Only once before in English history has a Coronation been celebrated 60 years after the event, but on 2nd June this particular milestone will be marked again following the passing of an incredible six decades since Queen Elizabeth II first made her vows to her people in the solemn surroundings of Westminster Abbey.
Famously the first time television cameras had been allowed to document the event, the 1953 Coronation was to be a uniquely global event with literally millions around the world tuning in to witness the proceedings in a manner we take for granted but which 60 years ago was quite unprecedented.
For those who could afford to indulge themselves it was precisely the excuse they had been looking for to buy one of these new-fangled (and very expensive) television sets. Others who couldn’t crowded around sets displayed in shop windows, or piled into the living rooms of their more fortunate neighbours. But many more took to the streets, hundreds of thousands of them, braving the wind and rain in the hope of catching a glimpse of the young queen as she made her way to Westminster and then, later, returned to the Palace with her crown and regalia in place.
For locals and visitors alike it really was to be London’s Big Day, and just as the service itself was to be the first to be captured on television the scenes outside were among the first of any true state occasions to be documented in colour by scores of photographers – amateur and professional – who lined the streets along the processional route.
Until now many of their photographs have never seen the light of day, hidden away in archives and private collections, and often all but forgotten. They show some truly remarkable scenes, however. Thousands of servicemen and women from around the Commonwealth marched the route, scores of elegant carriages carried not just the Royal Family but also aristocrats and foreign heads of state to the Abbey, and everywhere the capital was decked out for a party with many well-known landmarks dressed for the occasion in gilt and colourful bunting.
With immense red, white and blue grandstands erected at significant points to ensure the best possible view, the pictures show a London which is at once familiar and strangely different. Together they provide a compelling snapshot of a moment when London found itself at the centre of the world, and for all the right reasons, and today I think provide something unique and very special for London lovers and royalists alike.
London's Big Day: The Coronation 60 Years On is available through The History Press today.
