The speech broadcast by The Queen to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth on the evening of her Coronation Day, 2 June 1953
When I spoke to you last, at Christmas, I asked you all, whatever your religion, to pray for me on the day of my Coronation - to pray that God would give me wisdom and strength to carry out the promises that I should then be making.
Throughout this memorable day I have been uplifted and sustained by the knowledge that your thoughts and prayers were with me. I have been aware all the time that my peoples, spread far and wide throughout every continent and ocean in the world, were united to support me in the task to which I have now been dedicated with such solemnity.
Many thousands of you came to London from all parts of the Commonwealth and Empire to join in the ceremony, but I have been conscious too of the millions of others who have shared in it by means of wireless or television in their homes. All of you, near or far, have been united in one purpose. It is hard for me to find words in which to tell you of the strength which this knowledge has given me.
The ceremonies you have seen today are ancient, and some of their origins are veiled in the mists of the past. But their spirit and their meaning shine through the ages never, perhaps, more brightly than now. I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.
In this resolve I have my husband to support me. He shares all my ideals and all my affection for you. Then, although my experience is so short and my task so new, I have in my parents and grandparents an example which I can follow with certainty and with confidence.
There is also this. I have behind me not only the splendid traditions and the annals of more than a thousand years but the living strength and majesty of the Commonwealth and Empire; of societies old and new; of lands and races different in history and origins but all, by God’s Will, united in spirit and in aim.
Therefore I am sure that this, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendour that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future, and for the years I may, by God’s Grace and Mercy, be given to reign and serve you as your Queen.
I have been speaking of the vast regions and varied peoples to whom I owe my duty but there has also sprung from our island home a theme of social and political thought which constitutes our message to the world and through the changing generations has found acceptance both within and far beyond my Realms.
Parliamentary institutions, with their free speech and respect for the rights of minorities, and the inspiration of a broad tolerance in thought and expression - all this we conceive to be a precious part of our way of life and outlook.
During recent centuries, this message has been sustained and invigorated by the immense contribution, in language, literature, and action, of the nations of our Commonwealth overseas. It gives expression, as I pray it always will, to living principles, as sacred to the Crown and Monarchy as to its many Parliaments and Peoples. I ask you now to cherish them - and practise them too; then we can go forward together in peace, seeking justice and freedom for all men.
As this day draws to its close, I know that my abiding memory of it will be, not only the solemnity and beauty of the ceremony, but the inspiration of your loyalty and affection. I thank you all from a full heart. God bless you all.
Coronation 1953: Queen Elizabeth II in Coronation Robes by Sir Herbert James Gunn (1954)
The state portrait of The Queen (b. 1926) was commissioned to commemorate Her Majesty’s Coronation, which took place on 2 June 1953. Wearing her coronation dress and the purple Robe of Estate, The Queen stands in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. Her robe falls over the throne specially made for the occasion and the Imperial State Crown and the sceptre are placed on the table beside her. The Queen wears the Diamond Diadem made for George IV, Queen Victoria’s collet diamond necklace and diamond drop earrings, and the Collar and Badge of the Order of the Garter.
Her Majesty’s dress, made of white satin, was designed by Sir Norman Hartnell, The Queen’s principal dressmaker. The embroidery design incorporates national and Commonwealth emblems executed in seed pearls, crystals, coloured silks and gold and silver thread. The decoration on the robe comprises a border of wheat ears and olive branches, symbolising peace and plenty. It was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework, who worked for a total of 3,500 hours between March and May 1953.
(Source: royalcollection.org.uk)
Coronation 1953: Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton, 2 June 1953
This portrait echoes the centuries-old tradition of depicting rulers in profile on coins and medals. Dramatic lighting highlights the Queen’s youthful features. The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, voiced the feelings of many when he described her as a metaphorical guardian angel: ‘The gleaming figure whom Providence has brought to us in times when the present is hard and the future veiled.’
(Source: vam.ac.uk)
Coronation 1953: Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton, 2 June 1953
Numerous official photographs were taken in Buckingham Palace after the Coronation and among the most memorable are those taken by Cecil Beaton. For his defining image he posed The Queen in front of a backdrop depicting Henry VII’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
(Source: vam.ac.uk)
Coronation 1953: Queen Elizabeth leaves Westminster Abbey
For the broadcast, rules stated that no television camera could come within 30 feet of a member of the Royal Family, with the Duke of Norfolk saying there would be no close-up of The Queen.
Broadcaster Peter Dimmock avoided such restrictions, and effectively broke the rules, by filming The Queen with a telephoto lens as she processed from the abbey.
Coronation 1953: Robe of Estate and Norman Hartnell gown
The Queen’s Coronation dress was made by Mr Norman Hartnell. The dress was made of white satin embroidered with the emblems of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. It had short sleeves with a full, flaring skirt, slightly trained, while the neckline of the fitted bodice was cut square over the shoulders, before curving into a heart-shaped centre. The dress’s exquisite embroidery in gold and silver thread and pastel-coloured silks was encrusted with seed pearls and crystals to create a lattice-work effect.
The decoration on the robe comprises a border of wheat ears and olive branches, symbolising peace and plenty. It was embroidered by the Royal School of Needlework, who worked for a total of 3,500 hours between March and May 1953.
Coronation 1953: Norman Hartnell gown (detail)
The silk used to make the gown was obtained from the silk farms at Lullingstone Castle and the design incorporated emblems of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Mr Hartnell also added an additional four leaf clover, for luck, on the left side of the dress.
The ninth and final version of the dress featured the following emblems:
- a Tudor rose, embroidered in very pale pink silk, with pearls, gold and silver bullion, and rose diamanté
- the Welsh leek, embroidered in white silk with leaves of very pale green silk
- the Scottish thistle, with pale mauve silk and amethysts and a calyx embroidered in reseda green silk, silver thread, and diamanté dewdrops
- the Irish shamrock, like the thistle, was embroidered in soft green silk, silver thread, bullion, and diamanté
- the Canadian maple leaf, made with green silk embroideries with a crystal vein and gold border
- the silver fern of New Zealand, embroidered in straight stitches using soft green silk and veined in silver and crystal
- the Australian wattle flower, made with a coarse mimosa yellow wool and green and gold foliage
- the South African protea, embroidered in shaded pink silk, with green silk leaves and silver outlined petals
- the lotus flower of India, made with seed pearls and diamanté and mother of pearl embroidered petals
- the Lotus flower of Ceylon, made with opals, mother of pearl, diamante, and soft green silk
- and the three emblems of Pakistan: wheat, in oat-shaped diamanté and fronds of golden crystal, cotton, made in silver with leaves of green silk, and jute, embroidered in green silk and golden thread
(Source: Wikipedia)
Coronation 1953: Norman Hartnell’s final sketch for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation gown
The Queen’s Coronation dress was made by Mr Norman Hartnell. The dress was made of white satin embroidered with the emblems of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. It had short sleeves with a full, flaring skirt, slightly trained, while the neckline of the fitted bodice was cut square over the shoulders, before curving into a heart-shaped centre. The dress’s exquisite embroidery in gold and silver thread and pastel-coloured silks was encrusted with seed pearls and crystals to create a lattice-work effect.
(Source: vogue.co.uk)
Coronation 1952: Her Majesty’s Maids of Honour
The Queen selected six Maids of Honour to carry her train. They were:
- Lady Moyra Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn
- Lady Anne Coke, daughter of Thomas Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester
- Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart, daughter of Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry
- Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton, daughter of George Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of Haddington
- Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 28th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby
- Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough
(Source: normanhartnell.com)
Coronation 1953: Westminster Abbey annexe and Queen’s Beasts
The photograph shows the annexe that was constructed at the west end of Westminster Abbey for the Coronation. It provided additional space for the processions to form and disperse unseen by the crowds.
Outside are the “Queen’s Beasts”, 10 heraldic statues that depict the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II.
(Source: flickr.com)
Coronation 1953: The Queen arrives at Westminster Abbey
Arriving at Westminster Abbey shortly before 11am, The Queen’s Coronation service began at 11.15am and lasted almost three hours, concluding at 2.00pm.
For the last 900 years, coronations have taken place at Westminster Abbey and the service used for Elizabeth II descended directly from that of King Edgar at Bath in 973.
Coronation 1953: Her Majesty en route to Westminster Abbey
Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June 1953 in Westminster Abbey. Her Majesty was the thirty-ninth Sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey and the sixth Queen to be crowned in her own right.
On the morning of the coronation, three million people lined the streets between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey to witness the process of the Gold State Coach. Millions more crowded around newly bought television sets to watch the investiture of Britain’s youngest sovereign since Queen Victoria.
(Source: jcainconversation.files.wordpress.com)
