HEREDITARY OFFICERS AT THE CORONATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14690, 26 May 1911, Page 4

HEREDITARY OFFICERS AT THE CORONATION.

BY A. C. FOX-DAVIES.

[COPYRIGHT.]

Some of those who hold office at tho Coronation really hold it by hereditary right some by Grand Serjeanty, which is not a hereditary tenure at all.

First and foremost comes tiro Earl Marshal. He and his ancestors havo held that office since tho day.-, when Edward n. gave to his brother Thomas of Brothcrton the lands and the office of Marshal, which, together with the earldom of Norfolk, Bigod had surrendered. Through Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk, and Lady Segrave, her daughter, the inheritance went to tho Mowbrays, and from them to the Howards, in which family it has now come to tho Duke of Norfolk by virtue of later grants which havo limited the offico to heirs male. The whole management of tne Coronation, which is a State ceremony, is in the hands of the Earl Marshal, and the participation of others is under his control, and at his pleasure, save as in so far as the duties of other officers aro vested rights.

The Lord Great Chamberlain comes next, and that office is hereditary, and should not bo confused with the office of Lord Chamberlain of the Household, the occupancy of which office is political. The former office originally belonged to the historic house of Do Void, Fails of. Oxford, and rested with them until in the early years of the seventeenth century it was adjudged to have passed through an heiress to tho Berfics, afterwards Dukes of Ancaster. The heiresses of the Bertics were Lady Willoughby De Eresby and the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, between whom tho office fell into joint ownership. But Lady Willoughhy's share was again divided, and the present owners are Lords Ancastor, Carrington, and Cholmondeley. By a family arrangement, which lias been approved by tho Sovereign, these lords officiate in turn, their tenure depending upon the length of each reign. Lord Ancastcr officiated in tho reign of Queen Victoria, and Lord Cholmondeley in the reign of King Edward. It is now tho turn of Lord Carrington, but in the next reign it will again be Lord Cholmondeley's turn, because ho owns one half-share in the office, whereas the others only share a half between them. There have been several fights for this office, for which there have been a number of claimant*;. Logically, were it not for the curious old legal doctrine of the half-blood which operated on one occasion, tho direct heir would be the Duke of Atholl. The last fight was due to the attempt of the late Lord Ancastcr as senior co-heir to exclude his partners. The most interesting office of all is that of Champion of England, but that is not a hereditary office, but an example of Grand Serjeanty, inasmuch as the Manor of Scrivelsby is held by the tenure of service as Champion, and the right to the office depends upon the possession of the manor, and not upon descent. Tho line of the present owner, Mr. F. S. Dymoke, enjoy the office and manor by virtue of a devise, and no descent from the former Dymokes lias been officially established or is nocessary. But the service of the Champion was never a part of the ceremony in the Abbey, and has not been performed since the coronation of Georgo iV., and in all human probability will never again take place, because at the coronations of King William IV., Queen Victoria, and King Edward, the coronation banquet was dispensed with, and a similar notification has been made as to the coronation of King George. It was at the banquet in Westminster Hall that the Champion, mounted and in armour, rode in through the doorway attended by esquires, and throwing down a gauntlet challenged anyone to deny the Sovereign's right. The Manor of Worksop is held by the "tenure of providing a glove for the King's right hand. Tho glove is most ornate, and is embroidered with the arms of the family of Verdon, by whom the lands were originally held. Tho coronation of Richard 11. is the earliest of which records remain as to these claims, and at that time William, Lord Furnivall, claimed and was allowed the offico as owner of the Manor of Farnham.

At the coronation of James L, the Earl of Shrewsbury claimed it as owner of the Manor of Worksop. He was the 12th Lord Furniva.ll, and had succeeded to the Furnivall inheritance. At his death his daughters became co-heirs and the youngest, Lady Alcthea, wife of the Earl of Arundel, eventually became Baroness Furnivall and carried the manor to the Howards. At the coronations of William and Mary and Queen Anne they made no claims, but for the four Georges, King William and Queen Victoria, the Dukes of Norfolk claimed and performed the service as owners of the Manor of Worksop. During the Queen's reign the manor passed by purchase to the Duko of Newcastle, who successfully claimed to perform the service for King Edward. Lord Shrewsbury put in a rival claim as owner of the Priory of Worksop, which, however, was disallowed.

The only claim about which there has been a serious fight for the coming Coronation before the Court of Claims is to do the service of carrying the golden, spurs. There are two spurs, but there are three claimants Grey de Ruthyn, Lord Loudoun, and Lord Hastings. Nobody really knows what may be the terms on which the right is held. At the coronation of Richard 11., John de Hastings mado a claim by right of inheritance, and that claim was allowed. At the coronation of Henry IV., Lord Grey de Ruthyn claimed it on the same ground, and his claim was allowed. At the coronation of King Henry V. Lord Hastings again claimed it, but no decision is recorded. At the coronation of James I. no claim at all was made. At the coronation of Charles 11. the Duke of Norfolk claimed it, but his claim was not allowed. At the coronation of James 11. the Duko of Norfolk again claimed it, as did the Earl of Kent, and Lord Grey de Ruthyn also, and it was adjudged to Lord Grey do Ruthyn, the heir of the original John de Hastings.

To subsequent Lords Grey do Ituthyn under that title or their higher dignities of Viscount Longueville or Earl of Sussex the claim was always allowed up till the coronation of Queen Victoria. But the second Marquess of Hastings married the Baroness Grey dc Ruthyn, and they had issue two sons and various daughters. The sons succeeded successively as third and fourth Marquesses of Hastings, and both died without issue, when all the baronies fell into abeyance between all the sisters. The eldest by Scottish law succeeded to the Scottish earldom of Loudoun, and Queen Victoria called out of abeyance in her favour the English baronies of Botreaux, Hungerford, do Moleyns and Hastings de. Hastings. The barony of Grey de Ituthyn was called out of abeyance in favour of her youngest sister, Lady Bertha, the ancestress of the present Lord Grey de Ruthyn. So that Lord Loudoun is the senior amongst the co-heirs of the original John de Hastings. Lord Hastings is also a descendant, and between the three claimants there tiro all the makings of a very pretty fight. The Court of Claims which sat before the coronation of King Edward decided that none of the claimants had established a right as against the others. All three again petitioned, though it is difficult to appreciate the real grounds of the claim of .Lord Hastings, which has been disallowed by the Court. In the peerage books the office is assigned to Lord Grey dc Ruthyn.

The Marquesses of Winchester are hereditary bearers of the Cap of Maintenance, but the service is only performed at the opening of Parliament. The Cap of Maintenance is a red velvet cap, turned up with ermine, and is tho symbol of the King's right of peerage. The cap is carried on a short staff, but "as the King himself wears a Cap of Maintenance when proceeding to his Coronation it is not carried before him at that ceremony. '

The right to "instruct the King in the rites and ceremonies" of the Coronation was a claim first mado at the coronation of King James I. by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and was then allowed to them, and litis since always been claimed and always allowed. The' status of the Abbey Church is ppculiar, inasmuch as it is extra parochial, and is not within any episcopal jurisdiction. Tho barons of tho Cinque Ports claim the right to cany tho canopy. Tholp claim was .always Avowed from tho .earliest.

times up to and including the coronation of Georgo IV. They made no claim on the next occasion, and at tho coronation of Queen Victoria for some reason their claim was not allowed. At tho coronation of King Edward their claim was allowed "if it bo the King's pleasure to have a canopy." The office of Chief Butler was really to discharge duties in relation to the banquet. It originated long before there was an Earldom, of Arundel, but at the coronation of Richard 11. it was allowed to tho earl in right of his earldom, a claim obviously bad in law, for a peerage cannot be held by Grand Serjeanty. At tho coronation of King James I. there was no claim to the office, but at the coronation of King Charles 11. it was allowed to the Duke of Norfolk as Earl of Arundel and owner of the Manor of Kenninghall. On these grounds the office was allowed to successive Dukes of Norfolk in spite of adverse claims by tho owner of the Manor of Buckenham down to the coronation of King George IV. On the next two occasions there was no claim, but for tho coronation of King Edward claims were made by Lord Mowbray and Stourton as senior co-heir of tho original owners, by the Duke of Norfolk as Earl of Arundel, and by Mr. F. 0. Taylor, as owner of the Manor of Kenninghall. As it was for service to be performed at the banquet all the claims were excluded, and no decision was arrived at.

The office of Assistants to the Chief Butler belongs to the Lord Mayor, Commonalty and Citizens of London, and has at various times been claimed by and allowed to them. As a banquet service it is now excluded.

The claim of the Bishops of Durham and Bath and Wells " to support the King during tho ceremony " has always been made, allowed, and the service performed since the coronation of Charles IT., but what these prelates do and whether the support ba moral or physical is a mystery. Tho claim to be almoner to the King, or its it. is now erroneously termed, " Hereditary Grand Almoner," attaches to the possession of the. barony of Bedford. Tho Marquesses of Exeter or their ancestors have enjoyed it since the claim of Lord Burghley as joint owner was allowed at the coronation of King James I. Tho sovereignty of the Isle of Man rested on the presentation of two falcons, and the Earls of Derby and Dukes of Atholl as Lords of Man performed their due and appointed service from the coronation of Charles 11, to that of George IV. The Crown has since re-purchased the sovereignty from the Dukes of Atholl, and now the claim and service are alike extinguished. To tho owners of the manor of Nether Bilsington, in the county of Kent, belongs the right of presenting three maple cups, and this claim was allowed until tho coronation of George IV. Since then no claim has been made, this being a banquet service.

Other claims aro those of the Mayor, Bailiffs and Commonalty of Oxford to assist in the Butlery, the owner of the Manor of Hey don (for many generations the Soames baronets) to serve the King with a towel before the banquets, tho owner of the Manor of Addington to furnish the King with a. mess of dillegrout, the owner of the Manor of Sculton, to bo larderer, the owner of the Manor of Great Wymondeley to present the first cup of eilver gilt and to have the cup as a fee, and the owner of tho Manor of Lyston, Essex, to make wafers. These claims are till well authenticated although, as banquet claims, they aro now dispensed with. A number of "other claims which have from time to time been put forward are more shadowy and none of them were allowed at the last Coronation.

The office of Standard Bearer for Scotland, adjudged by the Scottish Courts to Lord Lauderdale, has been much litigated, but tho latest decision of tho House of Lords leaves it in the possession of Henry Scrymgeour, Wedderburn. There are many old Scottish Office's, but these do not come before the Court of Claims as having no service to perform at a coronation at Westminster.