Queen Elizabeth Coronation 2 June 2018
65th Anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II 2018
SIXTY-FIVE years ago this June, Queen Elizabeth Coronation 2018 as her expectant subjects awaited breathlessly for her to become their new sovereign, the 27-year-old Princess Elizabeth was in fact having a profoundly uncomfortable time as she traveled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.
And things didn't improve once she got up close to the crown jewels inside.
It might have been the perfect tonic for a post-war nation but for the young woman at its heart it has now emerged that the first televised coronation on June 2, 1953, watched by millions around the world, presented certain personal challenges.
Queen Elizabeth Coronation 2 June 2018
Filmed for a new documentary, watching archive footage of her younger self travelling in the Gold State Coach on an unseasonally cold early summer's day, the Queen confesses that the lack of suspension in the gilded vehicle was a very real issue.
"Horrible," she recalls. "It's only sprung on leather. Not very comfortable." Modern royal coaches, such as the Diamond Jubilee Coach, have electric windows, heating and hydraulic stabilisers. Not so the State Coach, which will be 258 years old this year.
Queen Elizabeth Coronation 2 June 2018
The interior may be lined with velvet and satin but such materials apparently do little to cushion a monarch's posterior when the braces of the coach in question are slung with nothing more than inflexible animal hide.
And the Queen is not the only passenger to have found it a bumpy experience. King William IV, a former naval officer who came to the throne in 1830, said it was like being on board a ship "tossing in a rough sea". Queen Victoria, more generously upholstered than our present Queen, complained of the "distressing oscillation" of the cabin and often refused to ride in it, while the current Queen's father, George VI, said that the journey to his coronation was "one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever had in my life".
And the coach wasn't the only problem. The coronation crown also presented particular problems.
"There are some disadvantages to the crowns, but otherwise, they're quite important things," says the Queen. While a clip to promote the documentary does not specify what those disadvantages are, others have previously told of their heavy weight.
The Queen has only once worn the St Edward's Crown, which was placed on her head at the moment of coronation, but as it weighs nearly 5lb it clearly made an unforgettable impression, in more ways than one. Destroyed after the English Civil War, this crown with an extraordinary history was remade for the coronation of Charles II in 1661. The original was thought to date back to the 11th-century royal saint, Edward the Confessor - the last Anglo-Saxon king of England - but it was melted down in 1649 by the Parliamentarians.
And it wasn't just the weight of the crown on the young Queen's shoulders three centuries later: the hopes of a nation were also bearing down upon her as the country looked to her to lead them into a new era in the post-war years. It was, she says: "The beginning of one's life really, as a sovereign."
Queen Elizabeth Coronation 2 June 2018
Viewing both private and official film footage, as well as the crown jewels themselves to mark the 65th anniversary of her coronation this summer, the documentary includes the Queen's personal and intimate insights into the remarkable working treasures that symbolise sovereignty and the monarch's link to the people.
Kept under the watchful eye of the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London, the coronation regalia are the most visited objects in Britain, and possibly the world. The cost of remaking the 11 principal pieces in the 17th century following the Civil War - including the coronation crown, state crown, orb, sceptre, swords, spurs, ring and bracelets - was estimated at some £13,000, or as much as three fully-equipped warships at that time. They are part of 140 items in total, which together contain no fewer than 23,000 precious stones.
And it turns out that the Queen has her favourites.
Queen Elizabeth Coronation 2 June 2018
In the documentary she is seen identifying an apparent favoured gem in the form of the Black Prince's Ruby, which adorns the Imperial State Crown, probably the best-known item among the crown jewels. Worn at the State Opening of Parliament, this crown is also placed upon the new monarch's head at the conclusion of the coronation service - the main elements of which have remained largely unchanged for a millennium. Performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the ceremony sees the monarch anointed with holy oil and invested with regalia, including both crowns.
"I've seen one coronation, and been the recipient in the other, which is pretty remarkable," muses the Queen as she recalls the day her 11-year-old self witnessed the coronation of her father in 1937. But she was clearly not amused by the antics of her own young children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who were aged just four and two on the day mummy became Queen. As she watches footage of the children playing with her robe at her coronation, the documentary's presenter Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, 57, an army veteran and friend of the Queen whom she appointed as one of her heralds in 1988, remarks: "Such fun for the children."
The Queen replies drily: "Not what they're meant to do."
Queen Elizabeth Coronation 2 June 2018
Facts about Queen
She celebrates her birthday twice a year
The Queen will celebrate turning 91 on April 21, 2017—and then do it again in June. It's actually been a tradition since 1784 that the British monarch's birthday celebrations are held on a day that is not their actual birthday. That's because London weather could literally put a damper on the military celebratory parade if not held in more climate friendly months.
Queen Elizabeth Coronation 2 June 2018
She was only a tween when she fell in love with her distant cousin
According to a 1957 article in Time, Prince Philip met Elizabeth, his third cousin, when they were children (they shared the same great-great-grandparents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who were first cousins themselves). From the time she was 13, she was besotted. She never fell for another man, though he had other relationships while she grew into adulthood. Their love stood the test of the time and in 2007 Queen Elizabeth became the first British monarch to celebrate her diamond wedding anniversary with 60 years of marriage to Prince Philip.
No comments:
Post a Comment