What does the Orb and Sceptre during the Monarchical Coronation ceremony signify?

If you’ve seen ‘The Crown’. ‘The Princess Diaries’ or any other movie which included a monarchical coronation ceremony, I’m pretty sure you must have wondered  at least once about what the spherical object and the stick like thing the Queen holds during the coronation ceremonies signify and how these things are related to the monarch in UK?

In the UK, Monarchy is the oldest form of government and the head of the state is a King or a Queen.  They are referred to as the Sovereign, the Monarch or His or Her Majesty. The British Monarchy is known as a constitutional monarchy. The Sovereign does not ‘rule’ the country but fulfills important formal and ceremonial roles with respect to the government. Although there is no political or executive role, he or she continues to play an important part in the life of the nation. As the ‘Head of Nation’, the Sovereign has a less formal role. It undertakes constitutional and representational duties. These have developed over a thousand years of history. The Queen essentially represents Britain to the rest of the world. The Monarch is supported by members of their immediate family known as the Royal Family. They are also the Fount of Justice, Head of the Armed Forces and have important relationships with the established Churches of England and Scotland. The Coronation ceremony is an age-old ritual in United Kingdom, where the monarch is officially crowned. It is one of the ceremonies throughout the world that still retains the spectacular ceremony throughout centuries. In fact, UK is the only monarchy who still performs traditional coronations ceremonies. The rest of Europe’s monarchy now performs inauguration or enthronement ceremonies instead. The British Royal Family’s “Crown jewels” include a suite of artefacts and regalia the royals use for coronations and other special events, like a Royal funeral. The collection includes of numerous royal artefacts like crowns with gigantic diamonds, capes, jewellery and swords. The Royal collections are all currently on display at the Tower of London.

The Sovereign’s orb and sceptre are two essential items used during the coronation of a monarch in United Kingdom. They are seen as authoritative symbols of Monarchy and Power. The Sovereign’s orb and sceptre play an essential role during the coronation ceremony, the Archbishop of Canterbury places the orb in the right hand of the Monarch and he/she leaves the coronation wearing the Crown, carrying the Sceptre, and holding the Orb.

The Sovereign’s Orb is a symbol of Godly power. It essentially consists of a hollow and 30 cm wide gold sphere and a cross. It is placed in the right hand of the monarch during coronation and it is said to be “a representation of the sovereign’s power”. While the sphere symbolizes the globe, the cross above the sphere apparently represents ‘Christ’s dominion over the world’, as the Monarch is God’s representative on Earth. The orb’s sphere is mounted with 9 emeralds, 18 rubies, 9 sapphires, 365 diamonds, 375 pearls, an amethyst and a glass stone. The pearls divide the orb into three sections, which represent the three continents medieval European rulers believed existed. The orb weighs approximately 1.32 kg. It was specially made in 1661 for King Charles II’s coronation at a total cost of £1,150. The orb is said to be the recreation of an orb which was used in earlier coronations; that orb was one of the pieces melted down by the new republican government after the execution of King Charles I in 1649. Orbs have also been a part of the royal portraits and paintings of ceremonies throughout centuries. Anna Keay states in one of her excellent books on the British crown jewels that the origin of orbs in the English regalia is not really clear, though they did appear on coins and were even portrayed in many of the paintings.  A few years after the new orb was made for Charles II, it was almost lost. In 1671, Thomas Blood attempted to steal the crown jewels, he was stopped, but the result was a damaged orb and crown, which had to be repaired. Since then, it has been used at every coronation.

The Sovereign’s Sceptre represents the temporal power of The King or Queen and is essentially associated with good governance. Measuring 92 cm, the sceptre holds the world’s largest diamond, the Cullinan I, popularly known as the ‘First Star of Africa’-The largest clear-cut diamond in the world. Found in South Africa in 1905 by Thomas Cullinan, this large diamond was cut into 9 large stones. It took 8 months to complete the cutting. The Great star of Africa was the largest of all the stones cut from the original diamond, consisting of 530 carats. This was gifted to Edward VII in 1907 to help mend relations between Britain and South Africa after the Boer War. There were two Anglo-Boer wars that were fought between the UK, Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State. The conflict between the Dutch settlers and the British Territories led to war since the Dutch refused to accept the abolition of slavery in the British cape colony and migrated north to find the colonies of Transvaal and Orange Free State. They even refused to accept the borders of the British colonies. The Great Star of Africa was set into the sceptre in 1910, and first used at George V’s coronation and represented the monarch’s “temporal power under God”. The significance of the sceptre was described at the coronation of William the Conqueror ‘by the sceptre uprising in the kingdom are controlled, and the rod gathers and confines those men who stray.’ The rod also symbolises the monarch’s pastoral care for his or her people. The Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross has been used at every coronation since Charles II’s in 1661.

The Sovereign Orb and Sceptre have always remained the symbols of monarchy in United Kingdom. They signify power and authority. The two artefacts signify the ancient rituals and customs followed by the Monarch in UK and how it is deep rooted to its ancient customs and traditions and the role and history of the Sovereign in UK politics.

References:

*The crown chronicles of UK