The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II: Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

PREPARATIONS

For the one-day coronation ceremony, 16 months of preparation took place, with the first meeting of the Coronation Commission taking place in April 1952, under the chairmanship of the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Though Elizabeth's grandmother Queen Mary died on 24 March, the dowager Queen had stated in her will that her death should not affect the planning of the coronation, and the event went ahead as scheduled.

Norman Hartnell was commissioned by the Queen to design the outfits for all the members of the Royal Family and especially the dress Elizabeth would wear at the coronation; Hartnell's design for the latter evolved through nine proposals, the final reached by his own research as well as numerous personal meetings with the Queen.

What resulted was a white silk dress embroidered with the floral emblems of the countries of the Commonwealth at the time: the Tudor rose of England, the Scots thistle, the Welsh leek, shamrocks for Northern Ireland, the wattle of Australia, the maple leaf of Canada, the New Zealand fern, South Africa's protea, two lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute; unknown to the Queen at the time of the gown's delivery, though, was the unique four-leaf clover embroidered on the dress' left side, where Elizabeth's hand would touch throughout the day.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, rehearsed for the upcoming day with her maids of honour, a sheet used in place of the velvet train and an arrangement of chairs standing in for the carriage.

So that she could become accustomed to its feel and weight, the Queen also wore the Imperial State Crown while she went about her daily business, sporting it at her desk, at tea, and while reading the newspaper.

Elizabeth took part in two full rehearsals at Westminster Abbey, on 22 and 29 May, though other sources assert that the Queen attended either "several" rehearsals or one.

Typically, the Duchess of Norfolk stood in for the Queen at rehearsals.

The Proclamation of the Coronation

by Norroy and Ulster King of Arms

Temple Bar - London

7th June 1952

First Meeting of the Court of Claims
members included
Lord Clarendon (Lord Chamberlain) - Lord Woolton (Lord President)
Lord Simonds (Lord Chancellor) - The Duke of Norfolk (Earl Marshal)
Lord Jowitt - Lord Goddard (Lord Chief Justice)

Members of the Royal School of Needlework - Kensington

embroidering the Queen's Coronation Robe

The remodelling of the Imperial State Crown

Preparation of Flags for use at the Coronation

Nine Walking Grooms

Four Royal Postillions

The Lion of England

The Queen's Beasts are ten heraldic statues depicting the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II.

They were commissioned by the British Ministry of Works from sculptor James Woodford (who was paid the sum of £2,750 for the work) to stand in front of the temporary annex to Westminster Abbey for the Queen's coronation in 1953.

The beasts are some six-foot (1.83 m) high, cast in plaster, and could not therefore be left in the open air.

The beasts are: the lion of England, the griffin of Edward III, the falcon of the Plantagenets, the black bull of Clarence, the yale of Beaufort, the white lion of Mortimer, the White Greyhound of Richmond, the red dragon of Wales, the unicorn of Scotland, and the white horse of Hanover.