im, and everyone shouted together, 'God
save King George!' There were many more prayers and beautiful singing by
the rich voices of well-trained choir-boys; and then came the anointing,
during which the Archbishop touched the King with oil in the form of a
cross on head, breast, and hands. After many other ceremonies, in the
course of which the King received the sceptre and the orb, made of gold
and mounted with precious stones, symbols of his authority, the crown
was brought forward, the magnificent crown, covered with rubies,
sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds, and the Archbishop held it above the
King's head, and a great hush fell on all that vast congregation. Slowly
it was lowered, it touched the King's forehead, and the trumpets
sounded, and all the nobles raised their coronets, and, putting them on
their heads, shouted: 'God save the King!'

Then, after many prayers, and the blessing, the nobles headed by the
Archbishop, came to do homage to the newly-crowned King. The Archbishop
knelt down and vowed to be faithful, and, rising, kissed the King's
cheek, and then slowly made way for the Prince of Wales, who in his turn
knelt and promised fidelity to his father, and kissed him on the cheek.
Then all the nobles did the same in order of their importance and rank.
There are very precise rules about all this. Those who bear title of the
same rank take precedence of one another according to the ancientness of
the title they bear. But the whole question of title is a puzzling one
and we cannot go into it here.

After this came the crowning of the Queen. A great pall of gold was
supported at four corners by four duchesses, who held it up while the
Queen knelt before the King to swear to be true to him always. She was
then anointed and crowned, and as her crown was put on her head by the
Archbishop the coronets of all the peeresses flashed on to their
wearers' heads at the same moment, as the peers' coronets had done at
the moment the King was crowned.

The service was ended by the Holy Communion, and the King and Queen,
wearing their crowns and looking like a fairy king and queen, went back
in their royal coach to their palace, and the show, so far as
Westminster Abbey was concerned, was ended. Westminster Abbey will
always be associated with this great and splendid ceremony, which has
been described so minutely, and whenever you visit the Abbey you will
think of King George's coronation.

Before leaving the Abbey ther