Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II was crown on this day in 1953 in a lavish Coronation at Westminster Abbey in London. Take a look at scenes from the Coronation below-

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

The Queen traveled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach which was built in 1762 and has been used for the coronation of every monarch since King George IV.

Embed from Getty Images

The Queen then processed into the Abbey, her Robe carried by six young Aristocratic Maid’s of Honour.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

For the anointing the Queen sat in King Edward’s Chair.  Four Knights of the Garter held a canopy over her.  The Dean of Westminster took the Ampulla which held the Holy Oil and poured some into the Spoon.  The Archbishop of Canterbury then anointed the Queen in the form of a cross on the palms of both hands, the breast, and the crown of the head.  The canopy was removed and the Queen was dressed in the Colobium Sindonis and the Supertunica.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

The various regalia was taken from the Altar by members of the clergy and given to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who then handed them to the Queen.

Embed from Getty Images

The congregation stood up when the Archbishop of Canterbury took St. Edward’s Crown from and then proceeded to the Queen where he reverently put the crown on the her head.  The congregation repeatedly shouted, “God Save The Queen.”  The Princes and Princesses, the Peers and Peeresses put on their coronets and caps, and the Kings of Arms their crown. Trumpets sounded, and the great guns at the Tower of London were fired.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

The Royal family, including the family of the Duke of Edinburgh, observed the elaborate ceremony from the Royal Box.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

After the ceremony, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh rode back to Buckingham Palace in the Golden State Coach, through the crowds of an estimated three million.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

The Queen with her Maids of Honour and Mistress of the Robes: Lady Moyra Hamilton (daughter of the Marquess of Hamilton, later 4th Duke of Abercorn), Lady Anne Coke (daughter  of the 5th Earl of Leicester), Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart (daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry), Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton (daughter of the 12th Earl of Haddington), Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby (daughter of the 3rd Earl of Ancaster), Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill (daughter of 10th Duke of Marlborough), and Mary, Duchess of Devonshire (wearing the Devonshire Palmette Tiara)

Embed from Getty Images

The British Royal Family. From L-R: Princess Alexandra of Kent, Prince Michael of Kent, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent (wearing the Kent Festoon Tiara and her Girandole Earrings), Princess Margaret (wearing the Halo Scroll Tiara), Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (wearing her Crown without the arches), the Duke of Kent, Princess Mary, Countess of Harewood (wearing her Diamond tiara), Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (wearing her Honeysuckle Tiara), Prince William of Gloucester, and Prince Richard of Gloucester.

Embed from Getty Images

A Royal group picture, which included Princess Margarita of Hohenlohe-LangenburgPrincess Theodora, Margravine of BadenPrincess Sophie, Princess George of HanoverPrincess Andrew of Greece, Lord and Lady Mountbatten, Lady Pamela Mountbatten (wearing the Hicks Tiara), Crown Princess Martha of Norway (wearing the Norwegian Emerald Parure), Lady Patricia Ramsay (wearing her Personal tiara), Princess Marie Louise (wearing her Cartier India Tiara), Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of Luxembourg, and Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

The Royal group also made an appearance on the famous balcony of Buckingham Palace, where they also saw the RAF flypast.

Screen Shot 2017-06-01 at 8.17.09 PM.png

Leave a Reply