Nor was the question of coronation itself without some difficulties; for Archbishop Winchelsey, although invited by the new king, had not yet returned from banishment, and it was by no means safe for any other prelate to act in his stead. After a little delay Winchelsey consented to empower a substitute; and Edward II. and Isabella were crowned on the 25th of February by the Bishop of Winchester. The form of the coronation oath taken on this occasion, perhaps for the first time in this shape, is worth careful remark. In it the king promises to maintain the ancient laws, to keep the peace of God and the people, and to do right judgment and justice. So much was found in the older formula: but another question was put: “Will you consent to hold and keep the laws and righteous customs which the community of your realm shall have chosen, and will you defend them and strengthen them to the honor of God, to the utmost of your power?” If, as is supposed, these words were new, they seemed to contain a recognition of the fact that the community of the realm had now entered into their place as entitled to control by counsel and consent the legislative action and policy of the king. And so construed they form a valuable comment on the results of the last reign, which had seen the community organized in a perfect parliament and admitted to a share of the responsibilities of government. The lords heard them with interest; even if they had been used at the coronation of Edward I. few were old enough to remember them. They saw in them either an earnest of good government or a lever by which they themselves could remedy the evils of misgovernment, and they proceeded to try the maiden weapon against the favorite whom they now hated as well as feared. [Sidenote: Thomas Earl of Lancaster. ]