Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her coronation, Buckingham Palace, 1953. The Print Collector/Getty Pictures
On the age of 25, Queen Elizabeth II — then referred to as Princess Elizabeth — pledged to stay queen for the remainder of her life at her coronation at Westminster Abbey in London on June 2, 1953. Maintain scrolling for 10 little-known details in regards to the ceremony.
1. Elizabeth was the sixth queen to have been topped in Westminster Abbey. The primary was Queen Mary I, whose coronation was in 1553.
2. Elizabeth’s coronation date was chosen on the recommendation of meteorologists as a result of, in keeping with statistical information, it was most certainly to have good climate. It rained.
3. Although Winston Churchill and different politicians had been in opposition to it, Elizabeth insisted that the ceremony be broadcast reside on TV. It was an historic first for the nation, and most of the 27 million folks within the U.Okay. who watched the ceremony (out of a complete inhabitants of 36 million) purchased their first TV set for the momentous event.
4. The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, had been pushed from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey within the Gold State Coach, pulled by eight grey horses: Cunningham, Tovey, Noah, Tedder, Eisenhower, Snow White, Tipperary and McCreery.
5. The queen’s coronation costume, created by British designer Norman Hartnell, was embellished with the floral emblems of the international locations of the Commonwealth (an thought Meghan Markle later used at her Might 2018 marriage ceremony to Prince Harry). The robe was so top-secret that it was stored in a guarded room whereas it was being sewn.
6. Elizabeth held “costume rehearsals” at Buckingham Palace together with her six maids of honor utilizing sheets tied collectively to signify her coronation robes.
7. The St Edwards Crown, made in 1661 and positioned on the queen’s head throughout the service, weighs a hefty 4 kilos, 12 ounces and is product of stable gold. Elizabeth herself selected the coronet, which was the identical one utilized in her father King George VI’s coronation 16 years earlier.
8. 4-year-old King Charles III was the primary royal inheritor in historical past to attend his mom’s coronation. Princess Anne, then 3, was thought of too younger and needed to watch the procession at Buckingham Palace. She later mentioned that she felt pissed off at being disregarded.
9. Philip was not topped alongside his bride as wives of kings historically are, however he was the primary individual to pay homage to the queen after the Archbishop of Canterbury, who carried out the service.
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10. Elizabeth made only one mistake throughout the three-hour ceremony — she forgot to curtsy to her coronation maids on the northern pillar of Westminster Abbey. Solely the Archbishop of Canterbury caught the fake pas.
