As in previous years, we compiled a quiz concerning events in law and religion during the previous 12 months or so, many of which have featured in our posts. The answers and explanations are below:

1. Until 2023 who had the honour of finding a glove for the right hand of a new Monarch on the day they are crowned? And why has this changed?

Whoever owns the Manor of Worksop, Nottinghamshire. In 2023, the Court of Claims, which determined claims to perform a historic or ceremonial role at the Coronation for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953, was replaced by the Coronation Claims Office.

2. Who was the great-great-great-great-great-great grandson of King Henry VI who founded Eton College and died in 1471. 

Not Henry Charles Albert David, a.k.a. Prince Harry Duke of Sussex, as he claimed in his book Spare.  Henry VI’s direct lineage ended after his son, Edward of Westminster, died as a childless teenager at the Battle of Tewkesbury.

3. Who used his speech to rant against “f***ing careerists who f*** up the lives of others”, and “those who climb to show their a**”?

Surprisingly it was Pope Francis: “Pope curses ‘delinquent’ priests who withhold absolution”, Catholic Herald, Simon Caldwell, January 17, 2023 at 4:53 pm.

4. Where might you find: leaves, a sundial, a shrine, a door, an angel, a cloister, a clock, a ceiling, a bible and a masterpiece from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution?

These were among the top 50 Cathedral Treasures identified in the 2022 winter campaign of the Association of English Cathedrals (AEC) showcasing the treasures and glories of Britain’s cathedrals. These includedL

• leaves: Leaves of Southwell (1290s)
• sundial: Canterbury, Portable sundial (10th century)
• a shrine: St David’s, Creirfa Dewi Sant (1275) Shrine of St David
• a door: Ely, Prior’s door (c.1135).
• an angel: Lichfield Angel (c.800)
• a cloister: Gloucester. Cloisters, fan vaulting and monks’ games (Norman, later Perpendicular with fan vaulting c.1350s–90s).
• a clock: Wells, Astronomical clock (c.1390),
• a ceiling: Peterborough, Nave ceiling (c.1240–1250).
• a bible: St Asaph, Cofeb y Cyfieithwyr (1892) First Welsh-language Bible and Translators’ Memorial (1892).
• a masterpiece from the dawn of the Industrial Revolution: Derby, Bakewell screen (commissioned 1722, installed by 1725)

5. What was different about 6 February 2023?

For the first time in 70 years, today, 6 February, is no longer Accession Day. Accession day for King Charles III was 8 September 2023 and was observed in the United Kingdom by the flying of specific flags and various official functions. In London, a Royal Salute is fired by the guns of the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park and by the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London.[12] Salutes are also fired at Woolwich, Colchester, Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Cardiff, Belfast, York, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Dover Castle.

6. Which barrister was featured on a large banner displayed at a football match?

Lord Pannick: Douglas Lloyd Tweeted: “Not many barristers get their name on a banner. Lord Pannick KC unlocking new levels of success at the Bar! ”

7. Which is the only church in the world to have a ring of ten bells in a harmonic minor key?

Worcester Cathedral is the only church in the world to have a ring of ten bells in a harmonic minor key. For ringing geeks, here’s the entry in Dove’s Guide.

8. Which bird went missing on 3 April 2023?

On 3 Apr 2023, instead of the bright blue silhouette of a bird, Twitter users were welcomed by the official logo of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, a Shiba Inu. Despite the possibility of a technical fix, the bird was reinstated on 6 April 2023 – but not for long…

9. What have the Archbishop of Los Angeles and the Archbishop of Edinburgh got in common?

Neither exists. A spokesperson for the Prince Harry and Megan Markle is reported to have said: “I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, 3 March by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor.” The Rt Rev John Taylor is the Bishop of Los Angeles, not his Roman Catholic counterpart, which if it has been the case would have debarred Princess Lilibet Diana from the line of succession.

One of the 13 individuals/organizations named by Cabinet Office as playing an important historic ceremonial roles in the Coronation was The Walker Trust (Anglican Archbishop of Edinburgh). The Burgon Society explained: “The Heritable Usher of the White Rod is an office of the Crown, held by the Bishop of Edinburgh as chair of the Walker Trustees”. There is no Anglican Archbishop of Edinburgh.

10. Which eminence grise links Milford Haven, Newark, Knightsbridge, and Tyrone?

Strictly, this was éminences grises. Along with Icon, Shadow, Echo, and Meg, these eight ‘Windsor Greys’ pulled the Gold State Coach in the Coronation procession.