The crown and the sceptre are the supreme emblems of monarchy – the ancient regalia of royal power and majesty
The Crown & Sceptre in Streatham holds eleven hundred and sixty-two reviews and a 4.0 – a large sample landing right on the survey’s average – and it bears one of the grandest of all royal pub names, pairing the two supreme emblems of monarchy: the crown and the sceptre, the ancient regalia of royal power and majesty.
The royal regalia
“Crown & Sceptre” pairs the two most important and iconic items of the royal regalia – the ceremonial objects that symbolise and embody royal authority. The crown, worn upon the monarch’s head, is the supreme symbol of sovereignty and kingship – the circle of gold and jewels that marks the wearer as king or queen. The sceptre, the ornamented staff or rod held in the monarch’s hand, is the symbol of royal authority and power – the rod of rule, the emblem of the monarch’s governing power. Together, the crown and sceptre are the two supreme emblems of monarchy, the regalia that embody the whole majesty and authority of the Crown.
The crown
The crown is one of the most ancient and universal symbols of sovereignty in all of human culture – the circlet worn upon the head to mark the ruler, found in civilisations across the world and throughout history. In Britain, the crown has a particular majesty. The great crowns of the Crown Jewels – above all the magnificent Imperial State Crown and St Edward’s Crown, blazing with priceless jewels including some of the largest and most famous diamonds in the world – are among the most spectacular objects on earth, kept in the Tower of London and used in the coronation and great state occasions. “The Crown” has become, indeed, a synonym for the monarchy and the state itself – we speak of “the Crown” to mean the sovereign power. The crown is majesty itself, distilled into a circle of gold and jewels.
The sceptre
The sceptre, less famous than the crown but no less significant, is the rod of royal authority – the ornamented staff held by the monarch as a symbol of governing power. The great Sovereign’s Sceptre of the British Crown Jewels is a magnificent object, and it holds a genuine wonder: set into it is the Cullinan I, or “Star of Africa,” the largest clear-cut diamond in the world – an astonishing gem of over five hundred carats, cut from the largest diamond ever found. The sceptre, tipped with this colossal diamond, is a fitting emblem of royal power and majesty. Held in the monarch’s right hand at the coronation, it represents the sovereign’s temporal power and good governance – the rod of rule, the emblem of authority.
The majesty of the name
Together, “Crown & Sceptre” makes one of the grandest and most majestic of all pub names – pairing the two supreme emblems of monarchy in a single name of royal splendour. It belongs to the great family of royal and regal pub names this survey has traced throughout its London journeys – the Crown, the King’s Arms, the Sceptre, the Rose and Crown, and all the rest – which reflect the deep connection between the pub and the majesty of the Crown, and the long tradition of loyal, royal, regal pub names. “Crown & Sceptre” is among the grandest of them – the full royal regalia, the crown and the rod of rule, flown proudly over the door. Whatever its exactly-average score, it flies a name of genuine royal majesty and splendour.
The pub
A large, popular pub doing an exactly-average 4.0 across a large and real sample, grandly named “Crown & Sceptre” after the two supreme emblems of monarchy – the crown of sovereignty and the sceptre of royal power.
Verdict
Large, average by the numbers, but grandly and majestically named “Crown & Sceptre” – after the great regalia of royalty, the crown and the rod of rule, the supreme emblems of the monarchy.
Have a pint at the Crown & Sceptre, and raise it to the great regalia of the name – the crown of sovereignty and the sceptre of power, the supreme emblems of majesty, blazing with the greatest diamonds in the world.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
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