Hello, I'm Lucy Worsley, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces. You're listening to our podcast

that explores the history and stories of our six palaces. These talks are a collection of some of our

best live events. I really hope you enjoy listening. In the 1500s, the Tudor Court was the place to be seen.

This series of talks looks into court life in the 16th century during the reign of King Henry the 8th.

In this talk, historian Dr. Alice Hunt examines 16th century coronations, how they responded to monarchical and religious changes of the time,

and what they tell us about legitimacy, representation and the purpose of ceremony.

I've been thinking about coronations for what feels like ages and ages.

I can't crack the coronation.

But as Fenella said, the coronation is the most important ceremony in a monarch's reign,

and I've forgotten to turn on the microphone. That's better, isn't it? Anyway, that was just the

preamble of how I've been thinking about coronations for a while. But it is the most important

ceremony. It certainly was the most important

ceremony in the 16th century. Impressive, lavish, spectacular, and a ceremony that in the 20th

century at least was about tradition, Britishness, nostalgia. The monarch may be clothed in

opulent robes and decked and jewels and surrounded by all

their symbols as they were in the 16th century, but now real political power is safely absent,

or so we tell ourselves. It's really about the seductive but limited power of the British monarchs.

But the coronation is a ceremony about transformation. It is the moment

when the rightful heir is consecrated in a church by clergy and made legitimate by virtue of divine grace.

It is true that the religious ceremony is one event of many, processions, feasts, jousts, tournaments in the 16th century,

more recently taken over by street parties, concerts, whatever. But the core of the coronation

and its enduring power and mystery is sacramental. A body becomes sacred. When Elizabeth II was crowned 60 years ago on 2nd of June

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