SPECIFICATION
Material:       Porcelain.
Date:              Circa 1828
Dimensions:  Approx. 12 Inches wide.
Condition:     Perfect condition. Minute wear.
 
DESCRIPTION
Here is a superb Chamberlains Worcester armorial porcelain charger plate bearing the arms of WILLIAM HOWLEY (1766-1848) ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. Perfect for the discerning collector. Satisfaction guaranteed. Don't miss this unique piece.
MORE DETAILS
   William Howley was the last of the so called "Prince Archbishops". He controlled all church finances and was to be seen in a carriage pulled by six black horses. As Primate of All England he was the most senior Bishop and symbolic leader of the Anglican faith. He was sent to Buckingham Palace to tell the 18 year old Princess Victoria her uncle had died and she had inherited the throne.
 
He presided over the Coronations :
  KING WILLIAM IV (1765-1837) 
  QUEEN ADELAIDE (1792-1849)
  QUEEN VICTORIA (1819-1901). 
 
 The ceremony is over 1000 years old. 
 The monarch is presented to the people.
 Swears an oath to the law and the church on bended knee.
 Anointed with holy oil. The anointing is hidden from sight under a canopy.
 The monarch is then invested with the state regalia.
 Crowned by the Archbishop.
 
  During Victoria's Coronation things didn't go completely to plan. Howley was in his seventies and partly deaf. He pushed the coronation ring on the wrong hand, causing some discomfort to the soon to be Queen, which is noted in her letters. ‘..the greatest difficulty in taking it off again, which I at last succeeded in doing, but not without great pain’.
 
From Victoria's journal:
'It was a fine day, and the crowds of people exceeded what I have ever seen; many as there were the day I went to the City, it was nothing – nothing to the multitudes, the millions of my loyal subjects who were assembled in every spot to witness the Procession. Their good humour and excessive loyalty was beyond everything, and I really cannot say how proud I feel to be the Queen of such a Nation. I was alarmed at times for fear that the people would be crushed and squeezed on account of the tremendous rush and pressure.’
 
 Lambeth Palace was the traditional home of the Archbishop, with Addington Palace from 1805 to 1897.
 
Bishop of London in the Diocese of Canterbury, Blason:
Gules two swords in saltire points uppermost argent hilts and pommels or.
Blason for Howley: Azure, an eagle displayed erminois, on the breast a plain cross gules.
 
There has been an Archbishop of Canterbury since 597.