What is "crown imperial"

Crown \Crown\ (kroun), n. [OE. corone, coroun, crune, croun, OF. corone, corune, F. couronne, fr. L. corona crown, wreath; akin to Gr. korw`nh anything curved, crown; cf. also L. curvus curved, E. curve, curb, Gael. cruinn round, W. crwn. Cf. Cornice, Corona, Coroner, Coronet.]

1. A wreath or garland, or any ornamental fillet encircling the head, especially as a reward of victory or mark of honorable distinction; hence, anything given on account of, or obtained by, faithful or successful effort; a reward. ``An olive branch and laurel crown.''
   --Shak.

   They do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
   --1 Cor. ix. 25.

   Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
   --Rev. ii. 10.

2. A royal headdress or cap of sovereignty, worn by emperors, kings, princes, etc.

   Note: Nobles wear coronets; the triple crown of the pope is usually called a tiara. The crown of England is a circle of gold with crosses, fleurs-de-lis, and imperial arches, inclosing a crimson velvet cap, and ornamented with thousands of diamonds and precious stones.

3. The person entitled to wear a regal or imperial crown; the sovereign; -- with the definite article.

   Parliament may be dissolved by the demise of the crown.
   --Blackstone.

   Large arrears of pay were due to the civil and military servants of the crown.
   --Macaulay.

4. Imperial or regal power or dominion; sovereignty.

   There is a power behind the crown greater than the crown itself.
   --Junius.

5. Anything which imparts beauty, splendor, honor, dignity, or finish.

   The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
   --Prov. xvi. 31.

   A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband.
   --Prov. xvi. 4.

6. Highest state; acme; consummation; perfection.

   Mutual love, the crown of all our bliss.
   --Milton.

7. The topmost part of anything; the summit.

   The steepy crown of the bare mountains.
   --Dryden.

8. The topmost part of the head (see Illust. of Bird.); that part of the head from which the hair descends toward the sides and back; also, the head or brain.

   From toe to crown he'll fill our skin with pinches.
   --Shak.

   Twenty things which I set down: This done, I twenty more-had in my crown.
   --Bunyan.

9. The part of a hat above the brim.

10. (Anat.) The part of a tooth which projects above the gum; also, the top or grinding surface of a tooth.

11. (Arch.) The vertex or top of an arch; -- applied generally to about one third of the curve, but in a pointed arch to the apex only.

12. (Bot.) Same as Corona.

13. (Naut.)

    1. That part of an anchor where the arms are joined to the shank.

    2. The rounding, or rounded part, of the deck from a level line.

    3. pl. The bights formed by the several turns of a cable.
       --Totten.

14. The upper range of facets in a rose diamond.

15. The dome of a furnace.

16. (Geom.) The area inclosed between two concentric perimeters.

17. (Eccl.) A round spot shaved clean on the top of the head, as a mark of the clerical state; the tonsure.

18. A size of writing paper. See under Paper.

19. A coin stamped with the image of a crown; hence,a denomination of money; as, the English crown, a silver coin of the value of five shillings sterling, or a little more than $1.20; the Danish or Norwegian crown, a money of account, etc., worth nearly twenty-seven cents.

20. An ornaments or decoration representing a crown; as, the paper is stamped with a crown.

    Crown of aberration (Astron.), a spurious circle around the true circle of the sun.

    Crown antler (Zo["o]l.), the topmost branch or tine of an antler; also, an antler having a cuplike top, with tines springing from the rim.

    Crown bar, one of the bars which support the crown sheet of steam-boiler furnace.

    Crown glass. See under Glass.

    Crown imperial. (Bot.) See in the Vocabulary.

    Crown jewels, the jewels appertaining to the sovereign while wearing the crown. [Eng.] ``She pawned and set to sale the crown jewels.''
    --Milton.

    Crown land, land belonging to the crown, that is, to the sovereign.

    Crown law, the law which governs criminal prosecutions.

    Crown lawyer, one employed by the crown, as in criminal cases. [Eng.]

    Crown octavo. See under Paper.

    Crown office. See in the Vocabulary.

    Crown paper. See under Paper.

    Crown piece. See in the Vocabulary.

    Crown Prince, the heir apparent to a crown or throne.

    Crown saw. See in the Vocabulary.

    Crown scab (Far.), a cancerous sore formed round the corners of a horse's hoof.

    Crown sheet, the flat plate which forms the top of the furnace or fire box of an internally fired steam boiler.

    Crown shell. (Zo["o]l.) See Acorn-shell.

    Crown side. See Crown office.

    Crown tax (Eccl. Hist.), a golden crown, or its value, which was required annually from the Jews by the king of Syria, in the time of the Maccabees.
    --1 Macc. x. 20.

    Crown wheel. See in the Vocabulary.

    Crown work. See in the Vocabulary.

    Pleas of the crown (Engl. law), criminal actions.

n. (taxlink Fritillaria imperialis species noshow=1), a plant of the lily family.

n. Eurasian herb with a cluster of leaves and orange-red bell-shaped flowers at the top of the stem [syn: Fritillaria imperialis]

Crown Imperial can be:

• Chrysler Crown Imperial, a model of Chrysler Imperial automobile
• Crown Imperial, a model of Imperial automobile
• Crown Imperial (march), a musical composition by Sir William Walton
• Fritillaria imperialis (Kaiser's Crown), a plant

Crown Imperial is an orchestral march by the English composer William Walton. It was first performed at the coronation of King George VI in 1937 and was substantially revised in 1953. Walton originally composed the march for performance at the coronation of King Edward VIII, scheduled for 12 May 1937, but Edward abdicated in 1936. The coronation was held on the scheduled day, with Edward's brother being crowned instead.

Walton derived the march's title from the line "In beawtie berying the crone imperiall" from William Dunbar's poem "In Honour of the City of London".

Crown Imperial was also performed at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, along with another Coronation March written by Walton, Orb and Sceptre. Although there was contemporary criticism of the march as "unrepresentative of the composer" and "frankly a pastiche" of the "pomp and circumstance" style, Crown Imperial is now one of the most popular of Walton's orchestral compositions. It was performed again as a recessional piece to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011.

The march falls into an ABABC form: an exciting march in C major over Waltonesque long pedal points is followed by an Elgarian trio section in A-flat major. Then both march and trio reappear in C again and come to a conclusion in a small heroic coda. In keeping with the description of this work as "Elgarian", one past nickname for the march was " Pomp and Circumstance March No. 6".

It has been arranged for organ by Herbert Murrill and can be found as such in A Walton Organ Album, compiled by Robert Gower and published by Oxford University Press. Christopher Palmer prepared a version of Crown Imperial for solo organ, brass, timpani and percussion (with harp ad lib), specifically for the Laurence Olivier Memorial Service in October 1989.

The composer's autograph manuscript score is located at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, at Yale University (Frederick R. Koch Collection—MS FRKF 595a, short score, 11 pp; and MS FRKF 595b, full score, 45 pp).