service and the theft a publicity stunt.