The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

0:00:02 > 0:00:07CEREMONIAL FANFARE

0:00:16 > 0:00:20London, May 1953.

0:00:21 > 0:00:23CHURCH BELL CHIMES

0:00:23 > 0:00:27Dr Geoffrey Fisher, The Archbishop of Canterbury,

0:00:27 > 0:00:32crowns Lavinia, Duchess of Norfolk.

0:00:33 > 0:00:35These are the final rehearsals

0:00:35 > 0:00:39for the greatest public ceremony of the 20th century,

0:00:39 > 0:00:42the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the Second.

0:00:52 > 0:00:57On June 2nd 1953, a 900-year-old rite was enacted

0:00:57 > 0:01:00not only in front of the traditional audience

0:01:00 > 0:01:01of the great and the good...

0:01:03 > 0:01:08..but for the first time, live, in front of 20 million people

0:01:08 > 0:01:12clustered round very small television screens.

0:01:13 > 0:01:16The pageantry was a farewell to the hardship

0:01:16 > 0:01:20that followed on from the Second World War.

0:01:21 > 0:01:23With a young Queen on the throne

0:01:23 > 0:01:25it seemed that things could only get better.

0:01:25 > 0:01:32CELEBRATORY MUSIC

0:01:34 > 0:01:37Yet it might so easily have been chaotic.

0:01:37 > 0:01:42In just 16 months, the views of forceful personalities

0:01:42 > 0:01:44from die-hard traditionalists

0:01:44 > 0:01:46to forward-thinking innovators

0:01:46 > 0:01:49had to be reconciled.

0:01:50 > 0:01:56It's a story of meticulous planning, last minute nerves,

0:01:56 > 0:01:59and an ancient ceremony performed to perfection,

0:01:59 > 0:02:02the like of which will never be seen again.

0:02:27 > 0:02:30The 15th of February 1952...

0:02:31 > 0:02:34..the funeral of George VI.

0:02:37 > 0:02:41The King had died in his sleep at the age of 56

0:02:41 > 0:02:44in the early hours of the 6th of February

0:02:44 > 0:02:47at Sandringham House, his home in Norfolk.

0:02:49 > 0:02:52His daughter Elizabeth had been told of his death

0:02:52 > 0:02:55while she was in Kenya with her husband Philip,

0:02:55 > 0:02:56the Duke of Edinburgh,

0:02:56 > 0:02:59on a tour of British overseas possessions.

0:02:59 > 0:03:03The Empire had not yet been entirely dismantled.

0:03:05 > 0:03:10She was quickly escorted home to take up her new responsibilities.

0:03:12 > 0:03:15On the runway in London to greet her were the Prime Minister,

0:03:15 > 0:03:18Winston Churchill, and members of the Privy Council.

0:03:24 > 0:03:28Five days later, after paying their respects to the King,

0:03:28 > 0:03:30lying in state in Westminster Hall,

0:03:30 > 0:03:34Winston Churchill and his Cabinet met to discuss a date

0:03:34 > 0:03:37for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

0:03:41 > 0:03:44Planning a coronation takes an enormous amount of time

0:03:44 > 0:03:47and it could have been done at a rush

0:03:47 > 0:03:50but the likelihood of hitting high summer

0:03:50 > 0:03:54and doing it in a way that it delivered the benefit of effect

0:03:54 > 0:03:57for the whole of Britain in that it was the BEST showcase

0:03:57 > 0:04:00you could possibly have, that would be tough, so the decision was taken

0:04:00 > 0:04:05not least because it would provide more time in June 1953

0:04:05 > 0:04:10but also because it suited the Prime Minister Winston Churchill,

0:04:10 > 0:04:13who sought to gain the benefit of the coronation

0:04:13 > 0:04:15in his coming need to go to the electorate.

0:04:17 > 0:04:19June would have been chosen

0:04:19 > 0:04:22because it's the period of the social season in London

0:04:22 > 0:04:25which would kick off with the Preview of the Royal Academy,

0:04:25 > 0:04:29go on to Ascot and, and all that sort of stuff,

0:04:29 > 0:04:30Henley and the boat race

0:04:30 > 0:04:33will all be seen part of the London social season.

0:04:33 > 0:04:37Balls at the Palace, debutantes being presented,

0:04:37 > 0:04:40all of that world was reanimated,

0:04:40 > 0:04:43still going on in 1953, so it would fit in with that.

0:04:47 > 0:04:51At the end of April '52 the date of the Coronation was announced

0:04:51 > 0:04:54to the media, as were the members of the Coronation Commission

0:04:54 > 0:04:57who would oversee its planning.

0:04:58 > 0:05:01The Duke of Edinburgh, young, energetic,

0:05:01 > 0:05:04but still coming to terms with the shift in the balance of power

0:05:04 > 0:05:06within his marriage, was appointed its Chairman.

0:05:09 > 0:05:13I think there was a strong feeling that he needed a role,

0:05:13 > 0:05:15he was thought of as a hands-on chap

0:05:15 > 0:05:18that would bring a voice of practicality

0:05:18 > 0:05:21and he is the one who said something more connected

0:05:21 > 0:05:22with the modern world should be introduced,

0:05:22 > 0:05:24I mean, he was one of the modernists.

0:05:24 > 0:05:27How much he actually did is of course in a sense

0:05:27 > 0:05:30slightly questionable, he said he chaired one or two meetings

0:05:30 > 0:05:32but the evidence doesn't suggest

0:05:32 > 0:05:34that he had a huge impact on the coronation,

0:05:34 > 0:05:38although of course I'm sure that if there was any nonsense going on

0:05:38 > 0:05:41he was very quick to see a direct line through it.

0:05:43 > 0:05:46The man in charge of all the day to day planning was

0:05:46 > 0:05:51the Earl Marshal, Bernard Marmaduke Fitzalan-Howard, Duke of Norfolk.

0:05:55 > 0:05:57His home was Arundel Castle.

0:05:57 > 0:06:00A Norfolk had been at the right-hand of King Richard III

0:06:00 > 0:06:03at his Coronation in 1483.

0:06:03 > 0:06:08By the 17th century it had become an hereditary appointment.

0:06:08 > 0:06:11Some Earl Marshals had been absolutely useless,

0:06:11 > 0:06:13but not Duke Bernard.

0:06:15 > 0:06:18The fact is, he'd already organised the coronation of George VI

0:06:18 > 0:06:21some 16 years before.

0:06:21 > 0:06:23He was only a young man, he was only 29 at the time,

0:06:23 > 0:06:27but he had got this vast experience behind him.

0:06:27 > 0:06:31He was rigid in the way that he expected everything to be done

0:06:31 > 0:06:33to the highest possible standard

0:06:33 > 0:06:38and he just was the perfect Norfolk to be running that role.

0:06:38 > 0:06:41At the same hour

0:06:41 > 0:06:45the street lining of the route to the Abbey

0:06:45 > 0:06:49will have been completed.

0:06:49 > 0:06:52He knew what it took to stage a Coronation.

0:06:52 > 0:06:54Early on he told his staff,

0:06:54 > 0:06:57"Solve the problem of what THEY call the toilets

0:06:57 > 0:07:01"and you will have made a very good start indeed."

0:07:01 > 0:07:05He was a kind of Duke out of central casting really, wasn't he?

0:07:05 > 0:07:10He was exactly a rather large person and the sort of cartoon person

0:07:10 > 0:07:13one associates with Osbert Lancaster.

0:07:15 > 0:07:19The Ministry of Works gave the Duke 14 Belgrave Square

0:07:19 > 0:07:22as his headquarters.

0:07:26 > 0:07:29Bernard Norfolk loved precedent, he loved every detail of it

0:07:29 > 0:07:31and he was conscious,

0:07:31 > 0:07:35perhaps far more than any of the Royalties had ever been,

0:07:35 > 0:07:40that it mattered whether a Marquis was here or a Duke was there

0:07:40 > 0:07:42or an Earl's daughter was sitting in the right place

0:07:42 > 0:07:46in the high balcony over here and who should be over there,

0:07:46 > 0:07:48whether the Ambassadors were in the right order,

0:07:48 > 0:07:50ALL of that mattered to him tremendously.

0:07:53 > 0:07:56The Duke hosted regular press conferences,

0:07:56 > 0:07:59though he sometimes seemed to regard the very notion

0:07:59 > 0:08:02of the information society as an impertinence.

0:08:03 > 0:08:07I don't want you to ask me all the details

0:08:07 > 0:08:12of this that and the other because they haven't been arranged

0:08:12 > 0:08:16and I've told you after all what you really want to know.

0:08:19 > 0:08:21On the south bank of the Thames at Lambeth Palace,

0:08:21 > 0:08:25Dr Geoffrey Fisher the Archbishop of Canterbury,

0:08:25 > 0:08:29began to address the complex liturgy for the Coronation.

0:08:29 > 0:08:33A few people understand the Coronation ceremony, your Grace.

0:08:33 > 0:08:35Could you explain it to us?

0:08:36 > 0:08:40The ceremony is so rich in meaning that no brief description

0:08:40 > 0:08:44can do justice to it, but in outline it's quite simple,

0:08:44 > 0:08:49it is at once a profound religious and national occasion,

0:08:49 > 0:08:53the consecration and the Coronation of a Queen.

0:08:54 > 0:08:57For Dr Fisher, it would also be a handsome opportunity

0:08:57 > 0:09:00to emphasise the centrality of the Church of England

0:09:00 > 0:09:02in British public life.

0:09:05 > 0:09:09'I present unto you King George, your undoubted King,

0:09:09 > 0:09:14'wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service,

0:09:14 > 0:09:16'are you willing to do the same?'

0:09:16 > 0:09:18As an 11-year-old, in May 1937

0:09:18 > 0:09:21Princess Elizabeth had been entranced

0:09:21 > 0:09:26by the spectacle of her father's Coronation.

0:09:26 > 0:09:30'I thought it all very, very wonderful

0:09:30 > 0:09:32'and I expect the Abbey did too.

0:09:32 > 0:09:34'The arches and beams at the top were covered with

0:09:34 > 0:09:37'a sort of haze of wonder as Papa was crowned,

0:09:37 > 0:09:39'at least I thought so.'

0:09:43 > 0:09:46She recorded how lovely the music had been,

0:09:46 > 0:09:50and she was so enchanted she also noted that her granny, Queen Mary,

0:09:50 > 0:09:54claimed not to remember much about her own coronation.

0:09:54 > 0:09:57Princess Elizabeth thought that the memory would have lingered for ever.

0:10:01 > 0:10:0515 years later, for the woman now Queen Elizabeth,

0:10:05 > 0:10:08her father's Coronation remained an inspiration.

0:10:08 > 0:10:13The ceremony would always be first and foremost a religious one.

0:10:15 > 0:10:19Now, monarchs have been crowned in Britain since 973

0:10:19 > 0:10:22and she was bought up to understand that

0:10:22 > 0:10:24and she would have been guided into all of that

0:10:24 > 0:10:27by the Dean of Westminster at the time.

0:10:27 > 0:10:29She would have wanted to do well.

0:10:29 > 0:10:32Gosh, it must have been such a stress on her

0:10:32 > 0:10:38to have to, at the age of 26, young woman, go through this event,

0:10:38 > 0:10:40the pressure must have been immense.

0:10:42 > 0:10:44Nor was she the only one to feel pressured.

0:10:44 > 0:10:47The ambition of the Government was to match the splendour

0:10:47 > 0:10:52of the 1937 Coronation, yet costs had risen dramatically.

0:11:03 > 0:11:06The government set aside £1.5 million

0:11:06 > 0:11:09nearly 21 million in today's money,

0:11:09 > 0:11:13for ceremonial on broadly the same scale as 1937.

0:11:17 > 0:11:20In charge of the State's spending was David Eccles,

0:11:20 > 0:11:23Churchill's Minister of Works.

0:11:23 > 0:11:28Eccles described himself as "the Earl Marshal's Handyman."

0:11:30 > 0:11:33'My job is to build a theatre inside Westminster Abbey,

0:11:33 > 0:11:36'to provide seating and standing room,

0:11:36 > 0:11:39'decorations along the path of the processional route

0:11:39 > 0:11:42'and to arrange flowers, floodlighting, fireworks

0:11:42 > 0:11:46'and other expressions of public rejoicing.'

0:11:51 > 0:11:53For the last five Coronations,

0:11:53 > 0:11:56a temporary Annexe had been constructed

0:11:56 > 0:11:59at the West End of the Abbey where processions could form

0:11:59 > 0:12:01out of sight of the guests.

0:12:02 > 0:12:05These previous annexes had been designed to blend in

0:12:05 > 0:12:08with the gothic west front of the Abbey.

0:12:09 > 0:12:13David Eccles turned his back on pseudo-Gothic.

0:12:13 > 0:12:17'There will be nothing pseudo about this Coronation.'

0:12:18 > 0:12:23He was very, very keen on all the facilities being well designed

0:12:23 > 0:12:26and organised for the public.

0:12:26 > 0:12:30He looked to doing it with style and in a way which brought out

0:12:30 > 0:12:34the strengths of British art and design.

0:12:39 > 0:12:41Well, I knew David Eccles.

0:12:41 > 0:12:45The nickname for him was Smartyboots and later Speckles.

0:12:45 > 0:12:49There was a flash of the car salesman about David Eccles,

0:12:49 > 0:12:53he was determined to get contemporary design in,

0:12:53 > 0:12:55I don't know, quite a bit of the Festival of Britain

0:12:55 > 0:12:59must have rubbed off on him, so the Annexe,

0:12:59 > 0:13:02instead of being like a piece of stage scenery

0:13:02 > 0:13:04from an Edwardian Shakespeare play

0:13:04 > 0:13:09became instead this softened Scandinavian modernism

0:13:09 > 0:13:11and of course he made that famous remark,

0:13:11 > 0:13:14"How could you go wrong with such a leading lady?"

0:13:14 > 0:13:17Well, that went down like a ton of bricks from Buckingham Palace

0:13:17 > 0:13:18for a start.

0:13:18 > 0:13:20'Now look at the entrance here.

0:13:21 > 0:13:26'That's where the Queen is going to alight from her golden coach.

0:13:27 > 0:13:29'She will pass up these steps

0:13:29 > 0:13:33'and the roof over the entrance is made of a transparent material

0:13:33 > 0:13:37'so that the cameramen shooting from each side get a very good view.'

0:13:42 > 0:13:45David Eccles was well aware that the world was changing

0:13:45 > 0:13:48and that the media was playing an ever-increasing role

0:13:48 > 0:13:51in both stimulating and fulfilling

0:13:51 > 0:13:53the public's interest in Royalty and its rituals.

0:13:58 > 0:14:02BBC Radio had begun planning its coverage of the Coronation

0:14:02 > 0:14:04soon after the death of George VI.

0:14:04 > 0:14:08The relatively new Television Outside Broadcast Department

0:14:08 > 0:14:11was also hatching plans.

0:14:13 > 0:14:16'The first outside broadcast was at the coronation procession

0:14:16 > 0:14:18'on the 12th of May 1937,

0:14:18 > 0:14:20'and here is a picture from our library

0:14:20 > 0:14:23'showing the outside broadcast cameras at Apsley Gate

0:14:23 > 0:14:26'as the Royal Coach passes by.'

0:14:26 > 0:14:29In 1937, three outside broadcast cameras had recorded

0:14:29 > 0:14:33only the procession after the crowning of the King.

0:14:33 > 0:14:36'Those eight magnificent greys

0:14:36 > 0:14:39'drawing on that almost unbelievable State Coach

0:14:39 > 0:14:43'with Their Majesties the King and Queen.'

0:14:43 > 0:14:46In '53, the BBC hoped to televise

0:14:46 > 0:14:50the WHOLE of the Queen's Coronation live.

0:14:50 > 0:14:53We knew that the Coronation would offer

0:14:53 > 0:14:57a wonderful opportunity for live television.

0:14:57 > 0:15:03The question was, would its cameras be allowed inside Westminster Abbey?

0:15:03 > 0:15:06'One last glimpse of the happy, excited crowd,

0:15:06 > 0:15:09'raining though it may be,

0:15:09 > 0:15:14'we end our adventure televising the Coronation procession.'

0:15:14 > 0:15:18With so much to plan, the BBC put in a request to televise

0:15:18 > 0:15:22both the service and the processions a whole year ahead.

0:15:22 > 0:15:26The Coronation Joint Committee discussed the Corporation's proposal

0:15:26 > 0:15:30at St James's Palace on the 7th July 1952.

0:15:33 > 0:15:36"The Dean of Westminster felt it would add enormously

0:15:36 > 0:15:39"to the strain on the Queen if Her Majesty knew

0:15:39 > 0:15:44"that she was being closely watched by so great a number of persons."

0:15:46 > 0:15:49The High Commissioner of New Zealand, Frederick Doidge,

0:15:49 > 0:15:53said he considered television "was an immature art."

0:15:53 > 0:15:56The Archbishop of Canterbury thought,

0:15:56 > 0:15:58"It was unfair to expose the Queen and others

0:15:58 > 0:16:01"to this searching method of photography,

0:16:01 > 0:16:04"without any chance of correcting an error."

0:16:04 > 0:16:05So there was huge resistance

0:16:05 > 0:16:09and the Cabinet initially, along with the Coronation Committee

0:16:09 > 0:16:14and the Joint Executive Committee, rejected it as unlikely to be worthy

0:16:14 > 0:16:18and certainly too much pressure on the Queen, she was too young,

0:16:18 > 0:16:21she'd got too much to do, she didn't need that as well.

0:16:22 > 0:16:25Sir Jock Colville, the Prime Minister's Private Secretary,

0:16:25 > 0:16:29passed on to Churchill the conclusions of the key meeting,

0:16:29 > 0:16:34noting in a bracket that the Queen "does not herself want television."

0:16:34 > 0:16:36BELLS CHIME

0:16:36 > 0:16:40But no final decision would be announced until October.

0:16:41 > 0:16:45The logistics of mounting an outside broadcast were hugely complex

0:16:45 > 0:16:47and the days were slipping by.

0:16:47 > 0:16:52Peter Dimmock, who hoped to direct the cameras in the Abbey,

0:16:52 > 0:16:54could only wait for the verdict.

0:16:54 > 0:16:58This is what we wanted to do and we were in absolute agony.

0:16:58 > 0:17:03Waiting and waiting and waiting and still we got no answer...

0:17:03 > 0:17:07It was anybody's guess which way the decision would go.

0:17:13 > 0:17:15By late summer preparations were picking up pace.

0:17:15 > 0:17:20The Ministry of Works completed a scale model of the route,

0:17:20 > 0:17:23for some now unfathomable purpose.

0:17:25 > 0:17:29In Braintree, Essex, Harry Spinks and Lily Lee

0:17:29 > 0:17:32began weaving the Coronation robes.

0:17:34 > 0:17:37The Queen would be helped into a succession of sacramental garments

0:17:37 > 0:17:40at her crowning.

0:17:40 > 0:17:43Each had a symbolic meaning, and their designs were set in stone.

0:17:45 > 0:17:51But the dress she would wear to the Abbey could be of her choosing.

0:17:51 > 0:17:56The man she went to was a family favourite, Norman Hartnell.

0:17:59 > 0:18:02One of Hartnell's talents was an eye for colour.

0:18:02 > 0:18:07He understood how colour suited the individual woman

0:18:07 > 0:18:09in terms of the colouring of her hair, her skin,

0:18:09 > 0:18:12and also her personality.

0:18:12 > 0:18:15And he also understood how colour worked in the public arena,

0:18:15 > 0:18:18so that the Royal women always wore pastel colours,

0:18:18 > 0:18:20plain colours, in a crowd.

0:18:23 > 0:18:29At Hartnell's Bruton Street HQ, the windows were papered over

0:18:29 > 0:18:32and work conducted in utmost secrecy.

0:18:33 > 0:18:36The Queen never came to the salon for fittings

0:18:36 > 0:18:39and Mr Hartnell would always go to Buckingham Palace

0:18:39 > 0:18:42armed with sketches to show her, a selection of designs,

0:18:42 > 0:18:48and she would choose from those, and he took a selection of designs

0:18:48 > 0:18:51for the Coronation gown, eight or nine in fact designs,

0:18:51 > 0:18:53for her to choose from.

0:18:57 > 0:19:01A slimly fitting design was rejected.

0:19:10 > 0:19:14With the Coronation dress the Queen took a very keen interest

0:19:14 > 0:19:18in reflecting the Commonwealth, with all the different symbols

0:19:18 > 0:19:20of the various different Commonwealth countries

0:19:20 > 0:19:22of which she was Queen.

0:19:32 > 0:19:35The Coronation gown is extremely important to the Queen

0:19:35 > 0:19:39who has a reputation for not being terribly interested in fashion

0:19:39 > 0:19:40and in what she wears,

0:19:40 > 0:19:44but I understand from several members of Hartnell's staff,

0:19:44 > 0:19:46who've helped to dress her over the years

0:19:46 > 0:19:50that in fact the Coronation gown has a very special place in her heart.

0:20:01 > 0:20:04On the 20th of October, the BBC heard that it wouldn't be allowed

0:20:04 > 0:20:08to televise the Coronation service.

0:20:08 > 0:20:10There were howls of outrage

0:20:10 > 0:20:14and the press immediately began a campaign to get the ban lifted.

0:20:17 > 0:20:19Sir Alexander Cadogan,

0:20:19 > 0:20:24the Chairman of the BBC noted in his diary on October 21:

0:20:24 > 0:20:26"I think we can leave it to an enraged public opinion

0:20:26 > 0:20:29"to bring pressure on the Government.

0:20:29 > 0:20:32"They can do the job much better than I can."

0:20:34 > 0:20:36There was a ferocious newspaper campaign,

0:20:36 > 0:20:38it was led by the Beaverbrook press,

0:20:38 > 0:20:41pretty much all the papers, apart from The Times,

0:20:41 > 0:20:43shared in the campaign.

0:20:43 > 0:20:46The cabinet realised that there was public opinion

0:20:46 > 0:20:49driven by the media, which was very powerful then, as it always is,

0:20:49 > 0:20:52at saying, you know, this needs to be reviewed,

0:20:52 > 0:20:56this decision not to allow the public in with their cameras,

0:20:56 > 0:20:58which could be done,

0:20:58 > 0:21:01was stuffed-shirt behaviour and it needs to be overcome.

0:21:04 > 0:21:09Agony continued and it was several days afterwards that suddenly

0:21:09 > 0:21:11the wonderful news came,

0:21:11 > 0:21:14yes, we would be allowed to televise it.

0:21:14 > 0:21:19The television has been arranged

0:21:19 > 0:21:23and approved by the Queen,

0:21:23 > 0:21:28and of course the anointing and the communion,

0:21:28 > 0:21:32with one or two prayers, will not be televised.

0:21:34 > 0:21:37I would like to emphasise that

0:21:37 > 0:21:45there will not be what television people are probably getting used to,

0:21:45 > 0:21:48the ordinary close-up.

0:21:48 > 0:21:50That will not be there.

0:21:50 > 0:21:52It's quite difficult to know

0:21:52 > 0:21:55whether the Queen herself changed her mind.

0:21:55 > 0:21:58A lot of people would have lobbied,

0:21:58 > 0:22:01certainly the decision was presented as the Queen's

0:22:01 > 0:22:03and who am I to second guess that.

0:22:06 > 0:22:10A lot of television sets would be sold as a result of the U-turn.

0:22:22 > 0:22:26On the 28th of October, Major Frank Markham, the MP for Buckingham,

0:22:26 > 0:22:29asked in the Commons who would be dealing with the

0:22:29 > 0:22:34"entirely objectionable Coronation advertisements"

0:22:34 > 0:22:38- for such items as- "ladies undies with the Union Jack at the rear."

0:22:40 > 0:22:45Churchill instructed the Council of Industrial Design

0:22:45 > 0:22:49to advise on what constituted a "tasteful" souvenir.

0:22:51 > 0:22:55The committee devised three private categories,

0:22:55 > 0:22:57good,

0:22:57 > 0:22:59bad

0:22:59 > 0:23:00and horrible.

0:23:02 > 0:23:08# She's the Queen of everyone's heart

0:23:08 > 0:23:13# No matter wherever she goes

0:23:13 > 0:23:18# She's the Queen of everyone's heart

0:23:18 > 0:23:23# This beautiful young English rose... #

0:23:23 > 0:23:27By the end of November, with six months to go,

0:23:27 > 0:23:30excitement was building amongst Britain's ruling class

0:23:30 > 0:23:33about the seating arrangements for the Coronation.

0:23:33 > 0:23:38Representatives of the Empire, the Commonwealth, the Royal Family,

0:23:38 > 0:23:43their relations, Bishops, MPs, they all wanted to be there.

0:23:43 > 0:23:48Peers and Peeresses, called to the Abbey by ancient custom,

0:23:48 > 0:23:50formed a sizeable phalanx.

0:23:53 > 0:23:56'People are prattling of the Coronation already,

0:23:56 > 0:23:59'of whom will and will not be summoned,

0:23:59 > 0:24:02'of their robes and places and arrangements,'

0:24:02 > 0:24:07..wrote the American-born MP and compulsive gossip Chips Channon.

0:24:07 > 0:24:10'Winnie Portarlington announced at luncheon

0:24:10 > 0:24:15'that she has harness but no coach.

0:24:15 > 0:24:19'Circe Londonderry has a coach but no horses.

0:24:19 > 0:24:24'Mollie Buccleuch has no postillions but five tiaras.

0:24:26 > 0:24:30'People are obsessed by their Coronation prerogatives.'

0:24:35 > 0:24:37Of course there wasn't enough room in the Abbey for everybody

0:24:37 > 0:24:40who felt or had a right to be there, particularly the peers,

0:24:40 > 0:24:43there was a discussion as to whether there should be a ballot and so on.

0:24:43 > 0:24:45And one member of the peerage was concerned that

0:24:45 > 0:24:49he had been divorced and therefore he wasn't sure

0:24:49 > 0:24:52whether he'd be allowed into the Coronation

0:24:52 > 0:24:55and the Earl Marshall said to him, "This is a coronation, not Ascot."

0:24:57 > 0:25:00It was felt that enough time had passed

0:25:00 > 0:25:02for the Duke of Edinburgh's German brothers-in-law

0:25:02 > 0:25:06who'd been an embarrassment during the War, to be invited.

0:25:08 > 0:25:12On the other hand, the Palace was adamant that her uncle,

0:25:12 > 0:25:14the Duke of Windsor, the ex-King Edward VIII,

0:25:14 > 0:25:17should not be asked.

0:25:17 > 0:25:20His Abdication was a wound that hadn't yet healed.

0:25:20 > 0:25:24After a little prodding, the Duke announced to the press

0:25:24 > 0:25:28on the 16th December that he and his wife Wallis would not be attending.

0:25:35 > 0:25:37'How did you celebrate the New Year, I wonder?

0:25:37 > 0:25:41'Some people like to celebrate it robustly in cheerful crowds.

0:25:41 > 0:25:46'Yes, mankind remains obstinately optimistic

0:25:46 > 0:25:49'and the New Year is still regarded as the subject for rejoicing,

0:25:49 > 0:25:53'for music, dancing and the popping of balloons.'

0:25:53 > 0:25:571953 was really the year where the economic indicators changed

0:25:57 > 0:26:02and Britain really decisively moved out of that very difficult period

0:26:02 > 0:26:06of immediate post-war austerity and moved towards, as it were,

0:26:06 > 0:26:09the sunlit uplands of prosperity and affluence and so on.

0:26:11 > 0:26:16'At my Coronation next June, I shall dedicate myself anew

0:26:16 > 0:26:21'to your service, but I want to ask you all,

0:26:21 > 0:26:25'whatever your religion may be, to pray for me on that day,

0:26:25 > 0:26:29'to pray that God may give me wisdom and strength

0:26:29 > 0:26:35'to carry out the solemn promises I shall be making,

0:26:35 > 0:26:41'and that I may faithfully serve Him and you all the days of my life.'

0:26:43 > 0:26:48Winston Churchill's Tory government was determined to eclipse

0:26:48 > 0:26:50Labour's Festival of Britain of 1951,

0:26:50 > 0:26:54a successful combination of the popular and the futuristic,

0:26:54 > 0:26:58with something more hierarchical and historically-based.

0:27:00 > 0:27:02With five months to go to the Coronation,

0:27:02 > 0:27:06the transformation of London now started in earnest.

0:27:06 > 0:27:09'Eros himself is being very thoroughly groomed at Kennington,

0:27:09 > 0:27:12'the feathers of his wings have been having a trim and shampoo,

0:27:12 > 0:27:15'the bow with which he aims at every passer-by has been polished,

0:27:15 > 0:27:18'expert chiropodists have tended to his poor feet

0:27:18 > 0:27:21and there's a special kind of massage for his leg muscles

0:27:21 > 0:27:24'because he does an awful lot of standing, after all.

0:27:24 > 0:27:27His cup gets the once over, and to finish off the job

0:27:27 > 0:27:31'of making him look his very best for the Coronation, a facial.

0:27:31 > 0:27:33'Eros will be smart.'

0:27:35 > 0:27:38Construction work had begun in the nave of Westminster Abbey

0:27:38 > 0:27:40in December.

0:27:40 > 0:27:44From January, the whole building was closed to the public.

0:27:47 > 0:27:51The seating capacity needed to be increased from 2,100

0:27:51 > 0:27:54to nearer 7,500.

0:27:58 > 0:28:03First, the stone floor was covered in felt and floorboards laid on top.

0:28:03 > 0:28:07Next, the monuments, the choir stalls,

0:28:07 > 0:28:09and the organ were wrapped up and boxed in.

0:28:11 > 0:28:13A railway line was laid from the west door

0:28:13 > 0:28:15to the foot of the altar steps

0:28:15 > 0:28:18with spur lines into the transepts north and south

0:28:18 > 0:28:21so that hundreds of tonnes of scaffolding and wood

0:28:21 > 0:28:23could be imported.

0:28:28 > 0:28:30At Templeton's mills in Glasgow,

0:28:30 > 0:28:34work began on the chenille Axminster carpet for the nave.

0:28:34 > 0:28:36At 118 feet long and 17 feet wide,

0:28:36 > 0:28:40it was one of the largest single items to be made for the Coronation,

0:28:40 > 0:28:45and, at £18,000, one of the most costly.

0:28:47 > 0:28:51Banks of seating were built on either side of the main body

0:28:51 > 0:28:55of the Abbey, raked steeply up to just beneath the Gothic arches,

0:28:55 > 0:28:59and three tiers of seats were built in the transepts

0:28:59 > 0:29:02for the peers, peeresses, and Members of Parliament.

0:29:06 > 0:29:09At the crossing, the floor was raised to the level of the pavement

0:29:09 > 0:29:11in front of the high altar.

0:29:11 > 0:29:15This area was known as the Coronation theatre.

0:29:15 > 0:29:20Here the dais was erected, on which was placed the Queen's Throne.

0:29:21 > 0:29:26For those sitting in the nave, 5,701 stools were constructed.

0:29:26 > 0:29:29The specifications were precise,

0:29:29 > 0:29:32the padding had to be 12% horse mane hair,

0:29:32 > 0:29:3512% cow tail hair,

0:29:35 > 0:29:38and 76% North American grey winter hog.

0:29:38 > 0:29:42The luxury of the padding, compensation perhaps for the fact

0:29:42 > 0:29:47that guests in the nave would have next to no view of the ceremony

0:29:47 > 0:29:49beyond the organ screen.

0:29:52 > 0:29:54Though access to the Abbey had been agreed,

0:29:54 > 0:29:57the Archbishop of Canterbury and The Dean of Westminster

0:29:57 > 0:30:00were still concerned about just how close

0:30:00 > 0:30:02the cameras would be to the Queen.

0:30:03 > 0:30:07Secretly, without anyone knowing, even the press didn't get hold of it

0:30:07 > 0:30:10we took an Outside Broadcast Unit

0:30:10 > 0:30:12and one camera to Westminster Abbey.

0:30:12 > 0:30:16I arranged for a meeting with the Earl Marshall,

0:30:16 > 0:30:21the Archbishop, the Palace, the Ministry of Works were there

0:30:21 > 0:30:25and we should them on a little Pye monitor

0:30:25 > 0:30:31what the television picture of the altar area would look like.

0:30:31 > 0:30:33And I was lucky enough that none of them

0:30:33 > 0:30:37seemed to know a great deal about lenses so I put in a two inch,

0:30:37 > 0:30:41the widest lens we had and so everything looked a long way away

0:30:41 > 0:30:45and so they all looked and muttered and said yes and went away.

0:30:47 > 0:30:48From that day on,

0:30:48 > 0:30:52prejudice against the televising of the ceremony subsided.

0:30:57 > 0:30:59In January, construction had begun

0:30:59 > 0:31:01on the stands that would line the Mall

0:31:01 > 0:31:04from Admiralty Arch to Buckingham Palace.

0:31:09 > 0:31:12David Eccles, the Minister of Works,

0:31:12 > 0:31:14ordered them to be assembled gradually

0:31:14 > 0:31:16so as not to divert manpower

0:31:16 > 0:31:19from the crucial task of rebuilding homes.

0:31:20 > 0:31:23All the materials were to be recyclable too.

0:31:27 > 0:31:29He was caught up at the same time

0:31:29 > 0:31:32with the promise to build 300,000 houses,

0:31:32 > 0:31:36so my father would have been very, very conscious of

0:31:36 > 0:31:40if the timber was good timber, well we better look after it

0:31:40 > 0:31:43and find another use for it.

0:31:46 > 0:31:49When the stands were finally ready, at the end of March,

0:31:49 > 0:31:53soldiers were brought in to test whether they'd hold up

0:31:53 > 0:31:55beneath an excited crowd.

0:32:00 > 0:32:04'And here seen leaving Westminster Abbey early in the morning

0:32:04 > 0:32:08'the first Coronation procession rehearsal.

0:32:08 > 0:32:10'Attended by Guardsmen and Household Cavalry,

0:32:10 > 0:32:11'the State Landau drawn by Windsor Greys

0:32:11 > 0:32:13'proceeded along the return route.'

0:32:17 > 0:32:19What was being worked out here,

0:32:19 > 0:32:22was how long the processions were likely to take,

0:32:22 > 0:32:25and which traffic islands would need to be removed.

0:32:25 > 0:32:2820,000 troops were going to be involved on the day,

0:32:28 > 0:32:31marching in the processions or lining the way.

0:32:31 > 0:32:35Detachments would be arriving from nine Commonwealth countries

0:32:35 > 0:32:37and 28 colonies.

0:32:40 > 0:32:43Major General Julian Gascoigne of the Grenadier Guards

0:32:43 > 0:32:47was in charge of Forces' Ceremonial for Coronation Day.

0:32:47 > 0:32:50The Queen was Commander-in-Chief of his regiment.

0:32:52 > 0:32:54When they were planning this great Coronation parade,

0:32:54 > 0:32:58which she was very interested in, she was fascinated by parade and detail,

0:32:58 > 0:33:00she said, "Look, this is getting very complicated, Julian,

0:33:00 > 0:33:04"just writing it down on bits of paper, we can't really understand it,

0:33:04 > 0:33:06"let's go and do it with real little soldiers,

0:33:06 > 0:33:08"let's go to Charles nursery, he's got lots of tin soldiers

0:33:08 > 0:33:11"and we can put them out and see what it really looks like."

0:33:11 > 0:33:14And he told me that, that they lay on the floor together,

0:33:14 > 0:33:16sort of propped on their elbows, moving out,

0:33:16 > 0:33:20moving bits of tin soldiers about and having a wonderful time.

0:33:25 > 0:33:28I think both in scale and attention to detail,

0:33:28 > 0:33:30all against a background of Great Britain

0:33:30 > 0:33:35that was coming out of the horrors the Second World War

0:33:35 > 0:33:37and then the Korean war,

0:33:37 > 0:33:42this was seen as a national event of the most enormous significance

0:33:42 > 0:33:47and it was for the Armed Forces to represent all the nations

0:33:47 > 0:33:53concerned in something that would be joyous but disciplined

0:33:53 > 0:33:56but, above all, work well.

0:34:00 > 0:34:05'Special courses for police horses are being held at Imber Court, Surrey,

0:34:05 > 0:34:08'to get them used to some of the sounds of the Coronation procession.'

0:34:08 > 0:34:12RATTLING

0:34:12 > 0:34:15'They may not like the noises very much,

0:34:15 > 0:34:18'but being good police horses, they'll put up with anything.'

0:34:18 > 0:34:20BELLS RINGING

0:34:25 > 0:34:29Then, on the 24th March, with just nine weeks to the Coronation,

0:34:29 > 0:34:33the Queen's grandmother, Queen Mary, wife of King George V,

0:34:33 > 0:34:36died in her 86th year.

0:34:38 > 0:34:41The arrangements for the Coronation could have been derailed

0:34:41 > 0:34:44as the Court went into mourning for a second time in just over a year,

0:34:44 > 0:34:48but Queen Mary had left special instructions

0:34:48 > 0:34:52that her death should not get in the way of the Queen's crowning.

0:34:55 > 0:34:58The preparations continued.

0:35:00 > 0:35:03At the beginning of April, a man carrying a suitcase

0:35:03 > 0:35:07stepped out of a car and into this building in Regent Street.

0:35:07 > 0:35:12In those days it was Garrards, the Royal Jewellers.

0:35:12 > 0:35:15In his suitcase was the Imperial State Crown

0:35:15 > 0:35:19and he was delivering it for cleaning and maintenance.

0:35:19 > 0:35:23'In London, expert jewellers have been at work remodelling the Imperial State Crown.

0:35:23 > 0:35:26'Made for Queen Victoria, it's the most beautiful and valuable

0:35:26 > 0:35:27'of all the Regalia.

0:35:27 > 0:35:31'It's now being slightly re-shaped to fit the Queen's head.

0:35:31 > 0:35:33'She will wear it after the actual crowning.'

0:35:34 > 0:35:38The jewelled symbolic objects that make up the Royal Regalia,

0:35:38 > 0:35:41are of more than monetary value.

0:35:41 > 0:35:44They play a key part in the ritual of Coronation.

0:35:47 > 0:35:51People think that it's just sort of pomp and circumstance and,

0:35:51 > 0:35:55you know, campery gone bananas, but when you actually analyse it,

0:35:55 > 0:35:59there is a reason for it, there is a powerful reason,

0:35:59 > 0:36:04it enacts in invisible form, what are the fundamental principles,

0:36:04 > 0:36:08through which the monarchy operates in relation to its peoples.

0:36:18 > 0:36:21The Times newspaper greeted the arrival of spring that year

0:36:21 > 0:36:23with a leader which captured,

0:36:23 > 0:36:26in the heightened poetic language of the day,

0:36:26 > 0:36:29the sense of rebirth that the Coronation seemed to promise,

0:36:32 > 0:36:37especially after the tragedy of the floods, which had claimed 307 lives

0:36:37 > 0:36:41along the East coast of Britain at the beginning of February.

0:36:47 > 0:36:50'In this springtime, above all, the primeval imagery

0:36:50 > 0:36:54'should have for us its richest meaning,

0:36:54 > 0:36:58'for the Coronation is the nation's feast of mystical renewal.

0:37:01 > 0:37:05'We have passed through a grey and melancholy winter,

0:37:05 > 0:37:08'dark with natural disaster,

0:37:08 > 0:37:11'darkened also in the symbolical personal orbit

0:37:11 > 0:37:15'wherein our society revolves, by the recent loss of a beloved Queen.

0:37:20 > 0:37:22'But the spring comes with its annual message

0:37:22 > 0:37:26'that all disasters and loss can be transcended

0:37:26 > 0:37:30'by the unconquerable power of new life.

0:37:30 > 0:37:33'As a nation, as a Commonwealth,

0:37:33 > 0:37:36'we take as our supremely representative person

0:37:36 > 0:37:38'our young Queen,

0:37:38 > 0:37:44'and in her inauguration, dedicating the future by ancient forms,

0:37:44 > 0:37:46'we declare our faith that life itself

0:37:46 > 0:37:48'rises out of the shadow of death.'

0:37:51 > 0:37:55There was a sense in '53 of something new.

0:37:55 > 0:37:59Young Queen, beautiful woman.

0:37:59 > 0:38:02A sense of youth and optimism,

0:38:02 > 0:38:07and a realisation of the first Elizabeth was an heroic age.

0:38:07 > 0:38:09It was the invention of England.

0:38:15 > 0:38:19The idea of a New Elizabethan Age was picked up by the newspapers

0:38:19 > 0:38:22and was everywhere by 1953.

0:38:24 > 0:38:28It's difficult now to be sure to what extent this was

0:38:28 > 0:38:31just kind of hype and publicity and so on,

0:38:31 > 0:38:34and it quite soon took rather grubby commercial forms,

0:38:34 > 0:38:37and to what extent it really chimed in with something.

0:38:37 > 0:38:41There was great hope and ambitions invested in the children

0:38:41 > 0:38:43of the 1950s, they were the future.

0:38:47 > 0:38:50'Meanwhile the route itself has been transforming the appearance

0:38:50 > 0:38:51'of London's West End.

0:38:51 > 0:38:53'Great stands have been steadily going up

0:38:53 > 0:38:56'and it's easy to see what a splendid view will be obtained by all

0:38:56 > 0:38:59'who are fortunate enough to have seats on them.'

0:38:59 > 0:39:05ROUSING CELEBRATORY MUSIC

0:39:12 > 0:39:15By mid-May, with two weeks to go,

0:39:15 > 0:39:17ships were docking at the major English ports

0:39:17 > 0:39:21bringing forces personnel from the Commonwealth and the Empire.

0:39:28 > 0:39:32Hyde Park was transformed into an enormous temporary camp

0:39:32 > 0:39:34for these troops and their horses.

0:39:43 > 0:39:47And barracks across London also became their temporary home.

0:39:47 > 0:39:50These were the men and women who would be lining the streets

0:39:50 > 0:39:54and forming the processions on the day.

0:39:54 > 0:39:59To house and feed them was an extraordinary logistical operation.

0:40:08 > 0:40:13After the troops, VIPs began to dock like Her Majesty Queen Salote,

0:40:13 > 0:40:16the six foot three ruler of the Tonga Islands.

0:40:20 > 0:40:23'Arriving at the Royal Albert docks in the Thames,

0:40:23 > 0:40:25'an important visitor was the Sultan of Zanzibar,

0:40:25 > 0:40:26'Sir Said Halifa Bin Hera.

0:40:26 > 0:40:28'His Sultana was with him,

0:40:28 > 0:40:31'and so was their adopted daughter, Princess Amara.

0:40:31 > 0:40:32'The 73-year-old Sultan,

0:40:32 > 0:40:36'who has ruled over his East African territory for 40 years,

0:40:36 > 0:40:38'was clearly in a very happy mood on landing.'

0:40:38 > 0:40:42People swarmed into London to watch the final touches being made

0:40:42 > 0:40:44to the stands and decorations along the route.

0:40:46 > 0:40:49Not everyone whooped with delight.

0:40:49 > 0:40:51On the 24th May, the novelist Evelyn Waugh

0:40:51 > 0:40:54wrote to his friend Diana Cooper.

0:40:54 > 0:40:57'I drove down most of the main streets of London

0:40:57 > 0:40:58'and saw the decorations -

0:40:58 > 0:41:00'admittedly not complete -

0:41:00 > 0:41:04'but banal, common, feeble.

0:41:04 > 0:41:07'Perhaps they will be better at night.

0:41:07 > 0:41:10'The most offensive feature is the line of parabolic girders

0:41:10 > 0:41:12'down the Mall.

0:41:12 > 0:41:15'I pray that your dear dim eyes will be shielded

0:41:15 > 0:41:16'from too clear a vision of them.'

0:41:21 > 0:41:24'While crowds pack the route,

0:41:24 > 0:41:27'countless millions of people, both at home and abroad,

0:41:27 > 0:41:31'will be sitting down to watch the historic event on television.

0:41:31 > 0:41:33'The BBC's television outside broadcast facilities,

0:41:33 > 0:41:36'including a score of cameras, have been concentrated in London.'

0:41:49 > 0:41:51In those final few days

0:41:51 > 0:41:53the cameramen who would be filming the ceremony

0:41:53 > 0:41:54inside Westminster Abbey

0:41:54 > 0:41:57undertook their technical rehearsals.

0:42:00 > 0:42:04All cameras were built into the new tiers of seating

0:42:04 > 0:42:06to diminish their presence.

0:42:17 > 0:42:21Richard Dimbleby, the BBC's star commentator,

0:42:21 > 0:42:25rehearsed his script from a position high up beneath the roof.

0:42:25 > 0:42:31During the run up to the big day, he lived on board his own boat.

0:42:34 > 0:42:36It was called Vabel, this Dutch barge,

0:42:36 > 0:42:38rather fine looking

0:42:38 > 0:42:43and he moored it on the river between St Thomas' Hospital

0:42:43 > 0:42:46on the one side and the Palace of Westminster on the other,

0:42:46 > 0:42:48and he lived there.

0:42:48 > 0:42:51His excuse was that this was very close to the big event,

0:42:51 > 0:42:55it would be easy for him, he needed to breathe in the air,

0:42:55 > 0:42:58actually, it was just a wonderful game for him,

0:42:58 > 0:43:03he could be there and the only way that he could get to the shore,

0:43:03 > 0:43:05which he very much liked, was a Police launch,

0:43:05 > 0:43:08he would hail the launch at 6.00 in the morning for rehearsal

0:43:08 > 0:43:11and the police launcher would come across and take him

0:43:11 > 0:43:14and then he could walk through the streets to the Abbey,

0:43:14 > 0:43:17thinking to himself, "the people will soon be here,

0:43:17 > 0:43:22"the Queen will soon be here and here am I at the heart of it all."

0:43:22 > 0:43:26On May the 27th the Prime Minister Winston Churchill

0:43:26 > 0:43:29addressed the Queen, six Commonwealth Prime Ministers

0:43:29 > 0:43:32and a whole host of other figures from the Commonwealth

0:43:32 > 0:43:35at the end of a lunch in Westminster Hall.

0:43:35 > 0:43:38'Madame,

0:43:38 > 0:43:44'in this hall of fame and antiquity,

0:43:44 > 0:43:48'a long story has been unfolded

0:43:48 > 0:43:55'of the conflicts of the Crown versus Parliament

0:43:55 > 0:44:01'and I suppose we are, most of us, at this moment within 100 yards

0:44:01 > 0:44:05'of the statue of Oliver Cromwell.

0:44:05 > 0:44:07CROWD LAUGH

0:44:07 > 0:44:10'But, Ma'am, those days are done.

0:44:10 > 0:44:17'It is no longer a case of Crown V Parliament

0:44:17 > 0:44:22'but of Crown AND Parliament.'

0:44:22 > 0:44:25I think after the experience of the 1940s

0:44:25 > 0:44:27for two great dictatorships,

0:44:27 > 0:44:30the Nazi dictatorship and the Soviet dictatorship,

0:44:30 > 0:44:34perhaps to people's surprise, there was some sense that

0:44:34 > 0:44:37the monarchy still had a relevant constitutional role to play.

0:44:37 > 0:44:40It was part of the separation of powers,

0:44:40 > 0:44:42rather than one monolithic power

0:44:42 > 0:44:45and I think Churchill himself saw this as a terrific moment

0:44:45 > 0:44:50of potential really, nationally, for renewal and for hope

0:44:50 > 0:44:54and for that long sense of continuity with English history.

0:44:57 > 0:45:00'A stream of cars down the Mall brought many of the guests

0:45:00 > 0:45:03'to the Queen's first garden party of the year at Buckingham Palace.

0:45:03 > 0:45:07'The crowds had collected to see them all arrive of course.

0:45:10 > 0:45:14'When people are determined to have a look, they generally succeed.

0:45:14 > 0:45:17'The guests, who came from all over the Commonwealth and the Empire

0:45:17 > 0:45:19'as well as from Britain, numbered about 7,000.

0:45:19 > 0:45:21'Happily, the weather was nice and bright when

0:45:21 > 0:45:24'the Queen and members of the Royal Family came out across the lawn.'

0:45:24 > 0:45:28The leaders of the Commonwealth were made especially welcome.

0:45:28 > 0:45:31Britain post-war was seeking a mutual free association

0:45:31 > 0:45:33with the peoples it once ruled by Empire.

0:45:41 > 0:45:43To make sure that nothing would go wrong,

0:45:43 > 0:45:47the Duke of Norfolk organised a succession of rehearsals

0:45:47 > 0:45:48in the Abbey.

0:45:48 > 0:45:53These culminated in a full dress rehearsal on Friday 29th May,

0:45:53 > 0:45:56just four days before the Coronation itself.

0:46:04 > 0:46:08At the age of 13, Andrew Parker Bowles was invited to be

0:46:08 > 0:46:10the Lord Chancellor's Page.

0:46:13 > 0:46:14We were all briefed,

0:46:14 > 0:46:17and at the rehearsal we'd all been given barley sugar,

0:46:17 > 0:46:19a little bit of barley sugar, a glucose tablet,

0:46:19 > 0:46:22and a tiny bottle of smelling salts.

0:46:22 > 0:46:25I remember one of the other Pages ate the whole lot in one go

0:46:25 > 0:46:26and was then sick.

0:46:26 > 0:46:28He was quite a senior page too.

0:46:33 > 0:46:38One of the reasons why all British ceremonies work as well as they do

0:46:38 > 0:46:40in comparison to those in other countries

0:46:40 > 0:46:43is that they are very, very thoroughly rehearsed,

0:46:43 > 0:46:46and the Duke of Norfolk was a martinet as far as that was concerned

0:46:46 > 0:46:48and he put everybody through their paces

0:46:48 > 0:46:52and was absolutely determined that everybody should know exactly

0:46:52 > 0:46:57what they were doing and get it right and he was having no nonsense at all.

0:46:59 > 0:47:03The Queen mostly practiced in private at Buckingham Palace,

0:47:03 > 0:47:05wearing the crown to get used to its weight,

0:47:05 > 0:47:08but she rehearsed in the Abbey on four occasions.

0:47:11 > 0:47:15She also watched the Duchess of Norfolk impersonating her,

0:47:15 > 0:47:18presumably to get an idea of the scale of the ceremony.

0:47:18 > 0:47:23The 66-year-old Dr Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury,

0:47:23 > 0:47:25led the proceedings.

0:47:29 > 0:47:33The Archbishop was rather a stern taskmaster

0:47:33 > 0:47:36and he wasn't very popular with us girls,

0:47:36 > 0:47:39I don't know if he was popular with everybody else

0:47:39 > 0:47:43and he would sort of make us go over and over again when we knew,

0:47:43 > 0:47:47well, we thought we did, knew perfectly well what we were doing.

0:47:47 > 0:47:51And once, when he was showing us something,

0:47:51 > 0:47:53and said we'd done it wrong,

0:47:53 > 0:47:57he'd would then show us how HE said it had to be done

0:47:57 > 0:48:01and all of a sudden he did a complete somersault,

0:48:01 > 0:48:03he fell down the steps,

0:48:03 > 0:48:06rolled over and over with the cassock over his head

0:48:06 > 0:48:09and of course we were delighted, that really,

0:48:09 > 0:48:11because it, you know, it was sort of quite fitting

0:48:11 > 0:48:14that he should be made to look rather silly

0:48:14 > 0:48:17because he'd been making us look silly most of the time.

0:48:17 > 0:48:19There was a book with about,

0:48:19 > 0:48:24well over 100 diagrams to show people,

0:48:24 > 0:48:27the ones who were taking part in the actual ceremony,

0:48:27 > 0:48:29when to move forward, when to move back.

0:48:29 > 0:48:32And they had to have several things going on at the same time,

0:48:32 > 0:48:37otherwise the whole thing would have taken ten hours, probably.

0:48:37 > 0:48:39So, the Knights Of The Garter are advancing,

0:48:39 > 0:48:42the Bishops are moving backwards, the Lord Chamberlain is going here,

0:48:42 > 0:48:45somebody else is going there and in one of them,

0:48:45 > 0:48:47it literally says underneath,

0:48:47 > 0:48:48"This is very complicated

0:48:48 > 0:48:51"but if everybody keeps to the timing, nobody should collide."

0:48:51 > 0:48:53'In Kensington Gardens,

0:48:53 > 0:48:57'one of the camps there is for 5,000 police reinforcements.

0:48:57 > 0:49:00'They have been sent from county and borough police forces

0:49:00 > 0:49:02'all over the country.'

0:49:04 > 0:49:08'Here they are given instructions for tomorrow's task.

0:49:09 > 0:49:14'Altogether, about 15,000 police will be on duty.

0:49:14 > 0:49:17'Another important factor in controlling crowds will be

0:49:17 > 0:49:21'the system of strong barriers at 70 points around the route.

0:49:21 > 0:49:24'As soon as safety limits have been reached,

0:49:24 > 0:49:28'the barriers will be closed and ticket holders only admitted.'

0:49:35 > 0:49:38By June 1st, with just 24 hours to go,

0:49:38 > 0:49:41the number of sightseers created a huge transport problem.

0:49:41 > 0:49:44Traffic was expected to begin to reach its peak

0:49:44 > 0:49:45early the following morning,

0:49:45 > 0:49:49when buses would be running into central London

0:49:49 > 0:49:51at the rate of 1,000 an hour.

0:49:51 > 0:49:54Yet more buses would be put on for the crowds returning home,

0:49:54 > 0:49:58and for thousands more people coming in to see

0:49:58 > 0:50:01the floodlit buildings and the fireworks.

0:50:03 > 0:50:10In the sunshine of that afternoon Coronation Day began for thousands.

0:50:10 > 0:50:13They staked their places early and faced the big wait.

0:50:17 > 0:50:21'And from today's scenes along the route the Queen will take tomorrow,

0:50:21 > 0:50:26'we go far away from the London crowds to Addington Palace near Croydon.

0:50:26 > 0:50:29'Here, choirboys have been rehearsing for the Coronation service.

0:50:29 > 0:50:31'They come from all parts of the United Kingdom,

0:50:31 > 0:50:36'and tomorrow in the Abbey they will join nearly 400 other choristers.

0:50:36 > 0:50:38'In this excerpt from the Coronation service,

0:50:38 > 0:50:41'they were rehearsing Zadok The Priest.'

0:50:41 > 0:50:46# And all the people rejoiced

0:50:48 > 0:50:52# Rejoiced. Rejoiced

0:50:52 > 0:50:57# And all the people rejoiced. #

0:50:57 > 0:51:00Start again from rejoiced.

0:51:00 > 0:51:05# Rejoiced. Rejoiced. #

0:51:05 > 0:51:08Then it started to rain...

0:51:08 > 0:51:10but somehow the wet and the cold

0:51:10 > 0:51:14made the crowd even more determined to stay on.

0:51:14 > 0:51:17Everyone seemed caught up in an extraordinary air of expectancy,

0:51:17 > 0:51:20witnesses to an unique occasion.

0:51:26 > 0:51:30Despite the meticulous planning there were some last-minute hiccups.

0:51:34 > 0:51:37That evening Major-General Julian Gascoigne

0:51:37 > 0:51:40had to face a furious Lord Mountbatten,

0:51:40 > 0:51:42the uncle of the Duke of Edinburgh.

0:51:42 > 0:51:43Arriving back from Malta,

0:51:43 > 0:51:46where he was a Commander with NATO, Mountbatten,

0:51:46 > 0:51:50like many courtiers, hyper-aware of his ranking,

0:51:50 > 0:51:53took one look at the order of the procession and decided that he

0:51:53 > 0:51:55not the Goldstick-in-Waiting

0:51:55 > 0:52:00should be riding in prime position next to the Queen's coach.

0:52:00 > 0:52:03Mountbatten saw this and was appalled and immediately said,

0:52:03 > 0:52:05"Gascoigne, change that,

0:52:05 > 0:52:08"I ride beside the carriages, it's my status,"

0:52:08 > 0:52:12and Julian said, "No, sir, I'm afraid this is tradition

0:52:12 > 0:52:14"and this is what will happen,"

0:52:14 > 0:52:17and Mountbatten was so angry and furious that, according to my uncle,

0:52:17 > 0:52:20at 9.30 in the morning of the Coronation Day itself

0:52:20 > 0:52:23he arrived at the palace and said,

0:52:23 > 0:52:26"Ma'am, this is outrageous, I have to ride beside your carriage,"

0:52:26 > 0:52:30but she said, "No, I'm afraid Julian is right, we leave it Julian's way."

0:52:35 > 0:52:39The Crown Jewels were brought to the Abbey from the Tower of London

0:52:39 > 0:52:43the night before the Coronation and laid out in the Jerusalem chamber,

0:52:43 > 0:52:46which is a very ancient room just next to the Abbey,

0:52:46 > 0:52:49and they were guarded there by eight Beefeaters,

0:52:49 > 0:52:53the Yeomen Warders Of The Tower as they're called.

0:52:53 > 0:52:54And they came with their mattresses,

0:52:54 > 0:52:58they laid out they're mattresses in an adjacent room where they slept

0:52:58 > 0:53:01and then in pairs they, they stood guard over the Crown Jewels,

0:53:01 > 0:53:05each one was armed with a revolver and 12 rounds of ammunition.

0:53:05 > 0:53:09I think in future there'll be slightly more sophisticated way

0:53:09 > 0:53:11of looking after them.

0:53:16 > 0:53:20"Crowds schooled to sleep out the Luftwaffe's visits on the hard,

0:53:20 > 0:53:26"cold stone were not going to be put off by a drop of rain."

0:53:26 > 0:53:29..wrote the journalist Philip Hope-Wallace.

0:53:31 > 0:53:35The experience of the war coloured descriptions of the Coronation.

0:53:35 > 0:53:39Some called it C-Day, in conscious emulation of D-Day.

0:53:42 > 0:53:46The Coronation had been planned with military precision,

0:53:46 > 0:53:49mostly because so many involved had fought in the war

0:53:49 > 0:53:51that had ended only eight years before.

0:53:58 > 0:54:00Then, to cheer up the damp crowds

0:54:00 > 0:54:03during the early hours of Coronation Day,

0:54:03 > 0:54:04came the news that Hilary and Tensing

0:54:04 > 0:54:07had reached the top of the world.

0:54:11 > 0:54:12The news, news in inverted commas,

0:54:12 > 0:54:16came through in the morning of the Coronation in the newspapers,

0:54:16 > 0:54:18that Everest had been conquered

0:54:18 > 0:54:20and it seemed fantastically felicitous timing.

0:54:22 > 0:54:25The reality was that Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay

0:54:25 > 0:54:29had reached the top of Everest four days before,

0:54:29 > 0:54:31but the release of the news had been delayed.

0:54:35 > 0:54:38It was essentially a piece of news management,

0:54:38 > 0:54:43pardonable perhaps, but even so it was news management.

0:55:22 > 0:55:26Guests were asked to be in the Abbey by 8.30 at the latest.

0:55:35 > 0:55:39Peers and peeresses in their fur-trimmed robes and coronets

0:55:39 > 0:55:42picked their way through the puddles.

0:55:42 > 0:55:45Some had made the journey by Tube.

0:56:09 > 0:56:13The television coverage was planned to start at 10.15.

0:56:14 > 0:56:17Just minutes before, Peter Dimmock and his team

0:56:17 > 0:56:19were going through their final checks.

0:56:21 > 0:56:24We were, obviously, all on tenterhooks,

0:56:24 > 0:56:25waiting for the off, as it were,

0:56:25 > 0:56:29and we suddenly heard, I heard over my intercom,

0:56:29 > 0:56:32which I had a connection with the engineers,

0:56:32 > 0:56:35and they said, "Oh, dear, we've lost picture."

0:56:35 > 0:56:36And I thought, "What has happened?"

0:56:41 > 0:56:44For an anxious few moments, it looked as if their colleagues

0:56:44 > 0:56:46in radio were going to have to go it alone.

0:56:49 > 0:56:51Apparently, all it was

0:56:51 > 0:56:53was that one of the engineers had tripped over

0:56:53 > 0:56:56a vital connecting cable to the main network,

0:56:56 > 0:57:01but he very quickly realised what he'd done and reconnected it.

0:57:01 > 0:57:03It was a little bit of a scare at the time.

0:57:03 > 0:57:05MUSIC: "In A Golden Coach" by Billy Cotton & His Band

0:57:05 > 0:57:08WORDS SPOKEN BY BILLY COTTON

0:57:08 > 0:57:10# On a day in June

0:57:10 > 0:57:14# When the flowers are in bloom

0:57:14 > 0:57:16# That day will make history

0:57:16 > 0:57:19# Yes, world history

0:57:20 > 0:57:23# And the warm, friendly sun

0:57:23 > 0:57:27# Will shine down On dear old London Town

0:57:28 > 0:57:32# And this wonderful picture You'll see

0:57:36 > 0:57:39# In a golden coach

0:57:39 > 0:57:44# There's a heart of gold... #

0:57:44 > 0:57:47The BBC's live television broadcast was in black and white...

0:57:49 > 0:57:53..but independent film companies shot in both colour and black and white.

0:57:53 > 0:57:56# The sweetest Queen

0:57:56 > 0:58:00# The world's ever seen

0:58:00 > 0:58:07# Wearing her golden crown... #

0:58:09 > 0:58:13Up to the moment of the start of the Abbey and this procession,

0:58:13 > 0:58:18I'd rather taken - not a flippant view of the whole thing,

0:58:18 > 0:58:23but it hadn't really dawned on me quite how serious it was,

0:58:23 > 0:58:27how important it was, how this was a moment in history

0:58:27 > 0:58:31all be it our role, the six of us, was a very tiny role.

0:58:31 > 0:58:35That was very frightening. I did suddenly have a moment's panic.

0:58:35 > 0:58:38I thought, "What if I faint? What if I fall over?

0:58:38 > 0:58:40"What if I do something wrong?"

0:58:47 > 0:58:51The loudest cheering came from the 30,000 schoolchildren

0:58:51 > 0:58:53ranged along the Embankment.

0:59:05 > 0:59:07We were told that the Queen had left Buckingham Palace,

0:59:07 > 0:59:11and so we went towards the door and we could hear her coming

0:59:11 > 0:59:14because of the shouts, and it was so exciting.

0:59:17 > 0:59:20And the nearer she got, the louder the cheers, you know,

0:59:20 > 0:59:24and suddenly this amazing coach, and there she was

0:59:24 > 0:59:26and there were we, waiting.

0:59:30 > 0:59:32Two of the Maids of Honour rode in the procession.

0:59:32 > 0:59:35The other four were on the steps of the Annexe

0:59:35 > 0:59:38to help carry the 18-foot, crimson Robe of State,

0:59:38 > 0:59:41which cloaked the Queen's embroidered dress.

0:59:42 > 0:59:47We stood there and we put our hands under her train, lifted it up.

0:59:47 > 0:59:49It had little satin handles underneath.

0:59:49 > 0:59:53And she just turned round and said "Ready, girls?"

0:59:53 > 0:59:56We said, "Yes, we're ready," and off we went.

0:59:58 > 1:00:00CHORAL SINGING

1:00:03 > 1:00:05The Queen was very keen that Prince Philip should play

1:00:05 > 1:00:08as full a part as was constitutionally possible

1:00:08 > 1:00:09in the Coronation service,

1:00:09 > 1:00:13so he travelled with her to the Abbey and he is in her procession,

1:00:13 > 1:00:15so he arrived pretty much just before she did,

1:00:15 > 1:00:17but he didn't walk side by side with her,

1:00:17 > 1:00:18there was no question of that.

1:00:25 > 1:00:27She looked so beautiful.

1:00:27 > 1:00:31This amazing dress, covered in embroidery,

1:00:31 > 1:00:33and a tiny, tiny waist.

1:00:33 > 1:00:36And she had the most beautiful skin and eyes.

1:00:41 > 1:00:45# Vivat Regina!

1:00:46 > 1:00:50# Vivat Regina Elizabetha!

1:00:52 > 1:00:55# Vivat! Vivat! Vivat!

1:00:55 > 1:00:58What I love about the Coronation

1:00:58 > 1:00:59is the five parts of it.

1:00:59 > 1:01:02It's very clear and you can see why things are done.

1:01:02 > 1:01:04First of all the recognition.

1:01:04 > 1:01:08The church wants to make sure, "Have we got the right person?"

1:01:08 > 1:01:11Everyone is given the chance to say, "Yes, this is the Queen."

1:01:11 > 1:01:13'I here present unto you

1:01:13 > 1:01:17'Queen Elizabeth, your undoubted Queen.

1:01:17 > 1:01:21'Wherefore all you who are come this day

1:01:21 > 1:01:26'to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same?'

1:01:26 > 1:01:28ALL: Long live Queen Elizabeth.

1:01:28 > 1:01:32Once the congregation had shouted its approval,

1:01:32 > 1:01:34what should the Queen do?

1:01:34 > 1:01:37The Archbishop of Canterbury had suggested a half-curtsey,

1:01:37 > 1:01:40but Garter King of Alms had fulminated

1:01:40 > 1:01:43that the Sovereign never bends to her subjects.

1:01:43 > 1:01:47Eventually, the Archbishop asked the Queen what she thought.

1:01:47 > 1:01:50Apparently, she replied, "Oh, I think a curtsey."

1:01:50 > 1:01:53FANFARE

1:01:57 > 1:01:59We'd all been told, you know,

1:01:59 > 1:02:03to have something to eat before we went,

1:02:03 > 1:02:06but that was about five hours, you know, before.

1:02:06 > 1:02:09We'd had nothing, and we had been told

1:02:09 > 1:02:13that we ought to wriggle our toes and we had little phials

1:02:13 > 1:02:15of smelling salts in our gloves which we could break.

1:02:15 > 1:02:17I suddenly realised I felt very faint.

1:02:17 > 1:02:21Luckily, I was at the back against a pillar.

1:02:21 > 1:02:24I felt a movement behind,

1:02:24 > 1:02:30and I guessed that she was fainting, but I could also smell the ammonia.

1:02:30 > 1:02:32Black Rod, who was standing beside me, realised,

1:02:32 > 1:02:34because I suppose I was swaying slightly,

1:02:34 > 1:02:38and he pinioned me to the pillar with his arm,

1:02:38 > 1:02:41and, um, it was a very dodgy moment.

1:02:41 > 1:02:44I thought at one point, "I cannot faint,

1:02:44 > 1:02:46"I mean, it's too embarrassing, awful."

1:02:46 > 1:02:49She was revived and kept going

1:02:49 > 1:02:55and, in fact, when we went into the vestry after this period,

1:02:55 > 1:03:01I think the Archbishop offered her a tot of brandy, but she refused.

1:03:02 > 1:03:04ARCHBISHOP: Will you solemnly promise

1:03:04 > 1:03:07and swear to govern the peoples of the United Kingdom

1:03:07 > 1:03:10of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...

1:03:10 > 1:03:12"Right," the church says,

1:03:12 > 1:03:14"before we give this unbelievable power,

1:03:14 > 1:03:18"we must make sure that this person's going to behave,"

1:03:18 > 1:03:19and so the oath is done.

1:03:19 > 1:03:24..and of your possession, and the other territories...

1:03:24 > 1:03:27Throughout the history of the Coronation,

1:03:27 > 1:03:30the oath marks the balance

1:03:30 > 1:03:33between the Crown, the Church and the State.

1:03:33 > 1:03:37And, at times, the Crown is in the ascendant,

1:03:37 > 1:03:41or the Church is more powerful, or the people have moved forward

1:03:41 > 1:03:43in their position of influence in Parliament.

1:03:43 > 1:03:45And you can tell that, obviously,

1:03:45 > 1:03:49once you come into a constitutional time of monarchy,

1:03:49 > 1:03:51which is what the 20th century represents,

1:03:51 > 1:03:56that that battle is sort of over and the people are the most powerful.

1:03:56 > 1:03:58THE QUEEN: I solemnly promise so to do.

1:03:58 > 1:04:01And now, for the first time

1:04:01 > 1:04:04in the many times of this ancient ceremony,

1:04:04 > 1:04:06Scotland's Church takes part.

1:04:07 > 1:04:10The Moderator of the Church of Scotland

1:04:10 > 1:04:12had been given a role in the Coronation service

1:04:12 > 1:04:14as a result of a symbolic theft.

1:04:17 > 1:04:21Early on Christmas Day, 1950, the Stone of Scone -

1:04:21 > 1:04:23the relic from the crowning of Scottish kings

1:04:23 > 1:04:25which sits beneath the Coronation chair -

1:04:25 > 1:04:29had been stolen and taken back to Scotland by nationalists.

1:04:31 > 1:04:36Though it was eventually found, the stone remained controversial.

1:04:37 > 1:04:39'These initials, JFS,

1:04:39 > 1:04:41'apparently newly scratched on the chair,

1:04:41 > 1:04:44'are thought to stand for "Justice For Scotland."'

1:04:44 > 1:04:46There was a Scottish lobby,

1:04:46 > 1:04:49which very much wanted it to be in Edinburgh

1:04:49 > 1:04:52and the Queen to have a separate, Scottish Coronation ceremony

1:04:52 > 1:04:53in Edinburgh,

1:04:53 > 1:04:57but Churchill and the rest of the Cabinet would have none of that.

1:04:57 > 1:05:00It was the Dean of Westminster, Alan Don, himself a Scot,

1:05:00 > 1:05:03who had suggested that the Moderator be given something to do

1:05:03 > 1:05:08at the Coronation as a way of defusing nationalist sentiment.

1:05:08 > 1:05:11They decided that the Moderator of the General Assembly

1:05:11 > 1:05:14of the Church of Scotland should present her with the Bible,

1:05:14 > 1:05:17but it really made no sense at all.

1:05:17 > 1:05:21It was trying to reconcile something which was irreconcilable,

1:05:21 > 1:05:22and frankly nonsense,

1:05:22 > 1:05:24I'd find it very odd if they do it again,

1:05:24 > 1:05:27Well, next time they'll have to include Roman Catholics

1:05:27 > 1:05:30and other Christian denominations - how that's done, I don't know.

1:05:30 > 1:05:33It's creaking, it's a medieval ceremony.

1:05:33 > 1:05:35It's amazingly flexible,

1:05:35 > 1:05:40but there's certain areas you get to where you can't really tweak it.

1:05:42 > 1:05:47MUSIC: "Zadok The Priest" by George Frideric Handel

1:05:55 > 1:05:57Then the church is content,

1:05:57 > 1:06:01and gives the greatest gift it's got - the anointing.

1:06:01 > 1:06:04And with that sacrament the monarch is changed

1:06:04 > 1:06:07and becomes something beyond, and, as Richard II said,

1:06:07 > 1:06:09"Not all the water in the rough, rude sea

1:06:09 > 1:06:12"can wash the balm from an anointed king."

1:06:18 > 1:06:21First, the Queen's embroidered dress

1:06:21 > 1:06:23was covered by a plain, white garment.

1:06:26 > 1:06:31Something I shall never forget is when they took her regalia off her

1:06:31 > 1:06:33and she looked so vulnerable,

1:06:33 > 1:06:37and I think that moment, when there was no crown,

1:06:37 > 1:06:41nothing except there she was just in this white, linen shift,

1:06:41 > 1:06:45and they anointed her, you know, that was very, very moving.

1:06:50 > 1:06:53Four Knights of the Garter -

1:06:53 > 1:06:55the Dukes of Wellington and Portland,

1:06:55 > 1:06:57the Earl Fortescue and the Viscount Allendale -

1:06:57 > 1:07:02bring forward a golden canopy, which they hold over Her Majesty

1:07:02 > 1:07:06so that the sacred moment of anointing is shielded from all eyes.

1:07:09 > 1:07:13When it came to the anointing the Dean of Westminster

1:07:13 > 1:07:15poured the oil into the anointing spoon,

1:07:15 > 1:07:19held it up for the Archbishop to dip his thumb into it

1:07:19 > 1:07:20to anoint the Queen.

1:07:20 > 1:07:23He did it, he anointed the Queen's hands with the oil,

1:07:23 > 1:07:26then he dipped his thumb into the spoon

1:07:26 > 1:07:29to anoint the Queen's head and her breast.

1:07:29 > 1:07:32But by the time he'd finished saying the prayer,

1:07:32 > 1:07:36the oil had all evaporated from his thumb.

1:07:36 > 1:07:39But he said in his report afterwards he just touched the Queen's forehead

1:07:39 > 1:07:42and her breast, and that was all that was necessary,

1:07:42 > 1:07:45but he didn't have to rub the oil off, as he had planned to do.

1:07:51 > 1:07:54It brought a lump to my throat.

1:07:54 > 1:07:57And I really felt then, this child-woman

1:07:57 > 1:07:59is really going to be somebody.

1:07:59 > 1:08:01I don't know what made me feel that,

1:08:01 > 1:08:05but I had enormous trust in her and faith in her,

1:08:05 > 1:08:10just from seeing her standing there in such a straight, and...

1:08:10 > 1:08:13I don't know, she looked extraordinary.

1:08:13 > 1:08:17In command, but in a nice way.

1:08:30 > 1:08:34The Dean of Westminster, assisted by the Mistress of the Robes,

1:08:34 > 1:08:37now helped the Queen into the Colobium Sindonis,

1:08:37 > 1:08:38or little gown of linen.

1:08:42 > 1:08:44Over it they placed the Supertunica,

1:08:44 > 1:08:48a coat of magnificent cloth of gold with a crimson silk lining.

1:08:52 > 1:08:55Next, the Queen was dressed in the Robe Royal,

1:08:55 > 1:08:57a garment that may well be descended

1:08:57 > 1:09:00from the imperial cloaks of the Byzantine Emperors -

1:09:00 > 1:09:03a reminder of just how fabulously ancient

1:09:03 > 1:09:05parts of the Coronation service are.

1:09:09 > 1:09:12Once the Queen had received all the Royal vestments,

1:09:12 > 1:09:15she was presented with the priceless Crown Jewels.

1:09:18 > 1:09:22As each piece of the jewelled regalia was delivered to her,

1:09:22 > 1:09:25Archbishop Fisher intoned an explanation of its significance.

1:09:27 > 1:09:32Receive the Rod of Equity and Mercy.

1:09:36 > 1:09:42There then followed the climax of all the months of preparation -

1:09:40 > 1:09:42the crowning.

1:09:59 > 1:10:02ALL: God save the Queen!

1:10:02 > 1:10:04God save the Queen!

1:10:04 > 1:10:06God save the Queen!

1:10:07 > 1:10:11The moment was watched by the four-year-old Prince Charles,

1:10:11 > 1:10:15just as the Queen had watched her father in 1937,

1:10:15 > 1:10:17though his crowning went rather less well.

1:10:19 > 1:10:23The problem with St Edward's crown, it that it's not clear

1:10:23 > 1:10:26which way round it should sit.

1:10:26 > 1:10:29It looks pretty much the same from both sides.

1:10:29 > 1:10:34And in 1937, to deal with that, they tied a tiny piece of thread

1:10:34 > 1:10:37around the front cross pattee, just above the forehead,

1:10:37 > 1:10:39so that, when Archbishop Lang reached for it,

1:10:39 > 1:10:42he could see the little thread and know that was the front

1:10:42 > 1:10:45and place it on King George VI's head.

1:10:46 > 1:10:50Unfortunately, someone cleared it away in the last final checks.

1:10:50 > 1:10:52They saw it - "Oh, gosh, we must remove that."

1:10:52 > 1:10:54And when you watch Archbishop Lang,

1:10:54 > 1:10:57he picks up the great crown from the Dean

1:10:57 > 1:11:01and he's turning it around, trying to find which way to put it on,

1:11:01 > 1:11:03and, as the King wrote in his diary, "I never did know

1:11:03 > 1:11:06"whether it was put on the right way or not."

1:11:11 > 1:11:15The Queen had a great reverence and love of her father.

1:11:15 > 1:11:19Also she had a huge sense of the dignity of what it was.

1:11:28 > 1:11:31It wasn't just having to go through a kind of spectacle

1:11:31 > 1:11:34and she was landed with it whether she liked it or not.

1:11:34 > 1:11:37She grasped, absolutely, what this was about,

1:11:37 > 1:11:39that it was fundamental - she was being enthroned

1:11:39 > 1:11:41as Supreme Governor of the Church of England,

1:11:41 > 1:11:45as living embodiment of the State, the fount of justice,

1:11:45 > 1:11:47the fount of honour, the head of her forces,

1:11:47 > 1:11:50and so on, and so on, the list goes on.

1:11:50 > 1:11:53And I think she had an overwhelming sense

1:11:53 > 1:11:59that this was a moment which, in fact, actually transformed her,

1:11:59 > 1:12:02really, I suppose, if you're a Christian believer

1:12:02 > 1:12:06by being empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out this role.

1:12:06 > 1:12:07I think that is at the core of it.

1:12:09 > 1:12:12From his position high above the ceremony,

1:12:12 > 1:12:16the words of Richard Dimbleby, the BBC's chief commentator,

1:12:16 > 1:12:18guided the new television audience

1:12:18 > 1:12:22through nearly two and a half hours of complex ritual.

1:12:23 > 1:12:26The Bishops of Durham and Bath and Wells,

1:12:26 > 1:12:29who still support the Queen on either hand,

1:12:29 > 1:12:33will kneel with the Archbishop, as do all the Bishops present,

1:12:33 > 1:12:36speaking the words of fealty together.

1:12:37 > 1:12:42When you watch the images and listen to the voices,

1:12:42 > 1:12:46it seems as though my father is conducting the service

1:12:46 > 1:12:48alongside the Archbishop.

1:12:48 > 1:12:50It's the same use of language,

1:12:50 > 1:12:55the structure of the sentences, the words that are used,

1:12:55 > 1:12:57and it's very powerful.

1:12:57 > 1:13:00You could almost ask, "Who is in charge of this?"

1:13:00 > 1:13:04Because there's Dimbleby saying "And now..." and carrying on,

1:13:04 > 1:13:07and then the Archbishop, as it were, obeys.

1:13:07 > 1:13:09It wasn't like that in reality, of course!

1:13:09 > 1:13:14But the beauty of it as an event was the seamlessness.

1:13:14 > 1:13:16ARCHBISHOP: Our Sovereign Lady,

1:13:16 > 1:13:19Queen of this Realm, and Defender of the Faith,

1:13:19 > 1:13:22and unto your heirs and successors according to law.

1:13:22 > 1:13:25She's placed into the throne, takes possession of her kingdom,

1:13:25 > 1:13:29and it's her turn - "Right, I want homage from all of you."

1:13:29 > 1:13:32And then, one by one, they come up and do homage.

1:13:33 > 1:13:37The Archbishop had been worried that the Duke of Edinburgh

1:13:37 > 1:13:39might have wanted to displace the Church

1:13:39 > 1:13:41and be first to pay homage.

1:13:41 > 1:13:44But, on this occasion, he was content to follow tradition.

1:13:44 > 1:13:46RICHARD DIMBLEBY: His Royal Highness,

1:13:46 > 1:13:49the Duke of Edinburgh, does homage,

1:13:49 > 1:13:51placing his hands in those of the Queen,

1:13:51 > 1:13:55and afterwards touching the Crown, in token that he will support it

1:13:55 > 1:13:59with all his power, and kissing the Queen's left cheek.

1:14:01 > 1:14:04DUKE OF EDINBURGH: I, Philip, do become your liege man

1:14:04 > 1:14:07of life and limb and of earthly worship, in faith and truth...

1:14:07 > 1:14:10Prince Philip, I don't think, would have had any problem at all

1:14:10 > 1:14:12about doing homage to his wife.

1:14:12 > 1:14:14He had been brought up, after all, as a member

1:14:14 > 1:14:17of the Greek Royal Family, where it would have been

1:14:17 > 1:14:22expected of him to kiss the hands of any Queen that he met.

1:14:22 > 1:14:25He was probably relieved that he didn't have to take as big a part

1:14:25 > 1:14:29in the ceremony as she did, and he performed his part extremely well.

1:14:29 > 1:14:35There had been discussions about who should be giving the homage,

1:14:35 > 1:14:37pledging loyalty to the Sovereign.

1:14:37 > 1:14:40In this case, it was the aristocracy,

1:14:40 > 1:14:43but in the past, of course, it had been representatives

1:14:43 > 1:14:47of pockets of power and influence, and by this time, of course,

1:14:47 > 1:14:50the aristocracy had no power and influence, really.

1:14:50 > 1:14:54LAURENCE OLIVIER: The Queen's uncle, the Duke of Gloucester,

1:14:54 > 1:14:56pays his homage.

1:14:56 > 1:14:58And there was discussion as to whether, perhaps,

1:14:58 > 1:15:01it should be people like the trades union movements,

1:15:01 > 1:15:03captains of industry, and so on.

1:15:03 > 1:15:05Prince Philip had suggested that perhaps

1:15:05 > 1:15:08a representative of the common man should

1:15:08 > 1:15:10pledge their loyalty but who should that be?

1:15:10 > 1:15:13Should it be the Prime Minister or Speaker of the House of Commons?

1:15:13 > 1:15:16And then of course it had been realised that

1:15:16 > 1:15:19in order to change the tradition you'd have to get permission

1:15:19 > 1:15:23from the Commonwealth countries and that could take many months

1:15:23 > 1:15:25so it was decided to leave things as they were.

1:15:25 > 1:15:29And there was this tussle between traditionalists and modernists

1:15:29 > 1:15:32and in the end, the traditionalists won out.

1:15:35 > 1:15:39As the service drew to a close, the Army's top brass,

1:15:39 > 1:15:40standing by the West Door of the Abbey

1:15:40 > 1:15:43had a difficult decision to take.

1:15:43 > 1:15:44Given the foul weather,

1:15:44 > 1:15:49should they order the waiting troops into capes and cloaks?

1:15:51 > 1:15:54The uniforms are very valuable.

1:15:54 > 1:15:58One of the nightmares is the buff, the white belts of guardsmen.

1:15:58 > 1:16:01If that runs into their red tunics it can completely ruin them,

1:16:01 > 1:16:04and they're expensive items.

1:16:07 > 1:16:10But the generals decided that on Coronation day,

1:16:10 > 1:16:13when the taxpayer was out in force to see its money spent

1:16:13 > 1:16:17on spectacle, the troops should march in their colourful uniforms.

1:16:21 > 1:16:26SONG: "God Save The Queen"

1:16:26 > 1:16:29As the Queen began her procession out of the Abbey,

1:16:29 > 1:16:33the BBC's Peter Dimmock spotted an opportunity for a close-up

1:16:33 > 1:16:36which was technically against the rules drawn up

1:16:36 > 1:16:39between the Duke of Norfolk and the BBC.

1:16:39 > 1:16:43There was a rule that no camera could be nearer

1:16:43 > 1:16:46than 30 feet from any member of the Royal Family.

1:16:46 > 1:16:49Well, I knew that

1:16:49 > 1:16:53but there was nothing about what lens you could use at all.

1:16:59 > 1:17:02He selected a telephoto lens.

1:17:11 > 1:17:16I didn't deceive anybody I just used a bit of common sense.

1:17:21 > 1:17:24TV COMMENTARY: 'The Sultan of Johor

1:17:24 > 1:17:27with his young Romanian wife, the Sultanah...

1:17:28 > 1:17:34'A truly regal figure stepping into the carriage on the left there,

1:17:34 > 1:17:37'the Queen of Tonga.

1:17:37 > 1:17:41'Queen Salote, the only other Queen in the Commonwealth

1:17:41 > 1:17:45'apart from our own Queen Elizabeth.

1:17:45 > 1:17:47CROWD CHEERS

1:17:47 > 1:17:52'Sir Winston Churchill with his Garter robes and hat.'

1:17:52 > 1:17:56The scale of the processions had threatened to overstretch

1:17:56 > 1:17:58the resources of the Royal Mews,

1:17:58 > 1:17:59but Sir Alexander Korda,

1:17:59 > 1:18:02the film producer and director, had stepped in

1:18:02 > 1:18:08and saved the situation by lending seven carriages from his studios.

1:18:11 > 1:18:14Mass Observation, the social research organisation

1:18:14 > 1:18:19which studied everyday behaviour, had, in 1937, produced a collection

1:18:19 > 1:18:22of peoples' responses to the Coronation of George VI.

1:18:29 > 1:18:33In 1953 it turned its attention to the Coronation of Elizabeth II.

1:18:37 > 1:18:41Peoples' reactions to watching the event interested them,

1:18:41 > 1:18:45particularly those seeing it for the first time live on television.

1:18:45 > 1:18:48Viewers were encouraged to keep diaries of their day.

1:18:51 > 1:18:55"I watched the TV from 10.30am to 5pm without any break

1:18:55 > 1:18:58"except for a quick dash to the bathroom.

1:18:58 > 1:19:01"My interest was so intense that I never strayed

1:19:01 > 1:19:05"from the chair all day. From 9.50 till 5 was wholly concerned

1:19:05 > 1:19:07"with the Coronation."

1:19:11 > 1:19:16Some people were quite reverential, went quiet, joined in the hymns,

1:19:16 > 1:19:20sometimes cried at really serious, solemn moments.

1:19:20 > 1:19:23And other people, you know,

1:19:23 > 1:19:25the children shouted, the dogs barked,

1:19:25 > 1:19:28they just bustled around, although there was, I think,

1:19:28 > 1:19:30compared to how people are now in front of television sets,

1:19:30 > 1:19:32there was much more of a formal watching

1:19:32 > 1:19:35and they called it "viewing", not "watching"

1:19:35 > 1:19:36which I thought was interesting

1:19:36 > 1:19:39and often "telly viewing" rather than "watching the telly".

1:19:44 > 1:19:47The live coverage of the Coronation was the first time television

1:19:47 > 1:19:51reached a larger audience than radio.

1:19:51 > 1:19:55- TV COMMENTARY:- 'And so the procession of the Queen Mother

1:19:55 > 1:19:57'leaves Westminster Abbey.'

1:19:57 > 1:20:01'Then the march back began, about half past three,

1:20:01 > 1:20:05'what with the steady marching and the bands I became drowsy

1:20:05 > 1:20:08'until I was brought to quickly with a pain on my left thigh.

1:20:08 > 1:20:12'I had let my cigarette fall from my fingers and it had burnt

1:20:12 > 1:20:16'a hole in my frock and a new nylon petticoat and was hurting me.

1:20:16 > 1:20:19'After that and a cup of tea, my attention was alert

1:20:19 > 1:20:22'and I had no wish for 40 winks.'

1:20:26 > 1:20:29One million sets were purchased for the day,

1:20:29 > 1:20:33and over 20 million watched.

1:20:33 > 1:20:38There was a huge sense of participation in what was going on.

1:20:38 > 1:20:41Not necessarily a royalist feeling, I don't think,

1:20:41 > 1:20:44but a sense of being involved in something that everybody else

1:20:44 > 1:20:48was enjoying throughout the country and throughout the Commonwealth,

1:20:48 > 1:20:50and called it a party and people felt "We deserve this,

1:20:50 > 1:20:52"we've got through the war

1:20:52 > 1:20:54"and we've got through austerity,

1:20:54 > 1:20:56"it's time we had a party."

1:21:03 > 1:21:07Elizabeth II really had been crowned in sight of the people

1:21:07 > 1:21:10as ancient precedent required.

1:21:13 > 1:21:15"I was probably more emotionally moved by the viewing

1:21:15 > 1:21:17"than the others.

1:21:17 > 1:21:20"I found it difficult to keep tears out of my eyes

1:21:20 > 1:21:22"and at times they ran over.

1:21:22 > 1:21:25'Behind the coach, the Sovereign Standard

1:21:25 > 1:21:29'carried by Regimental Corporal Major Maxted of The Blues.'

1:21:29 > 1:21:33Most of the people that kept diaries were really impressed by

1:21:33 > 1:21:39the Queen's dignity, her apparent commitment to doing it all right

1:21:39 > 1:21:42and Nella Last who's one of the most famous Mass Observers

1:21:42 > 1:21:45said she thought the Queen was every man's sweetheart.

1:21:49 > 1:21:52The live coverage was recorded off a television screen

1:21:52 > 1:21:55by technicians at BBC Alexandra Palace.

1:21:57 > 1:22:01The film prints that were struck in relays, known as telecasts,

1:22:01 > 1:22:03were then flown by helicopter to Heathrow

1:22:03 > 1:22:05from the nearby cricket pitch.

1:22:08 > 1:22:13At the airport they were loaded onto Canberra bombers bound for Canada.

1:22:16 > 1:22:21The arrangement was codenamed Operation Pony Express.

1:22:21 > 1:22:25The idea was that the ceremony would be seen in loyal Commonwealth Canada

1:22:25 > 1:22:29before it appeared on commercial channels in the United States.

1:22:32 > 1:22:35There was an anxiety that the US TV stations would not treat

1:22:35 > 1:22:38the day with the same gravitas as the BBC,

1:22:38 > 1:22:41a concern which proved fully justified

1:22:41 > 1:22:44when NBC's celebrity chimpanzee, J Fred Muggs,

1:22:44 > 1:22:47popped up in the middle of the Coronation service

1:22:47 > 1:22:51to be asked: "Do they have a Coronation where you come from?"

1:22:56 > 1:22:59When the Queen arrived, we got her out of the carriage

1:22:59 > 1:23:02and then she turned round and said "Marvellous, it's over,

1:23:02 > 1:23:05"nothing went wrong."

1:23:05 > 1:23:09and I remember we almost sort of ran down the passage behind her

1:23:09 > 1:23:12and she'd taken off her crown.

1:23:12 > 1:23:15Prince Charles was trying to carry the crown.

1:23:15 > 1:23:17We were terrified he was going to drop it

1:23:17 > 1:23:19because we thought that was a bad omen.

1:23:19 > 1:23:23Anyway, he didn't, and Princess Anne was darting under the train

1:23:23 > 1:23:27and behind that, walked Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh,

1:23:27 > 1:23:31and behind that, Princess Margaret actually looking rather sad.

1:23:35 > 1:23:38And then we went and had our photographs taken by Cecil Beaton.

1:23:40 > 1:23:43He had really such a lot to do.

1:23:43 > 1:23:46He had the Queen there for about seven minutes or so.

1:23:55 > 1:23:58They would come in and stand in front, or sit in front of

1:23:58 > 1:24:02his various backdrops. He had a number of assistants of course.

1:24:02 > 1:24:06Photography in those days, there was no chance of checking it digitally,

1:24:06 > 1:24:10so the fact that he actually managed to produce extremely fine portraits

1:24:10 > 1:24:12is a triumph.

1:24:12 > 1:24:16But he also managed to take one or two rather stylish photographs.

1:24:16 > 1:24:19There's quiet a sweet picture of Princess Anne walking past

1:24:19 > 1:24:21the Queen Mother's train as she leaves the group there

1:24:21 > 1:24:25and of course he did a wonderful picture of the Queen Mother

1:24:25 > 1:24:28and Princess Charles.

1:24:28 > 1:24:30'And now, here is the Queen.'

1:24:40 > 1:24:45We followed the Queen out onto the balcony, and there,

1:24:45 > 1:24:48you couldn't put a pin between them. There was a sea of people.

1:24:48 > 1:24:52'The crowd have broken through the corden of police and guardsmen,

1:24:52 > 1:24:55'and they're surging across.

1:24:57 > 1:25:00'And here now are the first of the planes.

1:25:00 > 1:25:05'The first wing of Meteor jet fighters coming over at 350mph

1:25:05 > 1:25:08'at about 1,000 feet.'

1:25:17 > 1:25:21Richard Dimbleby was asked by the BBC to return to the Abbey

1:25:21 > 1:25:26in the evening for a reflective postscript on the day's events.

1:25:30 > 1:25:32He was conjuring up his thoughts

1:25:32 > 1:25:37and was aghast as he walked around to see that the pews

1:25:37 > 1:25:40where there had been the be-robed aristocracy,

1:25:40 > 1:25:44the piers of the realm, men and women in their finery,

1:25:44 > 1:25:48were covered with litter, the detritus of the day

1:25:48 > 1:25:53There were newspapers, there were tissues on the floor,

1:25:53 > 1:25:56would you believe it? On the floor! Disgraceful. Outrageous!

1:25:56 > 1:26:01There were whiskey bottles, there were sandwich cases,

1:26:01 > 1:26:06He was, in a sense, like a butler who was outraged

1:26:06 > 1:26:08by the behaviour in the drawing at Downton Abbey.

1:26:11 > 1:26:14But he also knew there was a degree

1:26:14 > 1:26:18to which some of the aristocracy rather looked down their noses

1:26:18 > 1:26:22at the Royal Family who were ingenue, arrivistes,

1:26:22 > 1:26:26they were foreigners who'd come here where as we the aristos,

1:26:26 > 1:26:28the real aristos had been for generations,

1:26:28 > 1:26:30a sort of snobbery, and he resented that

1:26:30 > 1:26:33so I think there's a side of him that was quite pleased

1:26:33 > 1:26:37to see to that they hadn't behaved all that well at the ceremony that

1:26:37 > 1:26:42was the only thing that mattered, which was the crowning of the Queen.

1:26:44 > 1:26:47The Coronation pageantry had been conceived among other things

1:26:47 > 1:26:52as a celebration of Britain's continuing role as a great power.

1:26:52 > 1:26:57But by the mid-1950s an essentially traditional and conservative society

1:26:57 > 1:27:03began to change. We became more affluent, more mobile, more diverse.

1:27:03 > 1:27:07The next Coronation will be witnessed by a world

1:27:07 > 1:27:12transformed out of all recognition since June 2nd, 1953.

1:27:13 > 1:27:16I mean, in 1953 it was antiquated.

1:27:16 > 1:27:21You look at it and you can't believe that such a thing was done in 1953.

1:27:21 > 1:27:25I mean, don't forget we had aeroplanes and television

1:27:25 > 1:27:28and well, I mean, how does it sit with a world with IT

1:27:28 > 1:27:30and the net and everything else?

1:27:30 > 1:27:33It's sort of extraordinary, surreal...

1:27:33 > 1:27:34It's surreal to look at it.

1:27:34 > 1:27:38It's haunting, it's hauntingly beautiful and very moving

1:27:38 > 1:27:42but it's... You can't get your head around any of it

1:27:42 > 1:27:48and it represents tremendous problems next time as to how all that

1:27:48 > 1:27:50is to be re-enacted.

1:27:50 > 1:27:55But again, it will be tradition and innovation.

1:27:57 > 1:28:01All those carriages from the Elstree Film Studios, let 'em roll,

1:28:01 > 1:28:03it always works.

1:28:06 > 1:28:09# Well, let me tell you ladies and gents I enjoyed myself

1:28:09 > 1:28:12# To my heart's content I could not follow the procession

1:28:12 > 1:28:14# But I was there to see the Coronation

1:28:16 > 1:28:18- # I was there - At the Coronation

1:28:18 > 1:28:21- # I was there - At the Coronation

1:28:21 > 1:28:23# I took up my position at Marble Arch

1:28:23 > 1:28:25# From the night before just to see the march

1:28:25 > 1:28:28# The night wind was blowing freezing and cold

1:28:28 > 1:28:31# But I held my ground like a young Creole

1:28:31 > 1:28:33- # I was there - At the Coronation

1:28:33 > 1:28:36- # I was there - At the Coronation

1:28:36 > 1:28:37# My stance, pay dividends

1:28:37 > 1:28:40# For I saw them coming around the bend

1:28:40 > 1:28:42# Then I perceived in all her glory

1:28:42 > 1:28:44# The golden coach with Her Majesty

1:28:44 > 1:28:47- # She was there - At the Coronation

1:28:47 > 1:28:50- # I was there - At the Coronation

1:28:50 > 1:28:53- # Millions there - At the Coronation!- #

1:28:53 > 1:28:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd