The Disastrous Coronation of William the Conqueror

 Unlike King Charles III's splendid ceremony, William the Conqueror's coronation was a disaster. The King, who had looked forward to a magnificent ritual, instead faced fires, riots and even killings. It was probably the only time that this stern, immensely proud man actually found himself trembling!

Matthew Paris, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

After beating King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William conducted a brutal military campaign in London, eventually forcing Edgar Atheling, the grandson of Edmund II and Saxon heir to the English throne, to surrender. William wanted to defer his coronation that his wife Matilda could be crowned with him, because she was descended from Alfred the Great, so the Anglo-Saxons were more sympathetic to her than to a Norman invader. He said that 'since God granted him this honour, he wished for his wife to be crowned with him'.(Matilda was acting as regent of Normandy).  However, he was advised to have the ceremony as soon as possible to assert his authority.

William was crowned on Christmas Day in 1066 in Westminster Abbey on the very spot where Edward the Confessor, who had allegedly promised him the throne, was buried. There were bad omens from the beginning. Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to perform the ceremony, because he would not 'crown one who was covered with the blood of men, and the invader of others' rights'. The ceremony was conducted by Aldred, the Archbishop of York, in English, and in French by the Bishop of Coutances. William had looked forward to his coronation, even commissioning a magnificent new,  crown 'fashioned out of gold and precious stones' with a ruby at the centre. The order would be the one laid out by Saint Dunstan with some French additions, such as the acclamation of the King.

Norman guards were placed outside the Abbey in case of any trouble. Unfortunately, when the people were asked to acclaim the King, the noise was so loud that the guards thought that there was a riot, and began setting fire to buildings in a violent attempt to put it down. According to one chronicler, smoke filled the church, and the congregation began to flee. William watched 'trembling from head to foot' but he had the presence of mind to insist that the ceremony be completed, William then took the oath, in which he promised 'that he would rule all this people as well as the best of kings before, his, if they would be loyal to him,' and he was finally crowned.