Photo credit NASA

I raise a toast to the Duke of Lancaster, Queen Elizabeth II who today has become  Britain’s longest reigning monarch. Her coronation took place on 2nd June 1953.

The coronation was delayed for more than a year because of the tradition that such a festival was inappropriate during the period of mourning that followed the death of the preceding sovereign. In the ceremony itself, Elizabeth swore an oath to uphold the laws of her nations and to govern the Church of England. Celebrations took place and a commemorative medal was issued throughout the Commonwealth realms.

The Coronation ceremony of Elizabeth II followed a similar pattern to the coronations of the kings and queens before her, being held in Westminster Abbey, and involving the peerage and clergy. However, for the new Queen, several parts of the ceremony were markedly different. The coronation of the Queen was the first ever to be televised (although the BBC Television Service had covered part of the procession from Westminster Abbey after her father’s coronation in 1937^[10]), and was also the world’s first major international event to be broadcast on television. There had been considerable debate within the British Cabinet on the subject, with Prime Minister Winston Churchill against the idea; but, Elizabeth refused her British prime minister’s advice on this matter and insisted the event take place before television cameras,^[11] as well as those filming with experimental 3D technology.^{[n 1][12]} The event was also filmed in colour, separately from the BBC’s black and white television broadcast.^[13] Millions across Britain watched the coronation live, while, to make sure Canadians could see it on the same day, RAF Canberras flew film of the ceremony across the Atlantic Ocean to be broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,^[14] the first non-stop flights between the United Kingdom and the Canadian mainland. In Goose Bay, Labrador, the film was transferred to a Royal Canadian Air Force CF-100 jet fighter for the further trip to Montreal. In all, three such voyages were made as the coronation proceeded.^[15]

Photo credit AFP