Coronation quiz – how much do you know about the ceremony and its history?

Coronation ducks. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock

Whether you are an ardent monarchist, passionate republican, or indifferent to the whole royal family circus, you can’t help but have noticed that there is a coronation coming up in the UK. Why not test yourself against our quiz, which measures how much you know about the ceremony and its history, and how much you’ve picked up on some of the odder things happening around the country as it prepares of King Charles III to be crowned. There are no prizes, it’s just fun.

The Guardian coronation of King Charles III quiz

1. 

   Which monarch had the first coronation to take place at Westminster Abbey?

   1. William the Conqueror in 1066

   2. Edward the Confessor in 1042

   3. Edmund II in 1016

2. What is the oldest English piece of royal regalia that will be used in the coronation of King Charles III?

   1. St Edward's Crown

   2. St Luke's University Cross

   3. The Coronation Spoon

3. 

   The Stone of Scone will be present for the ceremony. When was it formally returned to Scotland?

   1. November 1996 under John Major's government

   2. November 2001 under Tony Blair's government

   3. November 2008 under Gordon Brown's government

4. 

   What was the decision about the Sussexes? Which of them are coming to the coronation?

   1. Just Harry

   2. Harry and Meghan

   3. Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet

   4. None of them

5. 

   What has Pope Francis gifted to King Charles so it can be used at the service?

   1. A prayer book dating from the 14th century

   2. Two shards of the "True Cross", which are said to be from the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus

   3. A letter from Henry VIII to Pope Clement VII dating from 1530

6. 

   The King Charles III coronation coins feature the monarch wearing the Tudor crown. What is unique about this piece of regalia associated with the 2023 coronation?

   1. It is a new crown for the occasion

   2. It was plundered from the Kingdom of Castile

   3. It doesn't exist

7. 

   What are the ingredients for the official coronation quiche – aside from egg and pastry, obviously?

   1. Spinach, broad beans, cheese and tarragon

   2. Butternut, sage and hazelnut

   3. Salmon, asparagus and lemon

8. 

   Which supermarket chain is opening up its very own pop-up pub to celebrate the coronations?

   1. Morrisons

   2. Tesco

   3. Sainsbury's

9. 

   What is Channel 4 showing on TV instead of the coronation?

   1. Frankie Boyle’s Farewell to the Monarchy, in which he investigates the "violent, ruthless, land grabbing, child murdering, wife-beheading, slave trading, misogynist and empire-building" history of the royal family

   2. Andrew - The Problem Prince, a documentary where Emily Maitlis speaks in detail about the interview that shook the monarchy and the world in November 2019

   3. The Windsors Coronation Special, with Harry Enfield playing the King in what it describes as the "deluded and dysfunctional" family

   4. All of the above

10. An error by the elderly archbishop of Canterbury of the day, Frederick Temple, meant which monarch had the crown placed on their head back-to-front at their coronation?

    1. William IV in 1831

    2. Queen Victoria in 1838

    3. Edward VII in 1902

11. 

    Before the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707, some monarchs were separately crowned in England and Scotland. Where was the infant James VI of Scotland crowned (before he later also became James I of England)?

    1. Stirling

    2. Inverness

    3. Stonehaven

12. 

    A coronation claims office has been created in the Cabinet Office, to hear claims by people who say they have a hereditary or traditional right for their family or business to perform a particular duty at the coronation. Oliver Dowden said in the House of Commons how many claims have been received?

    1. 27

    2. 68

    3. More than 200

13. Talking of claims to historic roles, columnist Petronella Wyatt in the Telegraph was dismayed that what won't be happening this time around?

    1. The Earl of Derby has not been asked to provide falcons, as his family have done since the 16th Century

    2. The Earl of Pembroke has not been asked to provide the monarch with a cask of ale, as his family have done since the 17th century

    3. The Earl of Shrewsbury has not been asked to provide the monarch with a cravat or necktie, as his family have done since the 18th century

14. 

    Which of these is true?

    1. Buckingham Palace has revealed an official emoji to celebrate the coronation

    2. Buckingham Palace has revealed an official TikTok filter to celebrate the coronation

    3. Buckingham Palace has revealed an official ringtone to celebrate the coronation

15. 

    Which of these British boy bands are performing at the coronation concert at Windsor Castle on 7 May?

    1. One Direction

    2. East 17

    3. Take That

16. 

    Three swords dating back to the time of Charles I will be used during the coronation procession at Westminster Abbey. The sword of temporal justice and the sword of spiritual justice are two of them. What is the third called?

    1. The sword of truth

    2. The sword of mercy

    3. The sword of destiny

17. 

    Who (not pictured) provided television commentary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in Westminster Abbey for the BBC?

    1. David Dimbleby

    2. Richard Dimbleby

    3. Jonathan Dimbleby

18. 

    What did Queen Elizabeth II forget to do at her coronation?

    1. Say "Amen" at the end of the oath being administered

    2. Hand a coronation coin to the earl marshal as she left the abbey

    3. Curtsy with her maids of honour at the north pillar of the abbey

19. 

    Which king barred his own queen from his coronation?

    1. George IV

    2. George V

    3. George VI

20. 

    The "holy oil" used in the ceremony is made from olives. But where was the ceremony that "made it sacred"?

    1. Canterbury

    2. Rome

    3. Jerusalem

Solutions

1:A - The Norman was crowned king of England on Christmas Day in 1066 at Westminster Abbey in London, 2:C - The small silver gilt spoon was first recorded in the royal collection more than 600 years ago, in 1349, and has been used in every crowning ceremony of a British monarch since James I in 1603. The Stone of Destiny is older, but belonged to Scotland, 3:A - The stone was transported to Edinburgh Castle and an official handover ceremony occurred in the castle on St Andrew's Day, 4:A - Harry is making a solo trip from the US to see his father crowned king, 5:B - The small fragments have been incorporated into the Cross of Wales, which will be carried into Westminster Abbey. The "True Cross" was found by St Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, in 326. French theologian John Calvin once suggested that all the extant fragments of the cross, if put together, would fill a large ship, 6:C - The Tudor Crown, also known as Henry VIII's Crown, was the imperial and state crown of English monarchs from around the time of Henry VIII until it was destroyed during the civil war. Depictions of it have survived in heraldery., 7:A - The royal family’s website described it as “a deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans and fresh tarragon. Eat hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes – perfect for a Coronation Big Lunch!”. Unless you are a vegetarian, as the pastry calls for 25g of lard, 8:B - The supermarket said it was urging people to "do good, by going to the pub", with proceeds from the central London pub open 4-5 May going to the Prince's Trust, 9:D - Expect to see privatisation back on the agenda., 10:C - Temple had a bad day, as he also appeared to fumble the crown at one point. The crown being put on the wrong way round also seemed to happen to George VI as well. Maybe they should have left and right stitched into it like you do with toddlers' socks, 11:A - James was anointed King of Scotland at the age of 13 months at the Church of the Holy Rude in Stirling on 29 July 1567, 12:C - He told MPs "we will work with experts from the royal household to determine which will play a part in that historic day", 13:A - "These little things deprive people of their purpose in life," Wyatt bemoaned of a falcon-free ceremony in a column entitled "By pandering to the woke for his Coronation, the King risks his own irrelevance", 14:A - The emoji made for the coronation is a cartoon image of the 17th century St Edward's Crown that will be worn by the king on the day, 15:C - Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen will be appearing, along with Lionel Richie and Katy Perry., 16:B - The Sword of Mercy or Curtana, which has a blunted tip, is meant to symbolise the monarch’s mercy. The swords were first used at the coronation of King Charles I in 1626. He was beheaded by sword in January 1649, 17:B - Seven other commentators including Bernard Braden and Brian Johnston providing coverage along the processional route., 18:C - The archbishop of Canterbury apparently noted in his diary about the event “The maids of honour regretted it because they had taken so much time to get it just right, and I regretted it because from the altar the sight of the Queen and the maids of honour curtseying was a very lovely one.”, 19:A - George IV had taken an instant dislike to his wife when he first met her – three days before their wedding. They separated a year after their wedding, and Caroline was eventually exiled from Britain for six years. She did, according to some accounts, attempt to attend the event, but George IV had given instructions to guards she was not to be admitted. She died not long after the coronation., 20:C - A ceremony took place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre involving the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the Anglican archbishop there

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you enjoyed the quiz

• If you think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com but remember the quiz master’s word is final and you better have found a genuine error otherwise it will be “off with your head!” time.

• Quiz sources include: The coronation, history and ceremonial House of Commons library briefing by David Torrance, the BBC and the Coronation and lots of breathless coverage in more royal-minded newspaper websites.