"At a time when the Crown labours under the pressure of heavy debts, and the revenue, from mismanagement, is so much lessened, people naturally complain of the increase of expenses, and the introduction of a number of entertainments, and amongst these, of masquerades. The Queen is under the greatest uneasiness, lest this should be imputed to her having any inclination for a diversion of this kind, from which, on the contrary, the goodness of her heart, and the purity of her sentiments, render her very averse. The sweetness of her disposition, and the uncommon degree of prudence and discretion she is endowed with, must ensure her a large share of happiness; but whatever my wishes may be, I cannot flatter myself this will ever bear any proportion to what her Majesty so justly deserves."[78] To which the Secretary of State replied: "Your attention to her Danish Majesty is most justly commendable, and certainly her Majesty's cautious conduct is most amiable and respectable".[79] [78] Gunning's despatch, Copenhagen, December 6, 1766. [79] Conway's despatch, St. James's, December 29, 1766. The festivities of the Danish court culminated in the coronation and anointing of the King and Queen, which took place on May 1, 1767.[80] The day dawned brilliantly fine, though the air was clear and cold. At an early hour the bells of the Vor-Frue-Kirke (the Church of Our Lady, the metropolitan church of Denmark) began to ring, and bells chimed merrily from other towers. At eleven o'clock all the gentlemen-in-waiting assembled in the King's ante-chamber, and all the ladies-in-waiting in the Queen's. The King donned the anointing robes: "A short jacket and breeches of gold brocade, pearl-coloured silk stockings, white gloves embroidered with gold, and white shoes with red heels; his buckles, garters and coat buttons were set with diamonds, and his cloak of royal ermine was embroidered with golden flowers". The King, thus arrayed, crowned himself with his own hands according to the _Lex Regia_, which ordained that "since the Kings of Denmark do not receive the crown from any hands but their own, the ceremony of coronation shall be performed by themselves". [80] The following description of the coronation is taken from official documents preserved in the Royal Archives, Copenhagen. With the crown on his head the King, accompanied by the Grand Chamberlain, who carried the Queen's crown on a velvet cushion, went to the Queen's room and crowned her with his own hands. This ceremony over, the King took the sceptre in his right hand and the orb in his left, and donned the collars of both the great Danish orders, the Elephant and the Dannebrog. Then he passed into his audience chamber, his train upborne by the Counts Reventlow and Danneskjold-Samsöe. There he held a court, and received the homage of the principal personages in the state.