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Most observers would agree that The Queen's Coronation Day was smoothly performed and executed with precision timing. However, a ceremony and celebration of this magnitude takes a lot of time and planning. Coronation ceremonies are rich in tradition, religious significance and pageantry and require careful organisation and co-ordination between many institutions and bodies.
On 28 April 1952, it was announced by Buckingham Palace that The Queen had appointed Tuesday 2 June 1953, to be the day of her Coronation. A Coronation Commission was set up to undertake preparations for the Coronation with representatives from UK and the Commonwealth under the chairmanship of The Earl Marshal. Its first meeting was in May 1952.
The Duke of Norfolk holds the hereditary office of the Earl Marshal and as such is the highest authority on all matters of Royal ceremony. The operational headquarters were set up in Belgrave Square in October 1952.
The Ministry of Works, a former Government department, was responsible for most of the building and furnishing of the Coronation, providing stands along the route of the procession, and equipment to relay the service to seat holders and the general public around the stands. They also provided press, broadcasting, newsreel and press photographic facilities on buildings and land along the route.
Westminster Abbey began a series of major building works to erect more seating and build an annexe in which The Queen and dignitaries could assemble and prepare themselves.
And there were rehearsals. On 10 May a dress rehearsal from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey took place at five o'clock in the morning, involving military and Royal Household participants. The Duchess of Norfolk had a very important role during the rehearsals in the Abbey: as a stand-in for The Queen.
The Royal Household also spent the months leading up to the Coronation preparing Buckingham Palace. The Press Office was busy fielding media enquiries from around the world; The Master of the Household's Department was responsible for preparing guest rooms and menus; and the Lord Chamberlain's Office liaised with the Earl Marshal and his office. Special arrangements were made for visiting foreign dignitaries. The dish Coronation chicken was invented specially by Constance Spry and Marguerite Patten as something which could be prepared in advance to cater for the large numbers of guests.
On the day of the Coronation, footmen, housemaids, gardeners and other employees gathered at the Grand Entrance of the Palace to watch The Queen leave in the Gold State Coach. Footmen and Pages were kept busy looking after guests in rooms overlooking the celebrations in The Mall by providing refreshments. The once-in-a-lifetime experience created an excitement and buzz in The Queen's Household.
The Press Office meanwhile was dealing with huge media interest. On the actual day nearly 2,000 members of the media positioned themselves across London: 930, British and overseas reporters; 185 BBC observers; 309 press photographers; 8 television cameras; 73 sound broadcasting positions; and 150 newsreels trained on the unfolding events.
A unique feature of the 1953 Coronation was the ability of the BBC to produce live and continuous coverage of the event both inside and outside the main venues. Thirty cameramen were chosen for the service in the Abbey for their slightness of build, needed most especially for the organ loft.
BBC observers were stationed outside Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey and the Annexe, Pall Mall, Marble Arch and Piccadilly Circus. Television cameras were positioned at Buckingham Palace, the Embankment, Hyde Park and inside the Abbey. The live filming of the Coronation was a huge leap forward in broadcasting history. As well as an estimated 27 million people in Britain watching the ceremony on television, 11 million people listened on the radio and thousands of photographers captured the special day.
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