Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

(1630–1685) was crowned King of Scotland at

Scone Palace Scone Palace is a Category A-listed historic house near the village of Scone and the city of Perth, Scotland. Built in red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is an example of the Gothic Revival style in Scotland. Scone was originally the s ...

on 1 January 1651. His father,

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, had been executed in London at

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. Hen ...

on 30 January 1649. Charles arrived in Scotland in June 1650 where there was support for his rule following the Treaty of Breda. Charles resided at old Gowrie House in Perth and held meetings in the summer house by the

Tay Tay may refer to: People and languages * Tay (name), including lists of people with the given name, surname and nickname * Tay people, an ethnic group of Vietnam ** Tày language *Atayal language, an Austronesian language spoken in Taiwan (ISO 639 ...

. The master of the

Scottish mint There were a number of Mint (coin), mints in Scotland, for the production of the Scottish coinage. The most important mint was in the capital, Edinburgh, which was active from the reign of David I of Scotland, David I (1124–1153), and was the l ...

was ordered to strike or cast medallions called "coronation pieces". On Christmas Day 1650, the herald James Balfour announced the discovery of an original manuscript signed by

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

in 1326 entailing the Scottish crown to the

Stuart dynasty The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

Ceremony

Charles travelled the short distance to Scone on 31 December. The next day, he dressed in the robe of a prince. He sat under a canopy or cloth estate in his audience chamber, the hall of Scone Palace. There was a procession to the nearby chapel at Moot Hill. The

Honours of Scotland The Honours of Scotland (, gd, Seudan a' Chrùin Albannaich), informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, are the regalia that were worn by Scottish monarchs at their coronation. Kept in the Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle, they date from the ...

were placed on a table beside him during a sermon given by Robert Douglas. The hour-long sermon (subsequently printed) noted a requirement for the monarch to respect the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

and Covenantal cause. Charles made his coronation oath, including a commitment to uphold the National Covenant and

Solemn League and Covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August 1 ...

. He was then seated on a throne on a raised dais and was crowned by

John Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun John Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun (1598 – March 1662) was a Scottish politician and Covenanter. As a young man Campbell travelled abroad. In 1620 married the heiress of the barony of Loudoun; in his wife's right, took his seat in the Parli ...

Lord Chancellor of Scotland The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland. Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower st ...

, and

Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell (March 160727 May 1661) was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and peer. The ''de facto'' head of Scotland's government during most of the conflict of the 1640s and ...

, assisted by Alexander Montgomery, Earl of Eglinton, with John Leslie, Duke of Rothes, who carried the sword and John Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and Lindsay who carried the sceptre. Charles was proclaimed king of Scotland, England, France, and Ireland. As was traditional, the ancestry of Charles back to

King Fergus King Fergus (1775–1801) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He won several races, but achieved greater success as a sire. He was British Champion sire in 1797 and his progeny included St Leger Stakes winner Hambletonian, who was only def ...

was recited by James Balfour, as the Lyon King of Arms. After the ceremonies in the chapel there was a banquet in the palace. Charles knighted some Perthshire lairds on 2 January, then returned to Perth. Although this contested ceremony in time of conflict is assumed to have been relatively subdued, there are records of significant expenditure especially on provisions for the banquet. These included salmon, calves' heads, and partridges with Bordeaux and Burgundy wine. 205 pounds of sugar were supplied by John Meine in Edinburgh. Some sugar confections were dyed with an ounce of

cochineal The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessility (motility), sessile parasitism, parasite native to tropical and subtropical Sout ...

. Some of the costs were met by James Murray, 2nd Earl of Annandale and Viscount Stormont, the owner of Scone, as well as the official "Board of the Green Cloth" hosting the king which was allowed a half month's costs in advance to meet coronation expenses. Torches were bought in Perth, and Mary Durham the "house laundress" made napkins, 38 from a length of damask linen bought in Kirkcaldy for the king's table, and 54 from "dornick" linen for the lord's table. Some of the napkins were embroidered with the royal cipher "CR", possibly by the seamstress Mistress Dorothy Cheffinch. Scone Palace was rebuilt from 1803. The present long gallery is said to be on the site of a long gallery of the time of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, which was decorated with hunting scenes painted in tempera. The parish church was removed from its site on Moot Hill leaving the aisle with the monument to David Murray.''Sconiana'' (Edinburgh, 1807), p. 13.

External links

*Robert Douglas
''The form and order of the coronation of Charles the Second, King of Scotland, England, France and Ireland as it was acted and done at Scoone, the first day of Ianuarie, 1651'' (Aberdeen, 1651): Text EEBO

References

{{Reflist 1651 in Scotland Scottish monarchy Charles II of England Charles II