Today is the eightieth anniversary of the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.
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The Daily Express article King George VI's coronation: An event filled with mishaps recounts aspects of the day, and the problems involved in such an immensely complex event that turns very much on the actions of a few central participants.
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The information service Royal Central has a post, which I have slightly adapted, about the present Queen's diary for that day:
In
a diary entry on 12 May 1937, from the then 11-year-old Princess
Elizabeth recorded the experience of watching
her father’s coronation at Westminster Abbey.
The
diary entry opened with the fact that the day saw the young princess
awakened at the early hour of 05:00 by the music of the Royal Marines
band outside her window. Following an early breakfast, Princess Elizabeth got
dressed in a gown of “silk and cream lace” with “little gold bows all
the way down the middle” and “puffed sleeves with one little bow in the
centre.”
After
kissing “mummy” goodbye, the Princess and her younger sister, Princess
Margaret, joined other relatives in a carriage heading towards the Abbey.
“At first it was very jolty but we soon got used to it.”
Of
the service, Elizabeth wrote of how her father looked “very beautiful
in a crimson robe and the Cap of State” as he walked down the long
aisle. She also noted that “I thought it all very, very wonderful and I
expect the Abbey did, too. The arches and beams at the top were covered
with a sort of haze of wonder as Papa was crowned, at least I thought
so."
The
young princess grew tired during the long service, however, noting
afterwards that the “inordinately long” ceremony seemed to drag on for
hours. She wrote that "at the end, the service got rather boring as it
was all prayers" and that she and her grandmother “smiled at each other”
in relief when they saw the word “Finis” on the final page.
Following
the Coronation, the Royal Family returned to Buckingham Palace
where they appeared on the balcony to greet the gathered crowds. The
young princess noted that “millions of people were waiting below” on the
Mall.
Following tea at 6 pm the tired Princess climbed into bed with legs that “ached terribly”.
