Queen Elizabeth II 25th Anniversary Coronation First Day Cover, Grenada postmarked on June 1978.
Grenada
Grenada, southernmost of the Windward Islands, is an island of white coral and black volcanic sands, eroded volcanoes, tropical forest, giant tree ferns, liana vines, orchids and monkeys The smell of cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, mayberry and nutmeg hang heavy on the air; Grenada produces one-third of the world's supply of spices, nutmeg having replaced sugar as the major export.
The first European sighting of the island was in 1498, by Columbus, but attempts at settlement did not take place until 1609, when a few British were sent packing by the native Caribs. A determined struggle for the island had to wait until 1650, when French forces invaded Grenada, killing many of the Caribs, and driving the remainder to jump to their deaths from the cliffs of Le Morne des Sauteurs.
In 1763 Grenada was ceded to the British, who imported many slaves to build a sugarcane economy for them. In 1795 there was a full-scale slave revolt in which the Lieutenant Governor and 47 slave owners were killed. Appalling conditions (one out of three slaves died within three years of arrival) ensured continued conflict until emancipation in the 19th century, when settlers turned to India as an alternative source of cheap labour. Tourism has of late come to the fore as an economic mainstay.
This issue of Grenada consists of three designs:
35c — The Moment of Crowning. The Archbishop of Canterbury is shown in the act of placing the crown on Elizabeth's head, an act which since 973 has been an ecclesiastical privilege. Formerly it was Teutonic custom for the king to be crowned with a golden helmet, and not necessarily by the church.
$2 — The Queen and the Regalia. The new queen is shown wearing Coronation robes, and the Imperial State Crown. She is holding the Sceptre, symbolic weapon of 'Kingly Power and Justice', and the Orb, representing Christian domination of the world.
$2.50 — St. Edward's Crown. St. Edward's Crown, to be seen in the Tower of London, was made for Charles II in imitation of the earlier Crown of England. The former crown had been destroyed by Parliament, who regarded it as a hated emblem of the 'Divine Right of Kings' claimed by Charles I.
