Royal connections to our Faithful City

Our ancestors going back thousands of years would have heard or witnessed Coronations. In a way, the ceremony had to be witnessed. For the non-Royalist, please embrace the historic ceremony and see a piece of history being played out to the whole World.

Worcester has many links with Royalty and some go back before Britain had become the one Nation that we would recognise today.

England or Angle-Land, was once a Nation of Anglo Saxon Kingdoms. These all had separate Royal Families and Worcester originally came under Mercia.

Worcester was well established in this period, and Dunstan was Bishop of Worcester between 957 and 959. He looked at how Kings and Queens were crowned in the past and put together a ceremony which was first used at the Coronation of King Edgar in 973 at Bath Abbey.

Dunstan assisted in this ceremony and is immortalised in stained glass within Worcester Cathedral. King Edgar is also carved in sand stone on the fantastic Edgar Tower located near the Cathedral.

The year 1066, is probably one of the most well-known dates in history. William, Duke of Normandy, was victorious at the battle on Senlac Hill near Hastings.

History tells us he was promised the throne of England from Edward the Confessor and that Harold Godwinson had taken it illegally upon Edward’s death. William wasted no time in being crowned King by having his Coronation arranged for the Christmas Day, when people were celebrating the birth of Christ.

Sadly cheers of celebration was misinterpreted as Saxon unrest, causing Norman Knights to burn most of London! It was following the Conquest that Urse d’Abetot was ordered to erect a Motte and Bailey Castle at Worcester. The site is now King’s School Worcester, next to the Cathedral.

In the 12th Century, a vicious Civil War broke out, known as the Anarchy. This was fought between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. During this war, Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, held the City boundaries for King Stephen. Empress Matilda managed to barricade themselves into the Norman Castle and became a thorn in the side! It was the City’s loyalty to King Stephen that could have led to the ‘Faithful’ title being used. In one clash, stone throwing trebuchets threw rock from Red Hill into the Castle walls.

A Century later, England was rocked by another war. This time between bad King John and his Barons. In 1215 he had to put his Great Seal to the bottom of Magna Carta.

A document which ensured even the Monarchy was controlled by law. John died a year later from dysentery at Newark Castle. Rumours at the time pointed that he could have been poisoned. In his Will, which is the oldest Royal Will in England and held at Worcester Cathedral, he requested to be buried next to his favourite Saint - St Wulstan.

His tomb is now one of the oldest effigies of a King in Britain. If you take a stroll along Copenhagen Street, you will also see a fantastic piece of art showing King John hunting near Worcester. He also feasted at Worcester Castle at least twice before he died.

When John died, Henry III was crowned. In fact he would receive two Coronation ceremonies in his lifetime. He was crowned with an oversized Circlet as he was only 9 years old, and the Crown Jewels had been lost in the Wash previously.

The first Coronation was a rushed affair and the Bishop of Worcester, Sylvester, had to conduct the ceremony at Gloucester Cathedral. As an adult, King Henry III would issue a Charter that allowed Worcester better privileges than the Richard I Charter of 1189. This new Charter ordered that a ‘Gild Hall’ should be constructed for the governance of the City.

Most Monarchs have visited Worcester over the years and one of the most famous Royal visitors was Queen Elizabeth I, who arrived with great ceremony in 1575.

Tradition has it that when the Queen arrived, she was impressed by the Pear Trees that were plentiful both inside and outside the Medieval City Walls. In an address to the citizens, she announced that Three Black Pears should be added to a new Coat of Arms for Worcester. It is unknown whether the Queen actually addressed the citizens from the Timber Framed House, now named Queen Elizabeth House or not.

The Elizabethan period was often known as the Golden Age. Worcester had become rich and well known for its cloth production. Sadly, in the following century disaster would strike.

The Stuart Age would see plots, plague, fires and even civil war! King James came to the throne in 1603 and unified both the English and Scottish crowns, however plots against his life were numerous and both the Scots and English felt uneasy.

In 1621 King James I (VI) created a Charter for Worcester that would confirm the importance of the City and introduce the post of Mayor.

In 1642, the English Civil Wars began at Powick Bridge. After a short Parliamentarian occupation, Worcester was occupied by a Royalist force. King Charles I was very disappointed with the City saying the recruits to his cause ‘doth not consist of any great number, nor is it proportional to the greatness of the City’.

Charles is believed to have stayed at Bishop’s Palace and held a Council of War, with Martin Sandys. He went on to take more than a £1000 in supplies from the City. His return in 1645, after the disastrous Battle of Nasby took more local men and supplies for a lost cause!

Unfortunately for Charles the events of that summer and the next few years would lead to the Royalist defeat, his surrender and eventual execution for Treason at the Banqueting House in London in 1649!

The Monarchy was abolished on the beheading of King Charles I, and the crown jewels melted down, as Oliver Cromwell established the Republic across the land.

TO BE CONTINUED…………