The young Queen Victoria described 28 June 1838 as \u201cthe proudest in my life\u201d, when the people of Britain celebrated with great pomp and ceremony. Ellie Cawthorne describes the events of the coronation, including the bits that did not go to plan… <\/p>
On June 28, 1838, Victoria was woken at 4 a.m. by the sound of ceremonial guns. As the young queen tried, and failed, to get some more sleep before her coronation ceremony later that day, crowds began to throng the streets outside, bells pealed and bands struck up.<\/p>\n
Desperate to catch a glimpse of their new monarch, an estimated 400,000 visitors had flocked to London to witness the celebrations. After a succession of old kings, the public was captivated by their new 19-year-old queen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crowds exceeded what I have ever seen,\u201d Queen Victoria<\/a> recorded in her journal \u2013 \u201cmillions of my loyal subjects, assembled in every spot. Their good humour and excessive loyalty was beyond everything. I really cannot say how proud I felt to be the queen of such a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n The coronation itself was a five-hour spectacle in the stately surroundings of Westminster Abbey<\/a>. At \u00a379,000, the extravagant pageant cost more than double that of Victoria\u2019s predecessor, William IV<\/a>. Wearing sumptuous red and gold coronation robes, the queen was assisted by eight train-bearers dressed in white satin with silver wreaths and pink roses in their hair.<\/p>\nWhere was Queen Victoria\u2019s coronation<\/h2>\n