The presentation of the Honours of Scotland will be a smaller affair than the Coronation, but equally full of ceremony and history. One of the elements that will be used in the service will be a sword.
The traditional piece used for this service is known as the Sword of State, or Papal Sword,; it was given to King James IV by Pope Alexander VI in 1494. It not been seen in public in recent years because of its deteriorating condition.
To replace it, Ormond Pursuivant of Arms Mark Dennis, designed The Elizabeth, a new sword named after the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The piece will be presented to King Charles on Monday, 3rd July, and will be used during the presentation of the Honours of Scotland at the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication on Wednesday, 5th July.
The design is inspired by both the thistle, the national flower of Scotland (which also gives its name to the country’s highest order), and the Scottish landscape, according to the designer who said as it was revealed that “There has never been anything like it before”.
He added: “It was a concept and the concept was simply this: it had to work […] both as a ceremonial sword, so its dimensions are about the same as the papal sword, but it also had to be entirely different”.
The sword features a hilt and quillings’ design representing swirling thistle, as well as incisions on both sides of the blade; one reads “Nemo me impune lacessit” (“No one attacks me with impunity”), which is the motto of the Order of the Thistle, while the other features the Royal motto “In my defens God me defend”.
It has a pommel of Lewisian gneiss, which sculptor Alan Beattie Herriot found on a trip to the Isle of Iona and incorporated in the hilt he created, and a scabbard sculpted from Perthshire oak.
The Elizabeth will join the other Scottish Crown Jewels in the presentation of the Honours, and will be carried by Dame Katherine Grainger DBE, who said: “”It will be an incredible honour to carry the Elizabeth Sword on such a historic day for Scotland. I hope I can do the sword, and the occasion, justice”.
All the Honours of Scotland will be returned to the care of Historic Environment Scotland, who said they hope to put the Elizabeth on display shortly after the Coronation.
Mr Dennis said that he is optimistic about the reception the new sword will get from the King, adding: “He loves craftsmanship and it’ll be the craftsmen, the people who make it, who are there to present it to them. Our Elizabeth, to become his. So I think it will be a wonderful moment for us”.
