Coronations and Enthronements


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Michael I was crowned as Tsar of Russia on July 22, 1613. July 22 was his seventeenth birthday.
The coronation oath of Michael Romanov
http://www.alamy.com/the-coronation-oath-of-michael-romanov-image231599132.html

Tsar Mikhail I at his Coronation in 1613 which took place at the Assumption Cathedral at the Moscow Kremlin.



425px-Tsar_Mikhail_I_-cropped.JPG
 
Enthronements of Emperors of Japan:

Enthronement of Emperor Hirohito (1928):


Enthronement of Emperor Akihito (1990):


Enthronement of Emperor Naruhito (2019):

 
updated timeline of the enthronements -
here is a great link of the earlier european enthronements http://www.angelfire.com/vt/luxenthronement/

1950, May 5 - Coronation - Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand - following the death of his brother King Ananda Mahidol
1953, June 2 - Coronation - Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - following the death of her father King George VI
1964, March ... - ... - Constantine II, King of the Hellenes, following the death of his father King Paul
1964, November 12 - Enthronement ceremony - Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg - following the abdication of his mother Grand Duchess Charlotte
1967, July 4 - Coronation - Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, King of Tonga - following the death of his mother Queen Salote Tupou III
1967, October 26 - Coronation - Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran - 26 years after his 1941 accession to the throne he took the title Shahanshah
1969, July 1 - Investiture ceremony - Charles, Prince of Wales
1972, January 15 - Proclamation - Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark - following the death of her father King Frederik IX
1973, September 19 - Enthronement ceremony - Carl XVI Gustaf, King Of Sweden - following the death of his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf
1974, 2 June - Coronation - Jigme Singye, Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan, following the death of his father Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji
1975, November 22 - Enthronement ceremony - Juan Carlos I, King of Spain - following the death of dictator Caudillo Franco
1980, April 30 - Enthronement ceremony - Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands - following the abdication of her mother Queen Juliana
1984, August 26 - Enthronement ceremony - Hans Adam, Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein - After his father Prince Franz Josef II passed the power to him
1990, August 15 - Proclamation - Hans Adam II, Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein - following the death of his father Prince Franz Josef II
1990, November 25 - Enthronement ceremony - Akihito, Emperor of Japan - following the death of his father Emperor Hirohito
1991, Jannuary 21 - Enthronement ceremony - Harald V, King of Norway - following the death of his father King Olav V
1993, August 9 - Proclamation - Albert II, King of Belgium - following the death of his brother King Baudouin
1999, July 30 - Enthronement ceremony - Mohammed VI, King of Marocco - following the death of his father King Hassan II
2000, October 9 - Enthronement ceremony - Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg - following the abdication of his father Grand Duke Jean
2005, July 12 - Proclamation - Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco - following the death of his father Prince Rainier III
2008, 1 August - Coronation - George Tupou V, King of Tonga, following the death of his father King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV
2008, 1 November - Coronation - Jigme Khesar Namgyel, Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan, following the abdication of his father Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye
2013, April 30 - Enthronement ceremony - Willem Alexander, King of the Netherlands - following the abdication of his mother Queen Beatrix
2013, July 21 - Proclamation - Philippe, King of the Belgians - following the abdication of his father King Albert II
2014, June 19 - proclamation - Felipe VI, King of Spain - following the abdication of his father King Juan Carlos I
2015, July 4 - Coronation - Tupou VI, King of Tonga, following the death of his brother King George Tupou V
2017, May 4 - Coronation - Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand - following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej
2019, October 22 - Enthronement ceremony - Naruhito, Emperor of Japan - following the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito
 
Last edited:
In The Royal Victorians Christopher Hibbert wrote:
In any case, the King (Edward VII), unaware of the gravity of his illness, was determined that the coronation must not be postponed. He declared that he would be in Westminster Abbey with the Queen on 26 June even if he were to drop dead during the service: the hotels were already full of guests; crown princes and grand dukes had arrived from all over the world.
 
In The Royal Victorians Christopher Hibbert wrote:
In any case, the King (Edward VII), unaware of the gravity of his illness, was determined that the coronation must not be postponed. He declared that he would be in Westminster Abbey with the Queen on 26 June even if he were to drop dead during the service: the hotels were already full of guests; crown princes and grand dukes had arrived from all over the world.

One of his doctors reportedly told him that that was precisely what would happen - and the Coronation was postponed and scaled down.
 
Maria Theresa of Austria was crowned Queen of Hungary on June 25, 1741.
 
updated timeline of the enthronements -
here is a great link of the earlier european enthronements http://www.angelfire.com/vt/luxenthronement/

1950, May 5 - Coronation - Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand - following the death of his brother King Ananda Mahidol
1953, June 2 - Coronation - Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - following the death of her father King George VI
1964, March ... - ... - Constantine II, King of the Hellenes, following the death of his father King Paul
1964, November 12 - Enthronement ceremony - Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg - following the abdication of his mother Grand Duchess Charlotte
1967, July 4 - Coronation - Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, King of Tonga - following the death of his mother Queen Salote Tupou III
1967, October 26 - Coronation - Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran - 26 years after his 1941 accession to the throne he took the title Shahanshah
1969, July 1 - Investiture ceremony - Charles, Prince of Wales
1972, January 15 - Proclamation - Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark - following the death of her father King Frederik IX
1973, September 19 - Enthronement ceremony - Carl XVI Gustaf, King Of Sweden - following the death of his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf
1974, 2 June - Coronation - Jigme Singye, Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan, following the death of his father Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji
1975, November 22 - Enthronement ceremony - Juan Carlos I, King of Spain - following the death of dictator Caudillo Franco
1980, April 30 - Enthronement ceremony - Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands - following the abdication of her mother Queen Juliana
1984, August 26 - Enthronement ceremony - Hans Adam, Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein - After his father Prince Franz Josef II passed the power to him
1990, August 15 - Proclamation - Hans Adam II, Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein - following the death of his father Prince Franz Josef II
1990, November 25 - Enthronement ceremony - Akihito, Emperor of Japan - following the death of his father Emperor Hirohito
1991, Jannuary 21 - Enthronement ceremony - Harald V, King of Norway - following the death of his father King Olav V
1993, August 9 - Proclamation - Albert II, King of Belgium - following the death of his brother King Baudouin
1999, July 30 - Enthronement ceremony - Mohammed VI, King of Marocco - following the death of his father King Hassan II
2000, October 9 - Enthronement ceremony - Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg - following the abdication of his father Grand Duke Jean
2005, July 12 - Proclamation - Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco - following the death of his father Prince Rainier III
2008, 1 August - Coronation - George Tupou V, King of Tonga, following the death of his father King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV
2008, 1 November - Coronation - Jigme Khesar Namgyel, Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan, following the abdication of his father Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye
2013, April 30 - Enthronement ceremony - Willem Alexander, King of the Netherlands - following the abdication of his mother Queen Beatrix
2013, July 21 - Proclamation - Philippe, King of the Belgians - following the abdication of his father King Albert II
2014, June 19 - proclamation - Felipe VI, King of Spain - following the abdication of his father King Juan Carlos I
2015, July 4 - Coronation - Tupou VI, King of Tonga, following the death of his brother King George Tupou V
2017, May 4 - Coronation - Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand - following the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej
2019, October 22 - Enthronement ceremony - Naruhito, Emperor of Japan - following the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito

Why isn't the inauguration of the Belgian monarch considered an enthronement rather than a proclamation?
 
What do kings normally wear to their coronation, as Charles is just going to wear his military uniform?
 
updated timeline of the enthronements -
here is a great link of the earlier european enthronements http://www.angelfire.com/vt/luxenthronement/

...1967, October 26 - Coronation - Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran - 26 years after his 1941 accession to the throne he took the title Shahanshah
1969, July 1 - Investiture ceremony - Charles, Prince of Wales
1972, January 15 - Proclamation - Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark - following the death of her father King Frederik IX
1973, September 19 - Enthronement ceremony - Carl XVI Gustaf, King Of Sweden - following the death of his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf
1974, 2 June - Coronation - Jigme Singye, Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) of Bhutan, following the death of his father Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji

1975, November 22 - Enthronement ceremony - Juan Carlos I, King of Spain - following the death of dictator Caudillo Franco

1980, April 30 - Enthronement ceremony - Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands - following the abdication of her mother Queen Juliana...

You forgot one: :sad:
The coronation in the Central African Empire (CAE), with "His Imperial Majesty" Bokassa I on 4 December 1977

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Bédel_Bokassa

Coronation of Bokassa I
 
Last edited:
What do kings normally wear to their coronation, as Charles is just going to wear his military uniform?

Kings have over the last few centuries garbed themselves in breeches, tunics and hose. One who didn’t was King William IV, an ex naval man, who opted for an Admirals uniform under his robes.

https://royalcentral.co.uk/features/the-king-who-wore-a-uniform-to-his-coronation-187159/

He had been horrified by the expense of his brother King George IV’s extravagant Coronation at a time of economic stress after the Napoleonic Wars. George had designed a neo-Elizabethan outfit for himself.
 
As I said, I cannot find the answer which you said you have posted, so I will assume you are referring to the post to which I originally replied:

As one of those who "here on this forum people often complain that these royal families are often not given so much credit", naturally, I cannot speak for everyone, but I would think that this is a complaint about Anglocentrism, rather than a suggestion that non-British royal families are inferior to the British one.


Coronations, in the European tradition, are ceremonies that reflected the deep connection between monarchs and the church. In fact, in many countries with elaborate coronations like the old Kingdom of France, the anoiting of the King (Sacre) was actually the most important part of the ceremony rather than the coronation properly, as the anoiting meant, in Christian belief, that the King was infused with special gifts from the Holy Spirit to rule over his people.


The coronation, however, also served another more secular purpose in the past, which was to legitimize the King's succession by acknowledging him as the rightful heir or the undoubted successor to the Crown. We saw some symbolic remnants of that purpose at the beginning of King Charles III's coronation.


Looking at the modern monarchies in Europe, including incidentally the UK, they do not need a coronation to legitimize the succession, which is governed by law or the constitution. Some countries, most notably Spain, actually choose on the contrary to legitimize or acknowledge the succession by having the Parliament (Cortes) proclaim the accession. Surprisingly, proclamation is actually an ancient practice which, in those countries, replaced the coronation long before constitutional monarchy was in place.



Even in the UK itself, the constitutional acknowledgment of the succession is done via the Accession Council, which is de facto a proclamation, and makes the inclusion of that element in the coronation redundant.


So, if the coronation as a mechanism to legitimize the succession is no longer needed, we are left only with the coronation, or more specifically the anointing of the King as a "Christian sacrament" to justify its continuing existence. But then again, that would be an inadequate justification in a monarchy that is constitutionally secular, which is the case in many European countries today.



In the UK, Parliament also added an element to the coronation, which is the required coronation oath. This is actually a secular element, although, in the UK, the oath also has to do with the established church and the Protestant succession.



Oaths, of course, are part of enthronements or proclamations in other monarchies too. In Belgium, the swearing of the oath is even the act that effects the succession, since Belgian succession is not automatic on the demise or abdication of the former monarch as in other countries. Many monarchies like Spain or the Netherlands also have royal oaths whose wording is specified in the constitution itself. But again there is no practical need for the legally required oaths to be embedded into a religious coronation service, as is done in the UK, when the oaths are entirely secular and can be administered in a civil enthronement ceremony.


So I guess that the question about having or not having a coronation is not one of a particular monarchy having more pageantry or "pomp and circumstance" than the others, but rather whether a coronation ceremony would make sense or not in those monarchies that don't have it.
 
Last edited:
It seems most of the current queens consort in Europe have worn white at their husbands' enthronements. Is this a coincidence or is there some sort of tradition or symbolism behind the color white in European monarchies?
 
It seems most of the current queens consort in Europe have worn white at their husbands' enthronements. Is this a coincidence or is there some sort of tradition or symbolism behind the color white in European monarchies?

Indeed Letizia and Mathilde also wore white at their husbands' enthronements, if I recall it correctly.

White used to be a color of mourning for European queens, especially in the French tradition, worn at royal funerals. However, coronation gowns were also white, as was Queen Camilla's recently. Maybe that is the source of the tradition.
 
Do Brunei and Morocco have any coronation or enthronement ceremonies?
 
It seems most of the current queens consort in Europe have worn white at their husbands' enthronements. Is this a coincidence or is there some sort of tradition or symbolism behind the color white in European monarchies?

I understood from a comment on TV yesterday that beforehand a new king wore white. - Presumably symbolizing a new beginning.
 
Coronation robes of Emperot Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
 
Jeanne d'Albret and her husband ,Antoine de Bourbon were crowned at Pau in August 1555 in a Roman Catholic Ceremony .
Prior to the annexation of Southern Navarre by Ferdinand II in 1516 ,the monarchs of Navarre were crowned at Pamplona Cathedral.

633px-Levantamiento_del_rey_de_Navarra.jpg
 
Back
Top Bottom