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The Church of England and the Coronation Rite, 1761–1838
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2021
Abstract
British coronations from 1761 to 1838 have conventionally been dismissed as tawdry pageants with little religious significance. The study of these ceremonies has also been impeded by the dominance of historiographical frameworks characterizing the later Georgian period as an era of political secularization. Drawing upon many neglected sources, this article challenges such presuppositions by situating the Anglican clergy in the foreground of coronations and exploring the ways in which these events were perceived to retain a religious and political significance. The discussion encompasses theoretical understandings of coronations and the practical tensions between church and state exposed by them.
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- Research Article
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- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of American Society of Church History
Footnotes
I would like to express my thanks to Brian Young and Andrew Thompson for their comments and suggestions. I also gratefully acknowledge the permission of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to quote material from Queen Victoria's Journals; and of the Master and Fellows of St. John's College, Cambridge, to quote from the papers of John William Whittaker.
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