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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>The months before the event had been tinged with sadness. On 24 March, 10 weeks before the ceremony was due to take place, Queen Mary<\/a> \u2013 widow of George V<\/a>, mother and grandmother of successive sovereigns \u2013 succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 85. Described by Winston Churchill<\/a> as \u201cpractical in all things\u201d, she had earlier insisted that her granddaughter\u2019s coronation, 14 months in the planning, should go ahead even in the event of her death.<\/p>\n The date of the ceremony, declared by the Coronation Commission under the chairmanship of Prince Philip<\/a>, allowed an appropriate length of time to pass between George VI\u2019s death<\/a> and a nationwide celebration. The Duke of Norfolk, Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, was charged with organising the festivities while David Eccles, minister of works, handled the physical preparation and the decorations lining the route. Norman Hartnell, the man responsible for creating Elizabeth\u2019s wedding dress in 1947, was commissioned to make her gown. Bearing embroidered floral emblems representing Commonwealth coun-tries, the white satin dress also featured England\u2019s Tudor rose, the Scottish thistle, the Welsh leek and the Irish shamrock. On the gown\u2019s left side, where the Queen\u2019s hand would rest for much of the day, sat a four-leaf clover stitched in gold and silver thread.<\/p>\n The weeks leading up to the event were filled with endless rehearsals. Anxious thoughts for the Queen\u2019s welfare flowed in from all quarters, notably from Winston Churchill. \u201cI fear they may ask her to do too much,\u201d he said. The Queen\u2019s response was always the same: \u201cDid my father do it? Then I will, too.\u201d When ministers suggested she take a brief rest halfway through the ceremony, she replied: \u201cI\u2019ll be alright. I\u2019m as strong as a horse.\u201d<\/p>\n Six young noblewomen were invited to serve as the Queen\u2019s maids of honour, among them 20-year-old Anne Coke (now Lady Glenconner). Reminiscing about the occasion during an interview for BBC Radio 4, she said that \u201cI was in America selling pottery, getting over a sad love affair, when I got a telegram saying: \u2018Come on, come back, you\u2019ve been chosen.\u2019 My mother was also asked to be a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, so I think we were the only mother and daughter in the procession.\u201d With the Duchess of Norfolk standing in for the Queen at several of the rehearsals, the girls practised every aspect of the service. As they later recalled: \u201cIt seemed we were constantly trooping off to the Abbey. The Duke of Norfolk was a choreographer, apart from everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n At Buckingham Palace, the ivory-and-gold ballroom was transformed into a replica of Westminster Abbey\u2019s \u201ctheatre\u201d area, where the primary action would take place. Sheets were pinned to the Queen\u2019s shoulders, mimicking her six-metre-long train, and a formation of chairs stood in for the carriage. In order to become accustomed to the Imperial State Crown\u2019s weight and feel, Elizabeth donned it while going about her daily business. Worn by the Queen during her return to Buckingham Palace<\/a> after the coronation (having been crowned with St Edward\u2019s Crown), it is adorned with 2,901 precious stones including the Cullinan II diamond, St Edward\u2019s Sapphire, the Stuart Sapphire, the Black Prince\u2019s Ruby and four pearls reputed to have been set in earrings worn by Elizabeth I<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cShe used to wear [the crown] when she was writing letters,\u201d Lady Anne recalled. Discussing the 1kg headpiece in 2018, the Queen noted: \u201cYou can\u2019t look down to read the speech, you have to take the speech up. Because if you did, your neck would break and it would fall off. So there are some disadvantages to crowns, but otherwise they are quite important things.\u201d When asked if she had ever tried it on, Lady Anne responded: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t dare touch it\u2026 it\u2019s completely sacred.\u201d She did reveal, however, that Prince Charles, then four years old, \u201cgot his paws on it\u201d post-coronation. The Queen \u201cput it on the table and Prince Charles made a beeline for it\u201d, she said. \u201cAnd we thought he was going to drop it\u2026 Oh my goodness, that would be a bad omen. But luckily I think my mother, as a lady-in-waiting, seized it from him and took it away.\u201d<\/p>\n In spite of pouring rain and driving wind, half a million spectators eager to secure the best vantage point spent the night before the coronation camped along the processional route. Three million more swarmed into London the next morning. Across the country, others gathered around television sets purchased specially for the occasion. \u201cI remember people saying: \u2018We\u2019ve got a television set,\u2019\u201d recalled cultural historian Robert Hewison, who celebrated his tenth birthday on coronation day. \u201cThe picture wasn\u2019t as impressive as 35mm newsreel in the cinema \u2013 it was more grey and brown than black and white \u2013 but you were seeing something live.\u201d<\/p>\n Homes, pubs and community centres were packed with awestruck viewers, their eyes fixed on images emitted from modest screens. Adamant it wouldn\u2019t be \u201cright or proper\u201d to televise the ceremony, Prime Minister Winston Churchill urged the Queen to spare herself the strain of the cameras\u2019 heat and glare. Unconcerned by his protestations, and feeling that the nation had a right to participate, she went against his advice. Only the most sacred parts of the service \u2013 the anointing and communion \u2013 were hidden from the cameras; as author William Shawcross noted, the Queen \u201cwanted her moments with God to remain unseen by the world\u201d. It was the first event of its size to be broadcast on international television, and more than 20 million Britons tuned in to watch.<\/p>\n At 6am, Westminster Abbey<\/a> \u2013 site of every coronation since 1066 \u2013 opened its doors to some 8,000 guests. Two hours later, the procession of foreign royalty, heads of state and dignitaries began, and at 10.29am the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh departed Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach. Commissioned in 1760, this enclosed carriage, drawn by eight horses, has been used for every coronation since that of George IV.<\/p>\n Asked in 2018 about that ride, the Queen described it as \u201chorrible\u201d. Just as the ceremony was ancient, so, too, was the carriage\u2019s suspension system. \u201cIt\u2019s only sprung on leather,\u201d she said. \u201cNot very comfortable.\u201d Her predecessors agreed. William IV, a former naval officer, compared being driven in it to being on board a ship \u201ctossing in rough seas\u201d; Queen Victoria<\/a> complained of the cabin\u2019s \u201cdistressing oscillation\u201d; and George VI described his journey to the abbey as \u201cone of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever had in my life\u201d. Yet, despite the incessant drizzle, a non-stop roar of delight serenaded the Queen as she rode by.<\/p>\n Personnel from all three branches of the military, selected from countries spanning the Commonwealth, lined the route. More than 200 microphones dotted the path, and 2,000 journalists and 500 photographers from 92 nations covered the day, including Jacqueline Bouvier \u2013 later wife of US President John F Kennedy \u2013 employed at the time by the Washington Times-Herald<\/em>.<\/p>\n Recollecting their \u201cgreat nerves, excitement\u201d and the \u201cunbelievable crowds\u201d, the Queen\u2019s maids described the scene as \u201cincredible\u201d. They were to head a procession of 250 people in a spectacle unlike any other, with millions observing their every move. \u201cAs the Queen arrived, it was apparent that for her this was a solemn and religious occasion,\u201d recalled Elizabeth\u2019s cousin, Margaret Rhodes. \u201cBut there were moments to make us smile, such as when one aristocrat knelt to pay homage and mothballs rolled from his robes.\u201d<\/p>\n Entering the Abbey\u2019s annexe, the Queen encountered a problem: the carpet had been laid with its pile running the wrong way, which meant that her robes didn\u2019t glide smoothly over it, and the metal fringe on her golden mantel caught and clawed her back as she tried to move forward. She had to ask the archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, to help get her going.<\/p>\n Carrying St Edward\u2019s Crown, made for Charles II<\/a> in 1661, the Lord High Steward of England preceded Elizabeth; the archbishop of Canterbury then announced her, and the three-hour service commenced.<\/p>\n Once the oath had been administered and communion conducted, the maids of honour removed Elizabeth\u2019s scarlet robe, gloves and jewels, and helped her don a simple white linen dress for her consecration. As she took her seat in St Edward\u2019s Chair, made in 1300 for Edward I, the choir sang \u2018Zadok the Priest\u2019, composed by Handel for the coronation of George II<\/a>. Under a silk canopy held in place by four Knights of the Garter, the archbishop anointed Elizabeth with oil made from the same base as that used for her father\u2019s coronation 16 years earlier. The Queen was then invested with the Armills, Stole Royal, Robe Royal and Sovereign\u2019s Orb, followed by the Queen\u2019s Ring, the Sceptre with the Cross and the Sceptre with the Dove.<\/p>\n In order to become accustomed to its 1kg weight, Elizabeth donned the Imperial State Crown while going about her daily business <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
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