Life of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen — Volume 1Tytler, Sarah
History
Life of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen — Volume 1
Tytler, Sarah
Victoria, Queen of Great Britain, 1819-1901
"The Bishops who bore the patina, Bible, and chalice in the procession,
placed the same on the altar. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops
who were to read the Litany put on their copes. The Queen, attended by the
Bishops of Durham and Bath and Wells, and the Dean of Westminster, with the
great officers of State and noblemen bearing the regalia, advanced to the
altar, and, kneeling upon the crimson velvet cushion, made her first
offering, being a pall or altar-cloth of gold, which was delivered by an
officer of the Wardrobe to the Lord Chamberlain, by his lordship to the
Lord Great Chamberlain, and by him to the Queen, who delivered it to the
Archbishop of Canterbury, by whom it was placed on the altar. The Treasurer
of the Household then delivered an ingot of gold, of one pound weight, to
the Lord Great Chamberlain, who having presented the same to the Queen, her
Majesty delivered it to the Archbishop, by whom it was put into the
oblation basin.
"The Archbishop delivered a prayer in the prescribed form. The regalia were
laid on the altar by the Archbishop. The great officers of State, except
the Lord Chamberlain, retired to their respective places, and the Bishops
of Worcester and St. David's read the Litany. Then followed the Communion
service, read by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishops of Rochester
and Carlisle. The Bishop of London preached the sermon from the following
text, in the Second Book of Chronicles, chapter xxxiv. verse 31: 'And the
king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after
the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his
statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words
of the covenant which are written in this book.'
"In the course of his sermon from this text, the Bishop praised the late
king for his unfeigned religion, and exhorted his youthful successor to
follow in his footsteps. At the conclusion of the sermon 'the oath' was
administered to the Queen by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The form of
swearing was as follows: The Archbishop put certain questions, which the
Queen answered in the affirmative, relative to the maintenance of the law
and the established religion; and then her Majesty, with the Lord
Chamberlain and other officers, the sword of State being carried before
her, went to the altar, and laying her right hand upon the Gospels in the
Bible carried in the procession, and now brought to her by the Archbishop
of Canterbury, said, kneeling:
"'The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep. So
help me God.'
"The Queen kissed the book and signed a transcript of the oath presented to
her by the Archbishop. She then kneeled upon her faldstool, and the choir
sang '_Veni, Creator, Spiritus._'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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