A Gold Staff Officer’s Baton Coronation of George V, 1911
Length: 77cm (30.2in)
Polychromed wood painted with the state imperial crown over the GV cypher and coronation regalia, as carried by the former naval and military officers who acted marshals, or Gold Staff Officers, in Westminster Abbey on Coronation Day.
Gold Staff Officers were selected by the Duke of Norfolk, the hereditary Earl Marshal of England, to oversee seating of large numbers of guests at British coronations. Since at least the coronation of George III in 1761, the Earl Marshal employed Gold Staff Officers to assist, each being equipped with a ceremonial baton.