Queen Victoria described her coronation as the ‘proudest’ day of her life, and with good reason. The coronation cost £79,000 (equivalent to £7.5 million in January 2025), more than double what her predecessor, William IV, had spent on his. Despite this tremendous sum, Victoria’s coronation was troublesome. To most, the rehearsal that accompanied the actual service had been insufficient. Victoria, however, was pleased with how it went, saying “I’m very glad I went to the Abbey, as I shall now know exactly where I’m to go, and be”. Unfortunately, this would be a case of the blind being led by the blind.
Victoria’s beauty sleep was violently interrupted at 4am on the morning of the coronation by celebratory gunfire shot from Constitution Hill. The gathering crowds began to file up the route to the Abbey, preventing the young Queen from slipping back to sleep. Perhaps this time allowed her to reflect on what a great day was to lie ahead. Nevertheless, those precious moments she did have were in no way quiet or peaceful, as 400,000 visitors anxiously waited to catch a glimpse at their Queen departing from Buckingham Palace in the Golden State Coach to Westminster Abbey.
With the hour-long procession through London complete, the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting now had to navigate their way down the aisle of Westminster Abbey. They found their duty of managing Queen Victoria’s train mantle extraordinarily difficult because their own trains had them in matching attire with their queen, which One lady-in-waiting called them “serious annoyances” that prevented the elegance and grace expected of a Queen and her assistants. This role of Sir George Smart, who was simultaneously playing the organ and conducting the musicians: a choir of 157, an orchestra of 80 and a military band, also added to ceremony’s difficulties because the orchestra experienced long periods of inactivity, leaving the congregation confused about how to proceed
Still, Victoria and her procession eventually made it to the altar, where she was immediately distracted not by the gold adorning it, including the Alms dish, the pair of altar dishes, elaborate pricket candlesticks or maces, but by the finger sandwiches and wine bottles that rested upon the sacred table. Finally, everything within the excruciatingly long five-hour service seemed to be going smoothly. The service continued and Queen Victoria was anointed with holy oil on her hands, chest and head in a surprisingly unproblematic manner, but the trials and tribulations of this event could in no way just stop there.
Robed in regalia including the supertunica, sword belt, spurs and other garments, finally the moment arrived for her lords to pay homage. However, the troubles resumed when Baron John Rolle, who the Queen described as ’82, and dreadfully infirm’, twice failed to ascend the steps to where he would kiss the hand and cheek of his Queen. As Victoria swept across the floor to come to his rescue, the panicking baron took the knee to his monarch not at St. Edward’s chair, but there on the stone floor.
The coronation ring also created a challenge because of miscommunication with the goldsmiths. A beautiful ring for Victoria was made not for her ring finger, as it should have been, but for her pinky finger, because there was confusion over which was the ‘fourth finger’. The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Howley, decided that regardless of how impossibly small the ring was, that he would try and try again until it went past her knuckle of her ring finger. Naturally, the ring got stuck, and she only managed to take it off after submerging her hand in a bowl of ice water. Even when the ring did come off, it likely did not negate the pain her hand was under for the rest of the service – and probably continued to be for days after.
After that specific section of the service had already occurred, the young Queen was briefly re-presented the orb and then instructed by the Bishop of Bath and Wells to exit the Abbey, since the service was now complete. Little did Victoria know that he had skipped ahead two pages in the Order of Service, and in telling her to retire to St Edward’s Chapel, she found herself prematurely absent. Luckily, the exit procession was not underway and there was enough time for this error to be discovered and for the ceremony to be completed.
The Coronation of Queen Victoria was plagued with its fair share of faults, but despite the imperfections it was a defining moment within British history. It served to both highlight the enduring traditions of the UK’s monarchy, and to usher in a new and prosperous era in British history. Even the queen herself was not dampened by the occasion and described it that night as “the proudest” day of her life. Despite the many problems, the queen’s composure in end served to demonstrate that even in adversity the monarch of the United Kingdom maintains dignity in distress.
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https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/queen-victoria-coronation-disasters