Card of the Day: The Coronation Ceremony: The Anointing

A major part of the coronation ceremony is the anointing of the new regent. He or she sits on the chair of St. Edward for this moment when they are anointed as Sovereign and Head of the Church of England.

When I fist looked at this card, I thought, “well that’s certainly not George V. That’s Edward VII.” Since this series of cards in honor of the Silver Jubilee of George V and Mary very neatly show scenes from previous coronations, it makes sense that they would wish to show the anointing of George’s father, the former Prince of Wales and least favorite child of Queen Victoria.

So, then, of course, I had to go in search of proof that I was correct that this was Edward VII. And, look—here’s some. This photo (from the public domain) shows this particular moment as it happened.

Fun!

And, what’s more. Here’s some very rare film footage of the procession to the Abbey for the coronation itself. Enjoy!