Coronation Day dawned cold and rainy. June 2 had been selected after a panel of weather experts had done their best to discover which day of the year had the best chance of being sunny and mild!
It made no difference, however. The streets were lined and deep with spectators in rain gear, many of which had camped out overnight in order to be closest to the street with the best chance of a glimpse Her Majesty as she rode by in the four-ton,golden State Coach, which had itself been undergoing a year-long spruce-up.
Her Majesty was dressed in a Norman Hartnell creation, a beautiful gown completely covered with decorative stitching in iridescent thread and seed pearls, bearing the emblems of the nations of her realm and the Commonwealth. The Irish shamrock, the Welch leek, the Tudor rose, and the Scottish thistle were all represented, all in palest color. The dress appears to be a white gown of brilliant splendor, but the Australian wattle, the Indian and Ceylonese lotus, the South African proteus and the Canadian maple leaf were also embroidered onto the gown. Hartnell had used indigenous threads and jewels as well, including mimosa, jute, and opals.
Elizabeth had eight other gowns to from which to choose, several of which might have been more au courant, but instead she literally wore her realm to her coronation, much as the priests of Israel bore the twelve tribes upon their shoulders and their hearts.
As the symbols and representations of our birth in the Lord Jesus Christ are revealed to us in this coronation event, let us be sure that we are meant to bear not only our worshipful devotion to Him but also our merciful allegiance to His people, and those whom He will call as we watch and pray, here in Cor Unum Abbey, Palace of Prayer and Praise.
Let us take time today to make a list of those we would have emblazoned on our coronation robes, and bear them with us during these weeks as we watch this coronation event unfold.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
The Coronation Gown
Norman Hartnell Creation
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments and corrections are welcome in Cor Unum Abbey . . .