Henry Tudor had gained the throne of England by conquest after the battle of Bosworth in August 1485. As king of a new dynasty, he had numerous crises to attend to in establishing his authority. It is therefore not remarkable that he delayed his wife Elizabeth’s coronation. By the time of the ceremony, Elizabeth had given birth to a prince and heir, Arthur, and Henry had suppressed a rebellion in the name of the pretender Lambert Simnel by winning the battle of Stoke Field (June 16, 1487).

In truth, a royal writ, issued on December 17, 1485, specifies some preparations had been set in motion for her coronation. The king gave a grant of forty pounds to Elizabeth’s Master of the Horse to purchase coursers for the ceremony. After the Lambert Simnel threat had been dealt with, the mood of the nation was unquestionably optimistic.

Plans went forward in September for a coronation scheduled for November 25, 1487. The timing of the ceremony had its advantages as it was held during a session of Parliament, when the maximum number of nobles, commoners and clergy were in London to witness the spectacle. A coronation was a political as well as a religious ritual. It signified the sanction of the church on the royal dynasty and offered a significant public demonstration of a queen’s sovereignty. Henry wanted to stage a resplendent celebration. Tradition dictated that coronations were performed on saints’ feast days or on Sunday.

Kings usually chose which feast day. Elizabeth’s date of November 25 was the feast day of Saint Catherine, venerated as a patron of virginity and purity, as well as philosophers and universities. On November 7, the common council of London elected to give the queen a gift of one thousand marks and began preparations for the queen’s arrival for her coronation. On November 9, they formed a commission to plan and conduct the ceremonial, headed by the king’s uncle Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford, Thomas Stanley, earl of Derby, and William, earl of Nottingham.

Elizabeth was the first queen before her coronation, to ride by barge from Greenwich to the Tower of London. She wore royal apparel and was joined by her mother-in-law, Margaret Beaufort, and other lords and ladies. Welcoming her on more barges were the lord mayor, sheriffs, aldermen, and members of the London crafts, all dressed in their finest livery. Their barges were adorned with insignia identifying their guilds on banners and streamers.

Another large barge had a red dragon spitting flames into the river. This signified the Welsh red dragon of Cadwaladr, which King Henry had adopted as a symbol of his heraldry. Other barges offered ‘pageants’ for the queen’s entertainment. Trumpets, clarions, and minstrels escorted her and announced her arrival at Tower Wharf, where King Henry greeted his wife. The following day, King Henry created fourteen knights of the Bath, a tradition started by the Lancastrian King Henry IV at his coronation in 1399.

On Saturday, November 24, Elizabeth departed the Tower in a litter under a canopy of cloth of gold, wearing white cloth of gold damask under an ermine-trimmed mantle, with her sister Cecily carrying her train. Her head was adorned with a golden circlet, while her long blonde hair cascaded down her back. This symbolized her future fertility, a duty of queenship which she performed well, giving birth to many children with four surviving. Everyone in the procession wore rich and splendid clothing.

Cloth of gold damask covered her litter which had been filled with large down pillows also covered with the same cloth. The canopy, with cloth of gold with fringed valences, was supported by four gilt poles, each carried by a Knight of the Body. Because the poles and canopy were heavy, three teams of knights were required, and they took turns carrying it between the Tower and Westminster.

The leaders of the queen’s train included the newly made knights of the bath along with other knights and esquires, the Garter king of arms, heralds and pursuivants, the duke of Suffolk and other noblemen, esquires of honor, the mayor of London, the marshal, the constable (Thomas Stanley, earl of Derby, husband of Margaret Beaufort), the great chamberlain and the high steward (Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford and the king’s uncle). Sir Roger Cotton, master of the horse, followed behind the litter. He led a riderless horse of estate with a woman’s saddle of red cloth of gold.

Cotton was followed by six henchmen on white steeds harnessed with cloth of gold embroidered with white roses and suns, both symbols of the House of York. Next came the queen’s ladies. In horse-borne chairs covered in cloth of gold were Katherine Woodville, Duchess of Bedford and Cecily, the queen’s sister. The second chair bore the duchess of Suffolk, the Duchess of Norfolk, and the countess of Oxford. Six baronesses wearing crimson velvet rode on horses with saddles of estate. More chairs followed with the queen’s ladies.

These were the gentlewomen of the lady Bedford and lady Cecily and finally, the gentlewomen who waited on the queen. As they made their way along the newly cleaned streets, decorated with arrases and tapestries, those in the procession were greeted by members of the crafts dressed in their liveries along with singing children wearing costumes of angels and virgins. At the conduit in Cornhill and in Cheapside, red and white wine flowed. When the queen finally arrived at the palace, she drank wine accompanied by spices or comfits and then retired to her chamber.

On Sunday the 25^th, the coronation procession left Westminster Palace for the abbey. Elizabeth was attired in purple velvet clothing with her sister Cecily once again carrying her train, and a circlet of gold with pearls and precious stones on her head. This circlet would have been a gift from her husband.

The procession, led by various members of the aristocracy, included esquires, knights, knights of the bath, noblemen and churchmen, incorporating the abbots and monks of Westminster Abbey. One bishop bore St. Edward’s chalice and another his paten, the plate to hold the bread for the offertory. Next came the archbishop of York, the Garter king of arms, the mayor of London, the constable and the earl marshal.

Two noblemen carried the queen’s ivory rod with a gold dove on top and the silver-gilt scepter, a symbol of royal authority, with a dove representing the Holy Spirit. They were followed by the great chamberlain and the high steward, who carried the crown. According to inventories, the queen’s crown is described as an enclosed imperial crown with sapphires, rubies and pearls.

With only stockings on her feet, two bishops escorted Elizabeth under a purple silk canopy held by the barons of the Cinque Ports with her ladies behind her. The sergeants and heralds attempted to keep the crowds back on either side as she entered the abbey, but the people surged forward to grab pieces of the ray cloth (striped wool) the queen walked on. This caused a disturbance in the ladies’ procession and the death of several commoners.

The queen processed through the choir in the abbey to a platform and sat on a royal seat covered with cloth of gold. Between the altar and the platform was a newly built stage covered with arras cloth. The king, his mother and other ladies sat here for the ceremony, hidden by the arras and latticework. John Morton, archbishop of Canterbury and other religious leaders spoke various prayers, psalms, orisons, and litanies in Latin and the choir sang songs.

At the appropriate time in the service, Elizabeth descended from her throne and prostrated herself on carpets and cushions of Estate before the high altar. Then she knelt before Morton, who removed the circlet from her head and anointed her with holy oil on the brow. She opened her dress, and he anointed her on her breast.

After she closed her gown, Morton blessed her ring. This signified her role as a supporter of the church and the leader of her household’s spirituality. Morton then sprinkled the ring with holy water and placed it on the fourth finger of her right hand. An attendant covered the queen’s head with a coif to protect the holy oil and Morton blessed the crown. He instructed her to seek wisdom and virtue and then lay the crown on Elizabeth’s head.

The archbishop placed the scepter in the queen’s right hand and the rod in her left hand. She then ascended to her seat, followed by her ladies. Two bishops now led her down to the high altar with her scepter and rod born before her by others. After the offertory, she returned to her throne. As the Agnus Dei began, Morton came forward to bless her, and she responded ‘Amen’. During the singing of the Agnus Dei, the bishop brought the pax for the queen to kiss.

Again she approached the high altar. Two bishops held a towel before her as she bowed low to the ground, made her confession and received the sacrament. Elizabeth then returned to her throne for the rest of the mass, after which she went to the high altar, following Morton and others, who crossed over to the altar of the shrine of St. Edward. The archbishop put her crown on that altar and returned her circlet to her as the coronation crown was too heavy to wear for the rest of the festivities.

The queen returned in procession to Westminster Palace and entered her chamber. Later, after resting, she would arrive at Westminster Hall for the coronation banquet.     

Further reading:  “Elizabeth of York” by Arlene Naylor Okerlund, “Elizabeth of York and Her Six Daughters-in-Law: Fashioning Tudor Queenship, 1485-1547, “The Last Medieval Queens” by J.L. Laynesmith, “Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders: Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick” by Nathen Amin, “Joannis Lelandi Antiquarii De Rebus Britannicis Collectanea, Volume 4” by John Leland and Thomas Hearne, “The Knights of England, Volume One” by William A. Shaw