Her Majesty The Queen will mark the 67th anniversary of her Coronation with prayers at Windsor Castle as she continues to self-isolate at the Berkshire residence. The Queen’s Coronation was held on 2nd June 1953 at Westminster Abbey and every year gun salutes across the nation are heard to mark the moment Her Majesty was crowned, owing to the Coronavirus pandemic this will, unfortuantely, not happen this year.
The Royal Family’s Social Media accounts are also celebrating the 67th anniversary with a series of posts offering surprising details about that rainy day in June 1953. The royal Family’s Instagram account also shared an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in her Coronation dress and robe.
Today marks the 67th anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey.
#Onthisday #Coronationday pic.twitter.com/A3WsqS9MWs— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 2, 2020
One post detailed how the Gold State Coach, which transported The Queen and Prince Philip, was pulled by eight grey horses named Cunningham, Tovey, Noah, Tedder, Eisenhower, Snow White, Tipperary and McCreery.
Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne at the age of 25 on 6th February 1952 following the death of her father, King George VI. The Coronation ceremony in June 1953 took over fourteen months of planning and though The Queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary, died in March 1953, the Coronation went ahead at Queen mary’s insistence.
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was the first to be televised in full. The three hour ceremony was broadcast on the BBC in black and white with a colour version being filmed separately and it is estimated that 27 million people watched the broadcast in the UK alone. The worldwide television audience for the Coronation was estimated at 277 million.
Following the Coronation on 15th June 1953, Queen Elizabeth II took part in the Coronation review of the fleet at Spithead, off the coast at Portsmouth. This was followed by a flypast of some 300 naval aircraft before Her Majesty boarded HMS Vanguard for dinner. The review concluded with an illumination of the fleet and a fireworks display.
The Queen and Prince Philip have been at Windsor Castle since March 19th, one week before the UK went in to lockdown. It is expected Her Majesty will remain at Windsor for the forseeable future with all her upcoming engagements under constant review.