Coronation: From the Eighth to the 21st Century

By Roy C. Strong and Roy Strong

Book Overview

The definitive history of Coronation and the Royal Family, from acclaimed writer Roy Strong. What is the finest sight in the world? A Coronation. What do people talk most about? A Coronation. What is delightful to have passed? A Coronation.' HORACE WALPOLE, 1761 As a boy of sixteen, Roy Strong watched the grand procession carrying Queen Elizabeth II to her coronation. The spectacle was considered the greatest public event of the century. But now, so many years later, many people have little notion of what a coronation is and are unaware of the rich resonances of the ritual, or its deep significance in terms of the committal of monarch to people. This book is the first of its kind - a comprehensive history to set each coronation into its political, social, religious and cultural context. The story is one of constant re-invention as the service has had to respond to all the changes in fortune of the monarchy or the country,

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0007160542
• ISBN13: 9780007160549
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: HarperCollins (UK)
• Length: 556 Pages
• Weight: 0.04 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Everything you've EVER wanted to know!

Quite a hefty tome, just chalk full of information, details, reasonings, changes in the ceremony (and why), and full of life with the different offices and personalities which take place in a coronation. This book is not for the faint of heart...or if you have a light lap. It is to be savored and lugged from room to room as you go about your day. While rich, it is easily read and you won't get bogged down in trying to remember what happened on the previous page.