0:00:03 > 0:00:06On one of the coldest June days of the century,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10after 16 months of planning, and watched by millions of people
0:00:10 > 0:00:15throughout the world, Her Majesty the Queen set out to be crowned.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22One of the world's oldest ceremonies
0:00:22 > 0:00:26was to mark the dawn of a new, Elizabethan age.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32Now, in what has become the longest reign of any British monarch,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36the Queen talks for the first time about that day.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39When you're taking part in something you don't actually see it.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Her Majesty reveals her intimate knowledge of the Crown Jewels.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47- He hands it that way, you see, so that I put it on...- Right.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50..when he hands it, and I put it on straight,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52so there are some disadvantages to crowns,
0:00:52 > 0:00:56but otherwise they're quite important things.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59No British monarch has ever talked
0:00:59 > 0:01:02about their coronation on camera until now.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07And with unprecedented access to the Royal Collection,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11this programme unlocks the story of the Crown Jewels.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15The Crown Jewels matter -
0:01:15 > 0:01:18they are conductors for a feeling that we have about our country,
0:01:18 > 0:01:23and that is something that comes alive when they're actually used.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26We meet those who witnessed the events of that day.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Everybody thought the Queen had arrived so everybody stood up,
0:01:29 > 0:01:328,000 people stood up, when from underneath the organ loft
0:01:32 > 0:01:35came four cleaners with carpet sweepers.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38In a Britain recovering from war and austerity,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41nothing could be allowed to go wrong.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46Under there, we had a phial of smelling salts.
0:01:47 > 0:01:53Finally, after 65 years, we tell the inside story of the Crown Jewels,
0:01:53 > 0:01:55and the Queen's coronation.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58I mean, I've seen one, one coronation,
0:01:58 > 0:02:00and been the recipient in the other,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02which is pretty remarkable.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Today, the two crowns used in the Queen's coronation
0:02:20 > 0:02:23have just left their heavily guarded home in the Tower of London
0:02:23 > 0:02:27for an unprecedented assignment at Buckingham Palace.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45For the first time since her coronation,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47Her Majesty the Queen has agreed to
0:02:47 > 0:02:52talk about the ceremony that marked the start of her reign 65 years ago.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57With coronation expert Alastair Bruce,
0:02:57 > 0:03:01she is about to reacquaint herself firstly with the crown
0:03:01 > 0:03:04she has only ever worn once - at the moment of coronation.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11St Edward's Crown was made in 1661 for the coronation of Charles II.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18This priceless piece can only be handled by the Queen,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Crown Jeweller.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Today, it's been summoned from its fortress home
0:03:26 > 0:03:29to Her Majesty's throne room.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34Encrusted with 440 precious and semi-precious stones,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and with a frame of solid gold, it weighs 5lb.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Is it still as heavy?
0:03:42 > 0:03:43Yes, it is.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45It weighs a ton.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50It's very solid, isn't it?
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Ma'am, I don't suppose you've seen it much...
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- No, I haven't. Thank goodness! - ..since the coronation!
0:04:04 > 0:04:07And it is impossible to tell which is front and back, I suppose.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15It's identical, I think.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18The crowning with St Edward's Crown
0:04:18 > 0:04:21is the centrepiece of the coronation.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26It's the ceremony that marks the moment when the new sovereign
0:04:26 > 0:04:29is formally recognised in front of God and their people.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And it goes back more than 1,000 years.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40The ritual of the coronation has been being performed
0:04:40 > 0:04:43pretty much exactly along the same lines, other than being
0:04:43 > 0:04:47translated into English from Latin, since the Anglo-Saxon period,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50and that is an extraordinary thing.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56The order of service was written down more than 600 years ago
0:04:56 > 0:04:58in a medieval manuscript.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01It outlines the five stages of the coronation.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05They move from the recognition, where the monarch shows they
0:05:05 > 0:05:11aren't an impostor, via an oath, and an anointing, to the crowning.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16And finally, the lords of the land pay their homage to the monarch.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23And central to each stage are the Crown Jewels.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29In the collection,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32there are 140 items,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36containing more than 23,000 precious stones.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42Most are used in the coronation and are known as the Regalia.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45We have this incredible continuity in this country
0:05:45 > 0:05:47in the form of the coronation.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Other countries still have a monarchy,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51but very, very few have a medieval... In fact,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54none has a medieval coronation in the way that we do.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57And that we have a collection of regalia that is
0:05:57 > 0:06:01used for that...is astonishing.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08The concept of the crown dates back at least 2,000 years.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Originally a simple band, a halo of light,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14it represents the sovereign as head of the nation.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Then, there are the other sacred items in the collection
0:06:20 > 0:06:23that throughout the ceremony symbolise different aspects
0:06:23 > 0:06:25of the monarch's powers.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33The orb is an expression of religious and moral authority.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37The sceptre embodies power.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45The ampulla and spoon represent the most holy part of the ceremony,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48when the monarch is anointed with the coronation oil.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56And the Sovereign's Ring, known by some as the Wedding Ring of England,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00symbolises the lifetime commitment of the monarch.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05It's an amazing thing to see these objects which, in a way,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08are very familiar to people from afar, but to see them
0:07:08 > 0:07:12up close like this, actually, that proximity is extraordinary
0:07:12 > 0:07:18because you can really appreciate what astonishing objects they are.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23For many, the role of the Crown Jewels has been
0:07:23 > 0:07:27largely forgotten after 65 years without a coronation.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30They're not just objects of tremendous beauty and skill
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and craftsmanship and so on,
0:07:33 > 0:07:38they are an expression of the way in which authority has worked in this
0:07:38 > 0:07:42country, the relationship between the sovereign and the subject.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47So there's a kind of an expression of all of our history
0:07:47 > 0:07:50in that relationship in those objects.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56The most important items used in the coronation
0:07:56 > 0:07:59are the monarch's two crowns.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05If the Queen has only worn St Edward's gold crown once,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07she is much more familiar with this -
0:08:07 > 0:08:11the diamond-encrusted Imperial State Crown.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14She wore it at the end of her coronation
0:08:14 > 0:08:17and for most State Openings of Parliament since.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22You see, it's much smaller, isn't it?
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- Significantly.- I mean, it was... It was the same height.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31You know, it would have been up to about there when my father wore it.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I mean, it was huge then.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Yes. Very un... Unwieldy.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45It's difficult to always remember that diamonds are stones,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47and so they're very heavy.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Yes.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50Fortunately, my father
0:08:50 > 0:08:53- and I have about the same sort of shaped head.- Hm.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55But once you put it on, it stays.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I mean, it just remains itself.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00- You have to keep your head very still.- Yes.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02And you can't look down to read the speech -
0:09:02 > 0:09:04you have to take the speech up.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08Because if you did, your neck would break, or it would fall off.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14So there are some disadvantages to crowns,
0:09:14 > 0:09:19but otherwise they're quite important things.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Can I ask if the crown could be brought a little bit closer to the Queen?
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Oh, there we go.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31This is what I do when I wear it.
0:09:31 > 0:09:32Can I look at this end?
0:09:32 > 0:09:35- Yes, certainly, ma'am. - I like the Black Prince's Ruby.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41This crown contains the story of 1,000 years
0:09:41 > 0:09:43of the history of the British monarchy.
0:09:43 > 0:09:49The ruby, actually a semi-precious stone mined in Afghanistan, is said
0:09:49 > 0:09:53to have been worn by Henry V in 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58He is supposed to have placed a feather in the hole
0:09:58 > 0:09:59drilled into the ruby.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02It's fun to see, I think.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09Well, the idea that his plume was put into the stone...
0:10:10 > 0:10:12..for his... On his helmet.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Bit rash, but that was the sort of thing they did,
0:10:17 > 0:10:18I suppose, in those days.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Four pearls hang underneath the arches.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Two of them were said to have belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and were bought by her rival Elizabeth I
0:10:28 > 0:10:31after Mary's execution.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35They were meant to be Queen Elizabeth's earrings.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Um...but they're not very happy now.
0:10:39 > 0:10:40They don't look very happy now.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Most pearls like to be sort of living creatures,
0:10:46 > 0:10:52so they've just been out, hanging out here for years. It's rather sad.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55So they don't look very happy.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Quite dead.
0:10:57 > 0:10:58Well, I'm afraid so.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02I mean, the trouble is that pearls are sort of live things...
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- Yeah.- ..and they need... They need warming.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18The Queen's relationship with the Regalia began in 1937,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22at her father King George VI's coronation.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Her Majesty is about to look at footage of what happened
0:11:28 > 0:11:29when her father was crowned.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The coronation didn't quite go to plan.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41The Archbishop of Canterbury, who conducts the service,
0:11:41 > 0:11:42thought he'd cunningly
0:11:42 > 0:11:46marked the front of St Edward's Crown with a piece of cotton...
0:11:47 > 0:11:50..but at the vital moment, he couldn't find it.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Now, this is when they'd lost the little piece of thread
0:11:54 > 0:12:00that the organisers had placed through the front arch.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04The King wrote in his diary, "I never did know
0:12:04 > 0:12:07"whether it was put on the right way or not."
0:12:08 > 0:12:10I don't think the King was best pleased.
0:12:10 > 0:12:11No, he wasn't.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18An 11-year-old Princess Elizabeth attended the service.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Her father was determined that his daughter's coronation
0:12:22 > 0:12:24would run more smoothly.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28I remember my father making me
0:12:28 > 0:12:30write down what I remembered about his coronation.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It was very valuable. Have you never seen it?
0:12:36 > 0:12:40The Queen's own account, written in a child's exercise book,
0:12:40 > 0:12:42contains remarkable insights.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47"I thought it all very, very wonderful,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49"and I expect the Abbey did, too.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52"The arches and beams at the top were covered with
0:12:52 > 0:12:56"a sort of haze of wonder as Papa was crowned, at least I thought so."
0:13:00 > 0:13:04The events left a lasting impression on the Queen.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Can you remember that one almost better than yours?
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Much better because I wasn't doing anything - I was just sitting there.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13From that moment on, guided by her father,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17the Queen was preparing for her own coronation.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24No-one was more aware of the importance of the Crown Jewels
0:13:24 > 0:13:28to the coronation and to the nation than the Queen's father.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34In the Second World War,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38when Britain faced the threat of Nazi invasion, the King was
0:13:38 > 0:13:42intimately involved in plans to keep the jewels out of Hitler's hands.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52To protect them, they were taken from the Tower.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Only a handful of people knew where they were hidden, until now.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Recently uncovered private correspondence
0:14:01 > 0:14:04reveals that the Crown Jewels were actually hidden
0:14:04 > 0:14:05under Windsor Castle.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Librarian Oliver Urquhart Irvine,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18who discovered the letters, is showing Alastair Bruce
0:14:18 > 0:14:23their specially built secret hiding place, 60 feet below the castle.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30It was accessed by a medieval tunnel known as a sally port -
0:14:30 > 0:14:33a secret passage with a concealed entrance
0:14:33 > 0:14:36that was used in times of siege.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Oh, my goodness, look down there!
0:14:43 > 0:14:45- You'd better lead us down. - Yes, absolutely.
0:14:47 > 0:14:48Descend right underneath the castle.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58One imagines that, you know, the King was determined to make sure
0:14:58 > 0:15:02that right down here, the Nazis would never find the Crown Jewels.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06So here are the chambers built to hold the jewels.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08It is far bigger than I thought.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13And so, literally all the symbols,
0:15:13 > 0:15:18the regalia of this nation that go back centuries, held here.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Of all the things that were to be kept close by
0:15:21 > 0:15:24and guarded most securely at the largest
0:15:24 > 0:15:26and most significant of the Royal palaces and fortresses,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30it is those actual jewels and I think that is... That's a measure,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34really, of the importance which he attached to the jewels.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39The correspondence also reveals that some key items
0:15:39 > 0:15:44were prised from their settings and placed in a biscuit tin.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47It meant they could easily have been spirited away to an even more
0:15:47 > 0:15:51secure location had the Nazis closed in on Windsor Castle.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58For Her Majesty the Queen, it's an intriguing and unknown story.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Do you think they were at Windsor?
0:16:00 > 0:16:03- They were definitely, ma'am, yeah. - Oh.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09The librarian gouged the principal stones out of the Crown Jewels
0:16:09 > 0:16:13and put them into a... Wrapped them up and put them into a jar
0:16:13 > 0:16:15and put them in a Bath Oliver tin.
0:16:15 > 0:16:16Hm.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17And hid them.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Did he remember where he put them?
0:16:24 > 0:16:25In the sal...
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Because he might have died in the middle.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29I think the King was told, ma'am.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35The Queen, like the Crown Jewels, spent the war at Windsor,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39but she was never aware of the treasure beneath her feet.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42I mean, we were told nothing.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45I mean, we were only children then, but, I mean,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47we didn't know anything,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51I mean, all the pictures disappeared and all... Everything disappeared,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53and one was never told anything.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58It was... It was, you know, a secret, I suppose.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04The road to the Queen's own coronation
0:17:04 > 0:17:07began on February 6th, 1952.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14The 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth was on royal duties in Kenya,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16standing in for her father, George VI.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21The King, suffering from lung cancer, was too ill to travel.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26The Princess filmed these images
0:17:26 > 0:17:28at the famous Treetops Safari Lodge.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32They were taken at a moment
0:17:32 > 0:17:35when the Princess's life was about to change for ever.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Hours later, on the morning of the 6th February,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47the King died at Sandringham in his sleep.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54At that moment, in Africa, the Princess became Queen.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Losing a parent for anyone is tough, particularly if,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02like the Princess, you're as close as she was to her father,
0:18:02 > 0:18:06but knowing that everything has changed now, she's now
0:18:06 > 0:18:09the Queen, the head of state, it's a very lonely place to be.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22The Queen flew home for the lying in state of her beloved father.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30The Imperial State Crown, the sceptre and the orb were
0:18:30 > 0:18:34taken from the Tower to lie on the King's coffin in Westminster Hall.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47After a period of mourning,
0:18:47 > 0:18:52the date for the coronation was set for Tuesday 2nd of June, 1953.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58There were 16 months to get everything ready.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03The preparations were overseen by a coronation committee,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05chaired by the Duke of Edinburgh.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11In charge was the formidable Bernard, Duke of Norfolk.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14He had masterminded George VI's coronation.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Since 1386, the Dukes of Norfolk
0:19:18 > 0:19:22have had a role in organising great state occasions.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Even though it be 1953,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27everyone in their procession
0:19:27 > 0:19:30will either drive in a carriage,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33ride a horse, or walk,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35and there will not be any mechanisation at all.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43The plan was to deliver the perfect coronation for a new
0:19:43 > 0:19:47Elizabethan age in a country still suffering from the ravages of war.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Rationing was still in place, the country was still physically
0:19:53 > 0:19:57very visibly damaged by the impact of war.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02This was an opportunity to celebrate both the future and the past
0:20:02 > 0:20:06and the accession of a young woman as sovereign
0:20:06 > 0:20:09provided a wonderful opportunity to do that,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12to sort of feel like it was a fresh start.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16The very long period of time that it took between the death
0:20:16 > 0:20:18of George VI and the coronation of the Queen
0:20:18 > 0:20:23was used to design something that would have a Hollywood movie glamour
0:20:23 > 0:20:26to it as well as all the ancient tradition to it.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31The plan included organising food
0:20:31 > 0:20:35and accommodation for 30,000 troops from across the Commonwealth...
0:20:37 > 0:20:42..and building 27 miles of seating along the processional route.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46It put the whole country to work to achieve the greatest
0:20:46 > 0:20:49coronation show ever.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54The world's widest power loom is being used to make the great
0:20:54 > 0:20:56coronation carpet at a factory in Glasgow.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58When it is completed,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02the carpet will measure 188 feet long by 17 feet wide.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Home to every coronation
0:21:08 > 0:21:13since that of King Harold in 1066 is Westminster Abbey.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19It's witnessed the crowning of 39 kings and queens.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24John Hall is the Dean of Westminster.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28It is the Dean's responsibility to ensure the abbey becomes
0:21:28 > 0:21:30the perfect stage for the coronation.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35For six months, they closed the abbey.
0:21:36 > 0:21:41They laid a railway track down the centre of the abbey,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44bringing in tonnes and tonnes of wood and iron.
0:21:48 > 0:21:54The stage on which the ceremony takes place is called the theatre -
0:21:54 > 0:21:59a specially raised platform at the central crossing of the abbey.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08The rest of the abbey had to be transformed into a stadium
0:22:08 > 0:22:10for thousands of guests.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17I think there were 400 people in the choir, and they were all up there,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20and there was an orchestra on the choir screen.
0:22:21 > 0:22:252,200 people can sit on the floor of the abbey.
0:22:25 > 0:22:308,000 people were in here in 1953.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33They took a long time, actually, to get the whole thing ready.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40But all these impressive preparations were no guarantee
0:22:40 > 0:22:43that the Queen's coronation would run smoothly -
0:22:43 > 0:22:48in the past, they'd gone notoriously wrong.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50I think Queen Victoria's coronation here was absolutely amazing,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53because they hadn't got much of a clue how to handle it.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57And she writes very clearly about how chaotic the whole thing is
0:22:57 > 0:23:00and how long it lasts, it goes on for ever.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04And she goes into the St Edward's Chapel, behind the High Altar,
0:23:04 > 0:23:08earlier than she should, and she finds the whole place
0:23:08 > 0:23:12a litter of bottles and sandwiches, and is rather disgusted by this.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Afterwards, the Archbishop of Canterbury wondered
0:23:17 > 0:23:19if they should have had a full rehearsal.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25In May 1953, with a month to go,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29building work within the abbey was complete.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Outside, London was being transformed,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38with giant stands for the spectators,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42temporary accommodation in World War II air raid shelters
0:23:42 > 0:23:45and a tented city in Kensington Gardens.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52As the day approached, the rehearsals to deliver the perfect
0:23:52 > 0:23:54coronation reached fever pitch.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59The Queen practised at Buckingham Palace
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and attended several rehearsals at the abbey in secret.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08The press offered workmen £50 to find out what had happened.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Lady Anne Glenconner, then aged 19,
0:24:16 > 0:24:21was chosen by the Queen as one of her six maids of honour.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25We had to be daughters of earls, marquises, or dukes,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and have sort of nice figures and that sort of thing.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35In post-war Britain, they provided much-needed glamour.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36In those days,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40there weren't any sort of girl bands like there are, and I always,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43perhaps rather sillily, say we were rather like the Spice Girls
0:24:43 > 0:24:47because suddenly we were in all the newspapers, the press followed us.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55Well, this is my box I've got my coronation dress in.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57A huge box.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00It's very, very fragile, my old dress.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05The maids of honour's costumes were designed by Norman Hartnell,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08the designer of the Queen's coronation dress.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11It was all beautifully embroidered.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14The pearls and gold, and I think they're zircons.
0:25:14 > 0:25:19And there are leaves, little golden leaves there.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21And it was all hand embroidered,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25and we just felt like princesses, actually,
0:25:25 > 0:25:30because we were all brought up in the war when there were rationing
0:25:30 > 0:25:34and clothes coupons, and we never had an amazing dress like this.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41The rehearsals were so secret, even the dresses were kept under wraps.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49The last rehearsal, they said, "Wear your dresses," but they didn't
0:25:49 > 0:25:53say, "Completely top secret, and you've got to wear a coat."
0:25:53 > 0:25:56So anyway, I just had a white shawl
0:25:56 > 0:26:00and as we came out with the wind blowing it blew my shawl back,
0:26:00 > 0:26:05and there was I exposed head to toe in this wonderful dress.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09And, so embarrassing, on the front of a newspaper, headline saying,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11"She didn't know it was a secret."
0:26:11 > 0:26:15So I felt, "Well, I'm going to be struck off. I'm going
0:26:15 > 0:26:17"to get a telephone call by the Duke of Norfolk saying,
0:26:17 > 0:26:21" 'Sorry,' you know, 'we're going to have to find somebody else.' "
0:26:21 > 0:26:22But anyway, it didn't happen.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28For the final dress rehearsal, four days before the coronation,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31all the key participants other than the Queen
0:26:31 > 0:26:34were brought together for the first time.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39The ringmaster, Bernard, Duke of Norfolk, was in his element.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41That brings back lots of memories.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45There am I, second from the right, by the train.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49The Duke of Norfolk was absolutely fantastic.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52He'd done the coronation of the late King,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56so he knew exactly every detail about exactly what
0:26:56 > 0:27:00we were to wear, the jewellery, the height of our shoes.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Duke Bernard was an absolute stickler for discipline.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08When a bishop took an unauthorised holiday,
0:27:08 > 0:27:12the Duke sent a police car to drag him back.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15I think it must have been pretty scary to be at a rehearsal
0:27:15 > 0:27:17with Bernard Norfolk!
0:27:17 > 0:27:21He knew minute by minute where every single person should be,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25and when you see the plans, it is literally a ballet.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Things move, everything moves precisely,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31and when Randolph Churchill, who was the son of Winston Churchill,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34thought it looked like a bit of an untidy ballet,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36very quickly Bernard's representative came over and said,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39"I think you need to remember, there's room in the Tower still."
0:27:40 > 0:27:44For the dress rehearsal, Bernard's wife, the Duchess of Norfolk,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46stood in for the Queen.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56There is the Crown. The Duchess of Norfolk is being crowned.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59It all seemed so much more real.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01We realised what it was going to look like.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10On the eve of the coronation, two million people
0:28:10 > 0:28:13descended on the rainy capital.
0:28:13 > 0:28:176,500 extra trains and 6,000 coaches
0:28:17 > 0:28:21had been laid on to get them there.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23- ARCHIVE:- Up went the umbrellas, on went the raincoats,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26and under the shelter of blankets and newspapers they stuck it out.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31As people settled down for the night,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33the Crown Jewels were brought to the abbey.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42James Wilkinson was a 12-year-old choirboy at the coronation,
0:28:42 > 0:28:44and has subsequently written about the event.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51This is a most historic room - this is the Jerusalem Chamber.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56This is where, the night before the coronation, the Regalia is set out.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00And now, it comes with 12 Yeomen warders of the Tower,
0:29:00 > 0:29:04and it's set out on this table, and they were all armed with
0:29:04 > 0:29:07revolvers, and they each had 12 rounds of ammunition.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11What would have happened if they'd had to discharge it, I don't know -
0:29:11 > 0:29:15it would have left a few holes around this very significant room.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19I would have thought that these days they would have probably had
0:29:19 > 0:29:21slightly more sophisticated ways
0:29:21 > 0:29:24of making sure that the Crown Jewels are untouched.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31Amongst the most valuable items guarded that night were two gems
0:29:31 > 0:29:34from one of the most famous diamonds ever discovered.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40The Cullinan Number One sits in the sceptre,
0:29:40 > 0:29:44and is the largest colourless cut diamond in the world.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50Its smaller sister, the Cullinan Number Two,
0:29:50 > 0:29:53is mounted in the Imperial State Crown.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59In total, nine diamonds were fashioned
0:29:59 > 0:30:02from the legendary Cullinan.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11It was discovered in 1905 and, astonishingly,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14sent to Britain in the post.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20In 1908, the cutting of this priceless rough diamond
0:30:20 > 0:30:25was entrusted to Antwerp jeweller Joseph Asscher.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28He was reputedly the best diamond cutter in the world.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35I always wish I'd been there when they smashed it into pieces.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41These are the chips that were left. There are two other...
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Two or three other bits, too.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48He hit it with his...whatever you hit a diamond with to get
0:30:48 > 0:30:52the right thing, and he spent hours looking at it, you know,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55and then he fainted when he'd done it.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58But I don't know if that's just a story.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01It had a brown flaw in it.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05He hit it and all the bits fell out and the brown bit disappeared.
0:31:05 > 0:31:10Well, I think these have never seen each other since they were smashed.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Really? That is amazing.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17As dawn broke on June 2nd 1953,
0:31:17 > 0:31:21the scene was set for the greatest show on Earth.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Parliament Square, quarter to six this morning.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Many had never been out so early before, yet here they were,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32rapidly filling every vantage point.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36More than 8,000 specially invited guests rushed
0:31:36 > 0:31:41to their places in the abbey before the doors closed at 8.30.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46European royalty mingled with sheikhs, sultans and maharajahs.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Thousands of aristocrats in their ermine picked their way
0:31:50 > 0:31:52through the puddles.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55Many had hidden strong drink
0:31:55 > 0:31:58and sandwiches in their coronets to get them through the day.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Among the 8,000 was the choir of 400 voices.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12Today, James Wilkinson is meeting three of his fellow choristers
0:32:12 > 0:32:14from the Abbey Choir School.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18At the time, Richard Watts, William Wallace
0:32:18 > 0:32:22and David Brown were aged between nine and 13.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Well, it's a very long time since I was up here.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30My goodness me. But it hasn't changed very much.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33And what a superb view you get, don't you, now?
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Yes, this is marvellous to be back.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37And we're so close to where we were.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40I mean, you, David, were standing just there on the corner there.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42Absolutely, right on that corner there.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44And we were just lined up on the front two rows,
0:32:44 > 0:32:47- and it was extremely cramped, if you remember?- Yes.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53By 11am, the abbey was ready for the arrival of the Queen.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57The penultimate procession was the procession of the Queen Mother
0:32:57 > 0:32:59and Princess Margaret.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Everybody got terribly excited because the next one was
0:33:02 > 0:33:04the Queen, and then there was this sort of bustle at the west end
0:33:04 > 0:33:07and everybody thought the Queen had arrived so everybody stood up.
0:33:07 > 0:33:088,000 people stood up,
0:33:08 > 0:33:12when from underneath the organ loft came four cleaners with
0:33:12 > 0:33:16carpet sweepers, and started to sweep the carpet to restore it to
0:33:16 > 0:33:19its pristine state and everybody, of course, laughed and sat down again.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28At Buckingham Palace, the Queen is viewing film of her coronation.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Cameras filmed throughout the day,
0:33:33 > 0:33:37and even though the Queen commissioned some of the footage,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40it's the first time she has ever reviewed the event.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45A very long day.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48When you're taking part in something you don't actually see it.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53No. I don't suppose you've seen these films very often, ma'am?
0:33:53 > 0:33:56I don't suppose I've ever seen it.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02As the Queen's carriage left the Palace courtyard,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04her children remained at home.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08- Now, there are your children watching.- Mm-hm.
0:34:10 > 0:34:15And Prince Charles says that you rehearsed wearing the crown
0:34:15 > 0:34:18before the event - in fact, he says at bath times,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20which is rather sweet.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Because only Prince Charles actually witnessed it -
0:34:24 > 0:34:26- Princess Anne stayed back here.- Hm.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31And he only came for ten minutes, I think.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33What did the two children do for most of the day -
0:34:33 > 0:34:35can you remember, ma'am?
0:34:35 > 0:34:36No idea, I wasn't there.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39- No!- I wasn't there. I have no idea what they did.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44There were a lot of other people in the palace as well, I think.
0:34:44 > 0:34:45Lots of children.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53The Queen set out for Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56It weighs nearly four tonnes.
0:34:56 > 0:35:01Horrible. It's not meant for travelling in at all.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05I mean, it's only sprung on leather.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07So, it rocks around a lot.
0:35:07 > 0:35:08Yes, not very comfortable.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12Were you in it for a long time, ma'am?
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Halfway around London.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18- Really?- We must have gone about four or five miles.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20- It can only go at a walking pace. - Yeah.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23- The horses couldn't possibly go any faster.- Right.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25It's so heavy.
0:35:25 > 0:35:26- Really?- Mm.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31But you look really high up there, so I presume the view...
0:35:31 > 0:35:33It is very high.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35I mean, look at the size of the man.
0:35:35 > 0:35:36Yeah.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48As the carriage approached the abbey, Lady Anne's
0:35:48 > 0:35:50first task was to greet the Queen.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Oh, yes, that's the golden... The lovely golden coach.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59There's me, there's me looking through the window there!
0:36:02 > 0:36:06Well, this is the Queen coming... Well, there's the Duke of Norfolk,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10there's me on the left taking up my bit of the train.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12There I am going past.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14It was so exciting seeing her. I mean,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17she looked absolutely beautiful, you know.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21We hadn't seen her in her dress, and she had the tiniest waist
0:36:21 > 0:36:23and the most wonderful complexion
0:36:23 > 0:36:26and she was beautiful - absolutely beautiful.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29And of course the Duke of Edinburgh looked pretty dishy, too,
0:36:29 > 0:36:31but he was a little bit fussy.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34I think he wanted it all to go perfectly and he was
0:36:34 > 0:36:38sort of telling us, "Do this, Anne," or, "Do that," that sort of thing.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45After a moment's pause in the annexe, it was time.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50She hadn't said anything. People said, "Did she say something
0:36:50 > 0:36:53"when she arrived?" and we said, "No, nothing."
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Anyway, we were all waiting like this,
0:36:56 > 0:37:02and she just turned around and she said, "Ready, girls?"
0:37:02 > 0:37:04And we nodded and off we went.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16The 8,000 guests were packed to the rafters
0:37:16 > 0:37:19to see a 27-year-old crowned Queen.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28They were so high up, they were massed up in the... I mean,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31we were in the bottom and everything was happening, you know,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33they were all sitting at the top.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35It was so full...
0:37:37 > 0:37:41..that it rather takes away the height of it.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50And here we are coming up. I'm on the right there.
0:37:54 > 0:37:55There's the Queen.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59But, of course, at that point she hasn't got any of her regalia on,
0:37:59 > 0:38:03so we felt she should have had some flowers or something
0:38:03 > 0:38:05but perhaps that wasn't correct.
0:38:12 > 0:38:19# Vivat Regina! Vivat Regina!
0:38:19 > 0:38:22# Vivat, vivat, vivat! #
0:38:22 > 0:38:24The Queen's coronation dress
0:38:24 > 0:38:29was embroidered in silk with pearls, and gold and silver bullion thread.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Well, I remember one moment when I was
0:38:34 > 0:38:37going against the pile of the carpet and I couldn't move at all.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41- Really?- Yes, they hadn't thought of that.
0:38:42 > 0:38:48In the organ loft, choirboy David Brown was one of three soloists.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50There were just four bars' intro
0:38:50 > 0:38:52and I came in...
0:38:52 > 0:38:56And there were three of us who were going to do this solo
0:38:56 > 0:39:01and I think, looking back, to have three boys on standby, as it were,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04to do the solo, you never know what's likely to happen
0:39:04 > 0:39:06in a situation like that.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Nerves weren't the only difficulty for the choir -
0:39:11 > 0:39:16they were so spread out, they needed three conductors.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Some of the choir were stuck further back or even behind the organ pipes.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23- Behind the organ pipes. - They couldn't see anything
0:39:23 > 0:39:24that was being...
0:39:24 > 0:39:27- They needed a sort of relay system of conducting.- Yeah.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34The ceremony began with the first stage, the recognition.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39The tradition dates back to the year 973.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46I here present unto you Queen Elizabeth, your undoubted Queen.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51The Queen faced the peers of the land to confirm
0:39:51 > 0:39:53she wasn't an impostor.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55Are you willing to do the same?
0:39:55 > 0:39:58God save Queen Elizabeth!
0:40:02 > 0:40:06Then, after the second stage, where the Queen signed an oath,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08she was stripped of all her regalia
0:40:08 > 0:40:12and dressed in a simple gown for the anointing, the third stage.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17The only thing we couldn't remove were the earrings.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21That would have taken too long.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23We had enough trouble with the necklace.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28Awful lot of walking backwards, wasn't there?
0:40:28 > 0:40:30It's such a ballet, isn't it?
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Everyone knows precisely where to go.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34Well, they jolly well should have done
0:40:34 > 0:40:37after the number of rehearsals we had.
0:40:41 > 0:40:46The anointing of the monarch with holy oil is so sacred
0:40:46 > 0:40:48it's carried out under a canopy.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55The secrecy transforms the moment into a deeply personal experience
0:40:55 > 0:40:57between the Queen and God.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04Shakespeare's Richard II summed up its power -
0:41:04 > 0:41:07"Not all the water in the rough rude sea
0:41:07 > 0:41:10"Can wash the balm from an anointed king."
0:41:13 > 0:41:15This was when the TV cameras,
0:41:15 > 0:41:20broadcasting a coronation live for the first time, turned away.
0:41:26 > 0:41:31The anointing oil is held in a solid gold flask called an ampulla.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35It is eight inches tall and shaped like an eagle.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40It's to give the biblical impression that
0:41:40 > 0:41:43the word of God is flown down to us
0:41:43 > 0:41:47from heaven on the back of the greatest of the beasts of the air.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50And so the essence is that the oil is being brought to
0:41:50 > 0:41:52the point of coronation from God himself.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58The oil is then poured into a golden spoon -
0:41:58 > 0:42:01it's the oldest item of the Regalia.
0:42:03 > 0:42:04And the only one to survive
0:42:04 > 0:42:07the darkest days of the British monarchy.
0:42:11 > 0:42:18In 1649, Charles I became the only English king ever to be executed.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Civil war had led to the creation of a republic
0:42:22 > 0:42:25presided over by Oliver Cromwell.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29The Crown Jewels, the symbols of monarchy,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32were melted down and sold off by Parliament.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36But after the death of Cromwell,
0:42:36 > 0:42:42the monarchy was restored in 1660 under Charles's son, Charles II.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49This is the one object which absolutely unquestionably
0:42:49 > 0:42:53survived the destruction at the end of the Civil War.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57This is a 12th-century piece,
0:42:57 > 0:43:02and, like all the other objects that were in the collection
0:43:02 > 0:43:05before the restoration of the monarchy, it was sold.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10But the man who bought it held on to it,
0:43:10 > 0:43:15and when the restoration of the monarchy happened, he very sensibly
0:43:15 > 0:43:19presented himself to Charles II saying how thrilled he was
0:43:19 > 0:43:20that the restoration had happened
0:43:20 > 0:43:22and how it was what he always wanted.
0:43:22 > 0:43:27So it is a really, really special object because everything else
0:43:27 > 0:43:31is essentially a creation of the 1660s or later,
0:43:31 > 0:43:35and this isn't just a little bit before - it's 400 years earlier.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43The anointing oil is traditionally held in great secrecy
0:43:43 > 0:43:46by the Dean of Westminster at the abbey.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49It's kept very safe in the Deanery,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52in a very hidden place in a little box here...
0:43:57 > 0:44:04..which has in it a flask containing the oil from 1953.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06And it's not just olive oil -
0:44:06 > 0:44:10it's quite a complex mixture of different things.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14This is the recipe for the coronation oil.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17The composition of the oil was founded upon that
0:44:17 > 0:44:19used in the 17th century.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23Then you see what it consists of - sesame and olive oil,
0:44:23 > 0:44:29perfume with roses, orange flowers, jasmine, musk, civet and ambergris.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35Each item of the Regalia has a role in the coronation.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39The Jewelled Sword of Offering was originally
0:44:39 > 0:44:43designed for the coronation of George IV, in 1821.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48The handle is emblazoned with English acorns and oak leaves,
0:44:48 > 0:44:50in emeralds and diamonds.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54It represents the monarch's defence of their kingdom.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02Then, just before the crowning, the Queen received the orb
0:45:02 > 0:45:07and the sceptre, the most important items after the crowns.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14The heavily jewelled orb represents earthly duty,
0:45:14 > 0:45:18and the cross above it, both religious and moral authority.
0:45:21 > 0:45:26Then the Queen receives the sceptre, the symbol of power.
0:45:26 > 0:45:30She holds it wearing a glove, to remind her to use that power wisely.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38The sceptre expresses something of the sovereign's
0:45:38 > 0:45:43military strength or authority, a baton of power, if you like,
0:45:43 > 0:45:49with the fact that it incorporates this, arguably, most important
0:45:49 > 0:45:53gem in the world, the largest flawless diamond in the world.
0:45:53 > 0:45:58And it is something to behold, it really is.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02CHORISTERS SING
0:46:08 > 0:46:13On the floor of the abbey in 1953,
0:46:13 > 0:46:17Lady Anne's tight dress was making it difficult for her to breathe.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22They were very, very, tight, and this was one of the reasons
0:46:22 > 0:46:25that I felt faint in the abbey.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30But we did have, in order to help us in case we felt faint, they had
0:46:30 > 0:46:36little buttons here, and under there we had a phial of smelling salts.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39And one of the maids of honour,
0:46:39 > 0:46:44Rosie Spencer Churchill, she was then, saw the Archbishop advancing
0:46:44 > 0:46:47so she shook his hand, "Hello, Archbishop," there was
0:46:47 > 0:46:52a terrible crack and everybody then, you know, our eyes started to water.
0:46:52 > 0:46:58Luckily, we laughed, actually, we thought it was quite funny.
0:46:58 > 0:47:03I was also told to wriggle my toes in case I felt faint.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07Luckily, I was standing with my back to a pillar and a wonderful
0:47:07 > 0:47:12gentleman called Black Rod saw me and I was sort of swaying about and
0:47:12 > 0:47:15I thought, "I cannot faint in front of millions and millions of people,
0:47:15 > 0:47:20"I just can't," and then luckily he put his arm like that,
0:47:20 > 0:47:23sort of pinning me to the pillar
0:47:23 > 0:47:26and just gave me that amount of time to recover.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34Then the fourth stage of the ceremony,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37the supreme moment everyone had been waiting for.
0:47:39 > 0:47:44St Edward's Crown, used solely for the moment of coronation,
0:47:44 > 0:47:46was blessed by the Archbishop of Canterbury
0:47:46 > 0:47:48and placed on the Queen's head.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00God save the Queen!
0:48:00 > 0:48:02God save the Queen!
0:48:02 > 0:48:06God save the Queen!
0:48:12 > 0:48:17I now crown you, with a crown of glory and righteousness,
0:48:17 > 0:48:21that having a right faith and manifold proof of good works,
0:48:21 > 0:48:26you may obtain the crown of an everlasting kingdom.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29I imagine your principal memory is wearing it, ma'am.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31And how heavy and unbalanced it was.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37One wonders whether it had a special frame beneath it
0:48:37 > 0:48:39to fit Your Majesty's head.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43I think it must have done.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52The St Edward's Crown we see today was made in 1661,
0:48:52 > 0:48:56and represents the return of monarchy after the Civil War.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09I think St Edward's Crown is pretty hard to beat.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13Made for Charles II when the monarchy itself was being restored,
0:49:13 > 0:49:17not just an object being made, but a whole institution recreated.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22They called it St Edward's Crown because it was to replace the one
0:49:22 > 0:49:25that had supposedly belonged to Edward the Confessor.
0:49:26 > 0:49:31Edward the Confessor, who reigned until 1066, represented
0:49:31 > 0:49:35hundreds of years of tradition that had gone before the Civil War,
0:49:35 > 0:49:39and that heritage was of particular importance to those restoring
0:49:39 > 0:49:41Charles II to the throne.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48When they were making this in 1660, people were brought out
0:49:48 > 0:49:51who could remember what the old crown looked like,
0:49:51 > 0:49:54and there was an attempt to try and recreate something
0:49:54 > 0:49:57that had been lost in 1649,
0:49:57 > 0:50:01and so, it's a sort of echo of the Middle Ages as well as being
0:50:01 > 0:50:06a really beautiful piece of 17th-century goldsmiths' work.
0:50:06 > 0:50:07It absolutely mattered
0:50:07 > 0:50:13in 1660 that this should be done to the highest possible standard,
0:50:13 > 0:50:17and it should be an expression of the clarity and the certainty
0:50:17 > 0:50:21of a people who had decided that they wanted monarchy back.
0:50:23 > 0:50:27For the fifth and final stage of the ceremony, the enthronement
0:50:27 > 0:50:30and the homage, the Queen was symbolically lifted onto
0:50:30 > 0:50:35a raised platform, by the Bishops of Bath and Wells, and of Durham.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39You can see that the Bishop of Bath and Wells is very attentive.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41Yeah, he was very good.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43Now, the role of those two bishops is supposed to take
0:50:43 > 0:50:47the weight of the crown, but they never needed to do that, ma'am.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51- Really?- Hm.- I thought they were just there to hold one's clothes.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53Stop one...falling over them.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57After her peers had paid homage,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00the Queen retired to the shrine behind the altar.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05This time, unlike at Queen Victoria's coronation,
0:51:05 > 0:51:08there were no half-finished sandwiches or bottles of wine.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13This is the shrine of Edward the Confessor.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19It's the place where five kings and four queens are buried -
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Edward the Confessor...
0:51:23 > 0:51:26..Henry V,
0:51:26 > 0:51:29and Edward III.
0:51:29 > 0:51:34The Queen was surrounded by 1,000 years of royal history.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39Here, St Edward's Crown, the symbol of the moment of coronation,
0:51:39 > 0:51:44was replaced with the glorious, gem-encrusted Imperial State Crown.
0:51:47 > 0:51:50Within its cross is a blue sapphire said to have been
0:51:50 > 0:51:54taken from the ring finger of Edward the Confessor's body
0:51:54 > 0:51:56as it lay within the shrine.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59In the circlet
0:51:59 > 0:52:05is a second, larger sapphire of 104 carats known as the Stuart Sapphire.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08It's a pale...
0:52:08 > 0:52:11But never mind, it's...
0:52:11 > 0:52:13And also it's extremely useful
0:52:13 > 0:52:16because it tells one which is the back and which is the front.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20Very useful. No difficulties like the Archbishop.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23No. Well, the Lord Great Chamberlain has to hand it properly.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Which way round does he hand it to you?
0:52:26 > 0:52:28- Well, he hands it that way, you see...- Right.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30..so that I put it on, when he hands it.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32And I put it on straight.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40It fits very...
0:52:40 > 0:52:41Heavy?
0:52:41 > 0:52:44Well, I think it's 3lb or something.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Quite heavy.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49- Comfortable, ma'am?- No!
0:52:51 > 0:52:54- Nothing like that is comfortable. - No.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57The more jewels the better.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00George IV invented that, didn't he?
0:53:00 > 0:53:02- I think so, ma'am, yes.- Hm.
0:53:02 > 0:53:07He loved jewellery and colour.
0:53:10 > 0:53:16George IV's coronation was the most expensive and extravagant ever.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20Following revolution and republicanism in 18th-century France
0:53:20 > 0:53:24and America, he delivered a much-needed show of regal splendour.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29When you go to Parliament, ma'am,
0:53:29 > 0:53:33you wear what he originally wore on the way to his coronation.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35That diadem.
0:53:35 > 0:53:41Yes. Can you imagine a man having that made for him? Fascinating.
0:53:41 > 0:53:42He did have a sense of some style.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44Oh, he did.
0:53:46 > 0:53:51At the coronation, after private contemplation within St Edward's
0:53:51 > 0:53:56shrine, the Queen emerged wearing the Imperial State Crown.
0:53:59 > 0:54:04Oh, here we are. We've been behind the rood screen, we've got
0:54:04 > 0:54:08a different train on, as you can see -
0:54:08 > 0:54:14it's got much more embroidery, this train. The other one was plain.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17We were having to walk down these steps. I remember thinking,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19"I must look... I mustn't look down," you know,
0:54:19 > 0:54:23we were told not to look down, but it's quite difficult.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26I thought, "Oh, goodness, if one of us trips...!" But we didn't.
0:54:31 > 0:54:3416 months of preparations
0:54:34 > 0:54:38had delivered a day of perfectly executed ritual.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49As two million well-wishers cheered her on,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52the Queen began her triumphant journey through the capital.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00It took the 29,000 troops from 129 nations
0:55:00 > 0:55:05two hours to march along the five-mile processional route.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17The Queen's reign may have begun at the moment of her father's death
0:55:17 > 0:55:20in 1952, but it was launched by the coronation in 1953.
0:55:20 > 0:55:25She was projected on to the world stage, she was seen to be steady
0:55:25 > 0:55:28and as a young woman to do her duty perfectly.
0:55:28 > 0:55:34It recognised in a moment an old-fashioned ancient kingdom
0:55:34 > 0:55:37marking the start of this new and vibrant reign.
0:55:45 > 0:55:50Five-and-a-half hours after leaving the Palace, the Queen returned home.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56As the crowd rushed to celebrate at the palace gates, the Queen's
0:55:56 > 0:56:01personal footage reveals a more informal mood behind the scenes.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06What did I do with the sceptre, then? It's gone.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10In that few moments they've given it back to you,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13I think, because there you are with both.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17Somebody picked up and took it out.
0:56:18 > 0:56:24That's Jane Stewart. She tripped - she was rather embarrassed.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27Look at the Queen smiling. We're all smiling.
0:56:27 > 0:56:32I've got the giggles behind Jane. There I am, laughing.
0:56:34 > 0:56:35Such fun for the children.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39Not what they're meant to do.
0:56:39 > 0:56:40Not what they're meant to do.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46Must be such a relief for her not to have the crown on.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49But it was lovely. I mean, that bit was such fun,
0:56:49 > 0:56:53because, you know, everything had gone exactly as it should have.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59People say, "Oh, was your wedding the most amazing day of your life?"
0:56:59 > 0:57:01and I have to say, "Well, actually, it wasn't,"
0:57:01 > 0:57:03because the coronation was.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07It was something absolutely extraordinary,
0:57:07 > 0:57:09and I was so lucky to have been part of it.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18For the very first time, after 65 years,
0:57:18 > 0:57:22Her Majesty has added her unique voice to the events
0:57:22 > 0:57:27that announced her reign and marked the start of a new era.
0:57:27 > 0:57:31It's a sort of... I suppose, the sort of beginning of one's life,
0:57:31 > 0:57:35really, as the sovereign.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38It's a sort of pageant of chivalry
0:57:38 > 0:57:43and old-fashioned way of doing things, I think, really.
0:57:43 > 0:57:49But it's quite interesting to have it, you know, done again.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53I mean, I've seen one, one coronation,
0:57:53 > 0:57:55and been the recipient in the other,
0:57:55 > 0:57:57which is pretty remarkable.