3 days ago
Queen Elizabeth Found One Aspect of Her Coronation 'Horrible'
Near the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's historic 70-year reign, she took part in her coronation on June 2, 1953—72 years ago.
Despite all the pomp and ceremony, the Queen found one aspect of her coronation 'horrible.'
The three-hour ceremony had over 8,000 guests in attendance, including a 4-year-old Prince years ago yesterday—on June 2, 1953—Queen Elizabeth's coronation took place just over a year after her historic 70-year reign began on February 6, 1952 and the death of her beloved father, King George VI.
The next coronation didn't take place until May 6, 2023—almost exactly 70 years later—when the late Queen's son King Charles took the throne. Queen Elizabeth's own coronation was significant as it was the first one to be televised, but the monarch apparently found one aspect of her big day to be 'horrible,' according to Marie Claire.
In the BBC 2018 documentary The Coronation, none other than the Queen herself spoke about the event—after all, who better to ask? As she arrived at Westminster Abbey that day in the Gold State Coach, the Queen looked every bit the part—but the reality of riding in the coach was 'horrible,' the Queen said. 'It's not meant for traveling in at all. I mean, it's only sprung on leather. Not very comfortable.'
It wasn't a short ride in the Gold State Coach, either, as the Queen said she went 'Halfway around London.'
'It can only go at a walking pace,' she said in the documentary. 'The horses couldn't possibly go any faster. It's so heavy.'
Per Marie Claire, the Gold State Coach was built as far back as 1762, designed by William Chambers and constructed by coachmaker Samuel Butler. Since 1831, the coach has been used at every coronation, including King Charles' two years ago.
The coach was pulled by eight grey gelding horses at Queen Elizabeth's coronation, and on that particular June day, the late Queen's coronation was 'unseasonably cold and wet,' so staffers apparently 'strapped a hot water bottle under the seat' to keep the Queen warm—no doubt only further adding to how uncomfortable the ride was.
There were 8,000 guests in attendance at Queen Elizabeth's three-hour coronation, including a 4-year-old Prince Charles—'the first heir apparent of a Queen to attend a coronation,' according to People. The Queen was crowned with the extremely heavy St. Edward's Crown—the same crown her father was crowned with 16 years before her. The crown weighs in at nearly five pounds—which doesn't sound heavy until you think of it balancing atop your head.
'The ceremonies you have seen today are ancient, and some of their origins are veiled in the mists of the past,' the Queen said on that day. 'But their spirit and their meaning shine through the ages, never, perhaps, more brightly than now. I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.'
Read the original article on InStyle
