3-003-899 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Coronation of the King and Queen of Prussia: the proclamation in the courtyard of the Schloss, Königsberg [now Kaliningrad] - from a sketch by our special artists, 1861. '...the heralds, pages, and noblemen and gentlemen of the bedchamber...took their stations along each side of the steps, forming a double hedge through which the remainder of the procession passed...his Majesty reappeared upon the platform, still wearing his crown and mantle and carrying his sceptre. The spectators received him with cheers, which he acknowledged by waving the sceptre. As he stood erect before the throne a ray of sun, glancing over the southern range of the palace buildings, flashed upon the crown and upon the jewelled ornament at the extremity of the sceptre, causing them to gleam and sparkle and glisten in a dazzling and very beautiful manner, every colour of the prism flashing out in turn...The chief herald...cried in a loud voice, "Long live King William the First!" Then was struck up with great effect the German chorus, "Now all of you thank God."...while the cannon, for the third time that day, thundering from the other side of the river, grandly celebrated the conclusion of the solemnity'. From "Illustrated London News", 1861.