A royal musical premiere

On October 11th 1727, England crowned a new queen consort. Caroline of Ansbach became just one of a handful of women, until that point, to see her coronation take place at the same time as that of her husband.  George II had become King of England on June 11th 1727 and this joint coronation was a huge national celebration.  Which is one of the reasons Georg Friedrich Handel wrote several special pieces of music for it - among them, that most famous of royal anthems, Zadok the Priest.

 

George II was the first monarch to have Zadok the Priest performed in his honour

 

The music has been used at hundreds of royal events ever since.  It is still particularly associated with the coronations of British monarchs and was played as part of Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.  The splendor of the theme in some ways reflected the universal happiness that the reign of the new king had brought.  George had come to England in 1714 when his father, George I, succeeded Queen Anne.  But while George the elder never won the hearts of his new countrymen, little George had them won over with his protestations that he had English blood in his veins and his determination to use the language of his new country and take up its customs.

 

 

Caroline of Ansbach, Queen of England, was as popular as her husband and their accession as monarchs in 1727 prompted widespread rejoicing

 

The king and queen were instrumental in establishing Hanoverian rule in England, shown in sad circumstances in 1737 when the early death of the queen prompted widespread mourning.  Their long term legacy survived into the 19th century and the reign of Victoria.  But their influence and the power of their popularity was manifested in Zadok the Priest and its installation as a royal theme.  That influence is still felt today when the strains of Handel's anthem play out at any royal event.