On the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s II crowning, we have collected here some of the many curiosities about the ceremony and a gallery with the historic photos of the memorable day.
- Elizabeth II, who rose to the throne after the death of his father, King George VI, was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon and Pakistan, assuming the role of Head of Commonwealth and the government of the Church of England.
- Elizabeth was not destined to become queen. To change his destiny was the decision of his uncle, King Edward VIII, who renounced the crown to marry the multiple divorced Wallis Simpson, abdicating in favor of his brother, Giorgio VI, on December 11, 1936.
- The coronation of Elizabeth II was held at the Westminster Abbey and was the first coronation to be resumed on television. The guests of the ceremony walked in procession in front of nearly three million viewers, some of whom had camped overnight in order not to miss the event. More than 200 microphones were placed along the route and within the abbey, 750 journalists broadcast in 39 different languages. More than 20 million people in the world followed the TV event.
- Queen Elizabeth wore the crown of Saint Edward, weighing 2155 grams with its 444 precious stones including 277 pearls, 18 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies. This was brought to the jeweler to be restricted and cleaned and for three full months the sentinels made the guard at the lab waiting for the work to finish. To get used to wearing the heavy imperial crown, Elisabeth kept it on her head for days.
- To prepare Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, 16 months and 3 general rehearsals were necessary.
- During the ceremony the Queen had to change several mantles, some very heavy, but the dress remained the same, lightweight in satin so that it did not hinder her in the movements.
- Only bridesmaids and not pageboys were chosen to hold the heavy mantle.
- There were about 8,000 guests to wait for the future queen inside the Westminster Abbey that opened its doors at 6 am.
- The golden carriage drawn by 6 horses was built for King George III in 1762. It was used by Queen Elizabeth only during her Coronation, for the Silver Jubilee and the Golden Jubilee in 2002.
- For the celebration of the coronation in London, the queen organized a luncheon for which the coronation chicken recipe was created, and a fireworks show was set up at the Victoria Embankment. Parties were held along the street in every part of the UK.
