Queen's Champion
Encyclopedia
The feudal
holder
of the Manor
of Scrivelsby
since 1066 has held that manor from the Crown by grand serjeanty
of being The Honourable The King's/Queen's Champion. Such person is also Standard Bearer of England
.
of Tamworth
and the Manor of Scrivelsby
in 1066. From then until the nineteenth century the officer's role was to act as champion for the King at his coronation
, in the unlikely event that someone challenged the new King's title to the throne. The Champion
was required to ride in full armour
into Westminster Hall during the coronation banquet, escorted by the Earl Marshal
and the Lord High Constable
, all in full dress, robes and coronets, and await the challenge to all comers. The King himself could not fight in single combat against anyone except an equal. This trial by combat remained purely ceremonial and had a central place in the coronation banquet.
By 1377 the male line of the Marmions had died out, and in that year the office of King's Champion at the coronation
of King Richard II
was fulfilled by Sir
John Dymoke
, who had married Margaret Marmion, the heiress of the Marmion family, and so held the Manor of Scrivelsby. The claim by Sir Baldwin de Freville, who then held the Manor of Tamworth, was rejected.
In later years, the Garter King of Arms read out the challenge, and the Champion threw down the gauntlet
at the entrance to Westminster Hall, then again in the middle of the Hall, and lastly at the foot of the Throne
, each time repeating the challenge. Each time the gauntlet was recovered by Garter. The Champion was rewarded with a gilt, covered cup, the King or Queen Regnant
having first drunk to the Champion from it.
John II Walshe(d.1546/7) of Little Sodbury
, Gloucestershire, was King's Champion at the coronation of Henry VIII in 1509, and was a great favourite of the young king's.
It is alleged that the challenge was actually accepted in 1689 by an old woman, supposedly a noted Jacobite
swordsman in disguise, who challenged the Dymoke of the day to combat next day in Hyde Park. There is no evidence to support this claim. Equally, rumour reported that in 1764 a lady's white kid glove fluttered down into the Hall, supposedly from a Jacobite.
If the Champion fought, and won, he got as his reward the armour he wore, and the horse he rode (the second best in the Royal Mews), both of which were on loan.
were these:
"If any person, of whatever degree soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay [contradict] our Sovereign Lord George, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, son and next heir unto our Sovereign Lord the last King deceased, to be the right heir to the imperial Crown of this realm of Great Britain and Ireland, or that he ought not to enjoy the same; here is his Champion, who saith that he lieth, and is a false traitor, being ready in person to combat with him, and in this quarrel will adventure his life against him on what day soever he shall be appointed."
In 1831 no coronation banquet was held, so the King's Champion was not called upon to act, although in 1902 his claim was admitted by the Court of Claims, and he was given the Standard of England to bear.
The Champion's Armour used for the coronations of James I
to George IV still exists and is on display in St George's Hall, Windsor Castle
.
of Scrivelsby, 7th Lord of the Manor of Telford, and of the Manor of Scrivelsby, Thornton and Dalderby, patron of the living of Scrivelsby-cum-Dalderby, and Queen's Champion is Lieutenant-Colonel John Lindley Marmion Dymoke, MBE
DL
Royal Lincolnshire Regiment. He acted as Standard-Bearer of the Union Flag
at the coronation service of Her Majesty The Queen
in 1953.
His eldest son and heir is Francis Dymoke, a chartered accountant and estate owner.
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
holder
Feudal land tenure
Under the English feudal system several different forms of land tenure existed, each effectively a contract with differing rights and duties attached thereto. Such tenures could be either free-hold, signifying that they were hereditable or perpetual, or non-free where the tenancy terminated on the...
of the Manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Scrivelsby
Manor of Scrivelsby
The Manor of Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire, England is a manor held by grand serjeanty, a form of tenure which requires the performance of a service rather than a money payment – in this case as the King or Queens Champion....
since 1066 has held that manor from the Crown by grand serjeanty
Serjeanty
Under the feudal system in late and high medieval England, tenure by serjeanty was a form of land-holding in return for some specified service, ranking between tenure by knight-service and tenure in socage...
of being The Honourable The King's/Queen's Champion. Such person is also Standard Bearer of England
Standard Bearer of England
The Standard Bearer of England was once an important office within the English army, especially during the times when Kings were still present on the battlefield...
.
Origins
The office of King's Champion was originally granted to Robert Marmion, along with the castle and manorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
and the Manor of Scrivelsby
Manor of Scrivelsby
The Manor of Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire, England is a manor held by grand serjeanty, a form of tenure which requires the performance of a service rather than a money payment – in this case as the King or Queens Champion....
in 1066. From then until the nineteenth century the officer's role was to act as champion for the King at his coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
, in the unlikely event that someone challenged the new King's title to the throne. The Champion
Champion
A champion is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition.There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, and even further divisions at one or more of these levels, as in soccer. Their champions...
was required to ride in full armour
Armour
Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action...
into Westminster Hall during the coronation banquet, escorted by the Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England...
and the Lord High Constable
Lord High Constable
There are two current and one former royal offices in the United Kingdom of Lord High Constable:* The Lord High Constable of England, the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal...
, all in full dress, robes and coronets, and await the challenge to all comers. The King himself could not fight in single combat against anyone except an equal. This trial by combat remained purely ceremonial and had a central place in the coronation banquet.
By 1377 the male line of the Marmions had died out, and in that year the office of King's Champion at the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of King Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
was fulfilled by Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
John Dymoke
Dymoke
Dymoke is the name of an English family holding the office of king's champion. The functions of the champion were to ride into Westminster Hall at the coronation banquet, and challenge all comers to impugn the King's title . The earliest record of the ceremony at the coronation of an English king...
, who had married Margaret Marmion, the heiress of the Marmion family, and so held the Manor of Scrivelsby. The claim by Sir Baldwin de Freville, who then held the Manor of Tamworth, was rejected.
In later years, the Garter King of Arms read out the challenge, and the Champion threw down the gauntlet
Gauntlet (gloves)
Gauntlet is a name for several different styles of glove, particularly those with an extended cuff covering part of the forearm. Gauntlets exist in many forms, ranging from flexible fabric and leather gloves, to mail and fully articulated plate armour....
at the entrance to Westminster Hall, then again in the middle of the Hall, and lastly at the foot of the Throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...
, each time repeating the challenge. Each time the gauntlet was recovered by Garter. The Champion was rewarded with a gilt, covered cup, the King or Queen Regnant
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
having first drunk to the Champion from it.
John II Walshe(d.1546/7) of Little Sodbury
Little Sodbury
Little Sodbury is an English village in South Gloucestershire, located between Chipping Sodbury, to the West, Old Sodbury to the South, Badminton, and the A46 road to the East and Horton and Hawkesbury Upton, to the north....
, Gloucestershire, was King's Champion at the coronation of Henry VIII in 1509, and was a great favourite of the young king's.
It is alleged that the challenge was actually accepted in 1689 by an old woman, supposedly a noted Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
swordsman in disguise, who challenged the Dymoke of the day to combat next day in Hyde Park. There is no evidence to support this claim. Equally, rumour reported that in 1764 a lady's white kid glove fluttered down into the Hall, supposedly from a Jacobite.
If the Champion fought, and won, he got as his reward the armour he wore, and the horse he rode (the second best in the Royal Mews), both of which were on loan.
Modern times
The words of the challenge varied over the years, but those used for King George IVGeorge IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
were these:
"If any person, of whatever degree soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay [contradict] our Sovereign Lord George, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, son and next heir unto our Sovereign Lord the last King deceased, to be the right heir to the imperial Crown of this realm of Great Britain and Ireland, or that he ought not to enjoy the same; here is his Champion, who saith that he lieth, and is a false traitor, being ready in person to combat with him, and in this quarrel will adventure his life against him on what day soever he shall be appointed."
In 1831 no coronation banquet was held, so the King's Champion was not called upon to act, although in 1902 his claim was admitted by the Court of Claims, and he was given the Standard of England to bear.
The Champion's Armour used for the coronations of James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
to George IV still exists and is on display in St George's Hall, Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
.
Current Queen's Champion
The current and 34th Queen's Champion and 33rd Lord of the ManorLord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Scrivelsby, 7th Lord of the Manor of Telford, and of the Manor of Scrivelsby, Thornton and Dalderby, patron of the living of Scrivelsby-cum-Dalderby, and Queen's Champion is Lieutenant-Colonel John Lindley Marmion Dymoke, MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
Royal Lincolnshire Regiment. He acted as Standard-Bearer of the Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
at the coronation service of Her Majesty The Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1953.
His eldest son and heir is Francis Dymoke, a chartered accountant and estate owner.