What was the Queen’s coronation like?

On 2 June 1953, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey, ushering in a new era for the British Crown.

Since taking the throne at the age of 25, the Queen has since become the longest-lived and longest-reigning monarch in British history.

Coronations have been held at Westminster Abbey since 1066, but the coronation of 1953 broke new ground, as it was the first ever to be televised.

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Planning

The Coronation Commission, chaired by Prince Philip, opted for a full-blown coronation ceremony “despite the country being in the grip of post-war austerity”, The Guardian says.

However, the commission initially ruled that the lavish ceremony would not be televised. Following internal and public pressure, the organisers relented and allowed cameras in to the ceremony, on condition that there were “no close-ups” of the Queen, who disliked being filmed, Radio Times says.

What happened on the day?

TV cameras notwithstanding, the coronation was highly traditional.

The Daily Telegraph writes that the Queen “saw little need to change the pattern of the ceremonies held by her father and grandfather”, noting that coronations have “remained remarkably consistent since King Edgar was crowned in Bath in 973”.

In fact, “the abbey stage for the Queen’s coronation was modelled on that used in Queen Elizabeth I’s [and] officials consulted the abbey’s Liber Regalis with its 14th-century order of service,” the newspaper adds.

At 11.15am, the Queen processed through the west door of the abbey with a 250-strong procession while verses from Psalm 122 were sung.

Made of white satin and embroidered with the emblems of the UK and Commonwealth in gold and silver thread, the Queen’s Norman Hartnell-designed dress is “regarded as one of the most important examples of twentieth-century design”, according to the Royal Collection.

The crown placed on the new queen’s head was made for George VI’s coronation in 1937 and is set with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, hundreds of pearls and a gemstone known as the Black Prince’s Ruby - believed to have been worn by Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

Who was at the coronation?

The procession entering the church included church leaders, Commonwealth heads, military leaders and the Yeomen of the Guard. Also in attendance was Prime Minister Winston Churchill, along with members of the Queen’s family, foreign royalty, peers and MPs from around the Commonwealth. In all, around 8,000 people were invited to the ceremony.

How did journalists describe it?

“Despite the rain, defying the rain, singing in the rain, the People surged into London all day yesterday and equably sat or lay down in its streets,” wrote reporter R.M. MacColl for the Daily Express.

The Guardian’s Harry Boardman wondered whether the ceremony could ever be matched in its “splendour, opulent colour, or historic symbolism”.

The Christan Science Monitor said the ceremony, for all its formality, was also memorable for “one touch of humanity that made all its witnesses kin as the Duke of Edinburgh kissed the cheek of his wife the Queen when pledging fealty to Her Majesty after the enthroning”.

How will Charles’ compare?

Calls have already been made to bring down the cost and to secularise the ceremony when Prince Charles ascends to the throne.

In 2006, it was revealed that there will be a multifaith presence at Prince Charles’s coronation, but University College London’s Constitution Unit has gone further, claiming the future king should have a shorter coronation with an “oath to the people” rather than the traditional promises to uphold Christianity, the Daily Express writes.