Enthrone is another of Boadicea the Victorious’ royal-themed perfumes, the word referring to the installation of a monarch or bishop at the commencement of their reign or term of office. We saw the full symbolic minutiae of enthronement when King Charles III took office in 2022. Such ceremonies are awash in the potent symbols of kingdom: the Crown Jewels, words, prayers and the gilded processes of monarchy. Charles was also anointed with chrism, a holy blend of olive oil from the Mount of Olives, roses, sesame, jasmine, spices, benzoin, orange blossom and amber. The exact recipe is often kept secret. The oil was consecrated in Jerusalem and used during the new king’s enthronement. 

"Not all the water in the rough rude sea / Can wash the balm off from an anointed king," Shakespeare writes in Richard II, Act III, Scene II.

There is a wonderful whoosh of glacial metallic notes at the top of Enthrone, swirled seductively in dry ecclesiastical incense, cardamom and the crisp scatter of pink pepper. The incense fusion technology has created a silken honeyed smoke, removing the opaque dry knots that can sometimes derail incense compositions. Leather and violet leaf marry together beautifully, the soft-flex suggestion of expensive skin radiating a bitter-green talcum vibe.

Unusually, oud is a heart note in Enthrone, and this works beautifully to draw out the fumed softness of the ecclesiastical incense in the top. A solar flare of neroli illuminates the perfume like a lantern glowing in a mysterious cottage, drawing ghosts to the light. 

Cypriol or nagarmotha, as it is sometimes called, stains the base with inky vapours connecting the fine threads of oud, leather and incense. It has a charred, residue vibe, providing an evocative backdrop that hints at the anointing of kings and queens throughout millennia of majesty.