Chapter 119 The Coronation of the King of England 5

George VI stammered for a long time with this short sentence. Yannick finally breathed a sigh of relief when he finished speaking. If an impatient person listened to him, he would easily choke to death.

Fortunately, King George VI's speech was quite simple, with only a few words.

Just as Yanik was muttering dissatisfied, he suddenly noticed the glances from the side. Turning around and looking, she saw an old woman with a somewhat bloated figure. Judging from the gorgeous dress she was wearing, she must be a prince or noble from some country.

Seeing her looking at him kindly, Yannick asked Ina softly. "Do you know who she is?"

Ina took a look and replied. "Queen of the Netherlands, Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Marie."

"..." Yannick opened his mouth slightly in surprise. He had seen photos of Wilhelmina when she was a girl and when she was middle-aged on the Internet. She was a standard beautiful girl when she was a girl, and she can still be said to be charming in middle-age. Beauty, why have you turned into a fat old lady now?

Just as he was sighing that time is really a butcher's knife, George VI had finished speaking and walked off the stage to greet the guests one by one. Yannick walked up to Wilhelmina and saluted. "Salute to you, Your Majesty the Queen."

Otherwise, the European royal family is a big family. Although Wilhelmina and Wilhelm II were not closely related, they were indeed relatives. It's just that they don't have any blood relationship, they are just distant cousins ​​at best. The sister-in-law of William II's mother was Wilhelmina's aunt. To be more detailed, William II's mother was the eldest princess of Queen Victoria of England, and Wilhelmina's mother was a biological sister of Queen Victoria's daughter-in-law. From this point of view, William II should be closer to the British royal family. However, Britain and Germany were hostile countries during World War I. Moreover, after the end of World War I, William II also fled to the Netherlands when he was wanted by the Allied Powers led by Britain.

Wilhelmina had a kind smile on her face. "His Royal Highness Crown Prince Yannick, it's been a long time no see. How is His Majesty Friedrich? Where are Prince Oscar and his wife?"

Yannick said respectfully. "Your Majesty the Queen, you are my cousin by seniority. You can just call me by my first name. Thank you for your concern. My grandfather is in good health. As for my father and mother, they are still the same as before, wandering around."

Wilhelmina smiled gently and asked. "Yannik, I heard about your request to Czech. If Czech doesn't agree, what are you going to do?"

Yannick shrugged and said righteously. "The arrow is on the string and must be fired. Her Majesty, you must also know that the Germans in the Czech Republic are in dire straits. If the Czech government could treat them equally and let them live a life without worries about food and clothing, they would still be so eager to return to Germany Really? I don’t have to worry about that. And now, as the crown prince of Germany, I certainly won’t watch my people suffer in a foreign country.”

Wilhelmina nodded and sighed. “I hope the Czech Republic can put the overall situation first.”

Yannik secretly thought that if Czech President Beneš was present, he would definitely jump up, right? What does it mean to put the overall situation first? It is extremely shameless to talk about ceding other people's land in such a high-sounding way.

But now it seems that asking the Czech Republic to hand over the Sudetenland is the intention of all Europe. How could he, a Czech, resist?

After finally getting through the boring banquet, the next day royal members from various European and Asian countries, diplomatic missions from various countries, and many specially invited guests set off for Westminster Abbey to attend the coronation ceremony.

Early in the morning, the streets of London were filled with people who spontaneously came to congratulate him. Many of them even slept on the street on simple folding beds last night. Now they could put away their beds and stay in place to welcome the arrival of the king's chariot.

Police officers across London were on the streets to maintain order, otherwise crowds would crowd the roads and vehicles would not be able to pass at all.

Sitting in the car, Ina looked at the dark crowd on both sides and sighed. "The British people quite love George VI."

"You're so cute!"

Yannick sneered at this. A stuttering king who had just succeeded to the throne had not done even one good deed for the country and the people. How could he be loved by the people?

These British people spontaneously came to celebrate, seven points of which were for watching the fun, and the remaining three points were just respect for the identity of the "king" and had nothing to do with George VI.

Everyone came to Westminster Abbey in great numbers, but they could not go in directly. They had to wait in a special area outside the church for the arrival of George VI.

After waiting for more than half an hour, loud cheers came from the distance.

In the middle of the long honor guard, King George VI and the Queen were seen arriving in a golden carriage with eight white horses. The carriage gleamed golden in the sunlight, and even the wheels were covered with gold. This was the king's golden carriage specially made for the coronation ceremony.

King George VI looked very nervous. He couldn't sleep all night last night and only had two bites of breakfast. At this moment, his whole body was shaking and chilling. He was smiling and waving to the people like a puppet on strings.

Accompanied by palace attendants, the king and queen were led into the cathedral by the clergy, and the guests could finally enter the church and take their seats.

After a series of ceremonies, George VI was invited to sit down on an oak chair. The oak chair was placed there by King Edward of England during the Middle Ages, and all British kings sat in the chair for their coronations.

A solemn clergyman brought an eagle-shaped holy oil bottle, which contained holy oil added with orange, rose, cinnamon, musk and ambergris. The Archbishop of Canterbury took a spoon inlaid with gold and silver wire, took out the holy oil in the bottle, and smeared it on the king's hands, chest and head.

This is the central part of the entire coronation ceremony, called "anointing".

While conducting the anointing ceremony, the King of England solemnly swore to the world that he would rely on the Almighty God to obtain the will, strength and ability needed to serve his people fairly and safely.

The Archbishop of Canterbury then put a crown on George VI's head, expressing God's recognition of the King of England, and the coronation finally came to an end.

There is a saying in the West: If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight.

There is no need for any extra guesses or profound meanings in this sentence, it is interpreted literally. The crown on George VI's head now weighs at least five kilograms. It is only worn on special occasions. Wearing it normally is just a pain on the neck.

This crown, like the previous oak chair, is a relic of St. Edward, the King of England in the Middle Ages. When the British Revolution broke out, Charles I was beheaded, and this crown was almost melted and cast into gold coins.

The St. Edward's crown weighed more than four kilograms at the beginning. After each coronation of the British king, jewels were added to the crown. Sometimes rubies, sometimes sapphires, and sometimes diamonds. When George VI was coronated, there were 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies on the crown.

Yannick stared at the crown the whole time, wondering how much it was worth.

After the long coronation, it was lunch time. After lunch, there was the coronation naval parade in the afternoon.

Everyone was invited to the king's flagship, and a fleet of several British aircraft carriers passed through the vast sea. Then more than 100 warships of various types and naval vessels from 18 countries around the world formed various formations and fired salutes crazily.

After the naval parade ended, there was a large-scale symphony performance in the evening. It was busy until the third day, when the entire coronation ceremony was officially over.