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| Royal hopes and fears laid bare in papers and prayer books display | Royal hopes and fears laid bare in papers and prayer books display |
| (30 days later) | |
| On 2 May 1923, the future George VI wrote to the archbishop of Canterbury from his borrowed honeymoon home, Polesden Lacy in Dorking: "I hope you did not think we were too nervous." | On 2 May 1923, the future George VI wrote to the archbishop of Canterbury from his borrowed honeymoon home, Polesden Lacy in Dorking: "I hope you did not think we were too nervous." |
| The handwritten letter, on display for the first time in an exhibition at Lambeth Palace, thanks Randall Davidson for conducting his grand wedding at Westminster Abbey, and apologises for taking so long to write – the ceremony was all of six days earlier. | The handwritten letter, on display for the first time in an exhibition at Lambeth Palace, thanks Randall Davidson for conducting his grand wedding at Westminster Abbey, and apologises for taking so long to write – the ceremony was all of six days earlier. |
| The 27-year-old groom, only accepted by Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on his third proposal, may have been nervous – but other documents in the exhibition suggest the archbishop was just as anxious about getting things wrong. | The 27-year-old groom, only accepted by Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon on his third proposal, may have been nervous – but other documents in the exhibition suggest the archbishop was just as anxious about getting things wrong. |
| For last year's wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, his successor Rowan Williams's copy of the service was carefully marked up for him in green ink: "C's r/h to you, you to PW". | For last year's wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, his successor Rowan Williams's copy of the service was carefully marked up for him in green ink: "C's r/h to you, you to PW". |
| In 1952, archbishop Geoffrey Fisher had an even more terrifying ceremony to lead: the coronation. His order of service is covered in a blizzard of notes in his own writing. He was clearly particularly apprehensive about the actual moment of placing the heavy crown on the new queen's head: "I put the crown on a piece up above the eyebrows‚" he wrote, making sure to get it the right way round, then press down firmly from the back. And if the queen gave him an eye signal that it still felt unsteady, he should apply "a slight pressure at the front". | In 1952, archbishop Geoffrey Fisher had an even more terrifying ceremony to lead: the coronation. His order of service is covered in a blizzard of notes in his own writing. He was clearly particularly apprehensive about the actual moment of placing the heavy crown on the new queen's head: "I put the crown on a piece up above the eyebrows‚" he wrote, making sure to get it the right way round, then press down firmly from the back. And if the queen gave him an eye signal that it still felt unsteady, he should apply "a slight pressure at the front". |
| The exhibition celebrates both the Queen's diamond jubilee and the long history of the Book of Common Prayer, including the copy used at the wedding of Queen Victoria. It brings together a remarkable collection of objects with royal connections – not all of them happy. | The exhibition celebrates both the Queen's diamond jubilee and the long history of the Book of Common Prayer, including the copy used at the wedding of Queen Victoria. It brings together a remarkable collection of objects with royal connections – not all of them happy. |
| It includes the gloves said to have been worn by Charles I on the scaffold in Whitehall, on the cold day in January 1649 when the monarchy temporarily came to a juddering halt. They are opulently embroidered in gold and silver thread, but heavily worn and stained: "We like to think, with drops of his blood," Brian Cummings, co-curator and professor of English at the University of Sussex, said with ghoulish relish. | It includes the gloves said to have been worn by Charles I on the scaffold in Whitehall, on the cold day in January 1649 when the monarchy temporarily came to a juddering halt. They are opulently embroidered in gold and silver thread, but heavily worn and stained: "We like to think, with drops of his blood," Brian Cummings, co-curator and professor of English at the University of Sussex, said with ghoulish relish. |
| There is also the first Queen Elizabeth's death warrant for her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots – the signature recognisable but dashed off far more hastily than her usual carefully elegant flourish – and her prayer for "wisdome to govern" including the Irish, that "innumerable and warlike nation". | There is also the first Queen Elizabeth's death warrant for her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots – the signature recognisable but dashed off far more hastily than her usual carefully elegant flourish – and her prayer for "wisdome to govern" including the Irish, that "innumerable and warlike nation". |
| There is also a prayer book whose owner is identified by his handwriting adding the birthday of Ricardis Rex to the calendar of the liturgical year. The little book, in a battered brown leather binding, is said to have been recovered from the tent of Richard III, after his death in 1485 in the battle of Bosworth ended the Plantaganet line, ushering in the Tudors when the victorious Henry picked up the fallen crown from under a thorn bush. | There is also a prayer book whose owner is identified by his handwriting adding the birthday of Ricardis Rex to the calendar of the liturgical year. The little book, in a battered brown leather binding, is said to have been recovered from the tent of Richard III, after his death in 1485 in the battle of Bosworth ended the Plantaganet line, ushering in the Tudors when the victorious Henry picked up the fallen crown from under a thorn bush. |
| Royal Devotion: Monarchy and the Book of Common Prayer, Lambeth Palace, London, 1 May–14 July. | Royal Devotion: Monarchy and the Book of Common Prayer, Lambeth Palace, London, 1 May–14 July. |
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