es of purple velvet, with her crown upon her head, and
attended by all her officers and servants, came into the room prepared
for that occasion, where was set a table with a rich carpet, and five
great cushions laid upon it. Most of the grandees and officers were
present.

Upon one of the cushions was laid the sword of state; upon the second
cushion was laid the sceptre; upon the third cushion was laid the ball;
and upon the fourth cushion were laid the keys.

The Queen being come into the room, after a little pause made a short
speech to the company, to this effect:--

"My Lords and Gentlemen,

"You have before this time been acquainted with my resolution to
resign the crown and government of this kingdom into the hands of my
most dear cousin the Prince, here present with me, upon my earnest
request to the Ricksdag, now convened. After long debates and much
solicitation to dissuade me from it, yet at length, though
unwillingly, they have assented to this my resolution; and I am now
come to put the same in execution before all these honourable
witnesses here present; and to you, my most dear cousin, I do
heartily wish all happiness and good success in the management of
the public affairs of this kingdom."

Having thus spoken, the Queen desired that some of them would take the
crown from off her head, but none would do it; she then called to Grave
Tott and the Baron Steinberg, expressly commanding them to do it, but
they refused, till again earnestly commanded by her; they then took the
crown from off her Majesty's head, and laid it down upon the fifth
cushion on the table. After that was done, some others, by her command,
took off the royal robes with which she was clothed and laid them down
upon the table. Then the Queen, having thus divested herself of these
ensigns of royalty and resigned her crown, being now in her private
habit, made courtesy to the Prince and to the rest of the company, and
retired into her own chamber,--an act of a strange constancy and
fixedness of resolution, going through with this great work of her own
abdication without the least outward show of reluctancy for what she had
done, but with the same behaviour and confidence as at all other times in
her particular and private affairs.[314]

For this act of the Queen's resignation they had no precedent; for the
solemnity of the King's coronation they had many; and the same is at
large, with all t