Stimulated by publicity in the press, on radio and television,
a rising swell of excitement had surged forward at the prospect of the
forthcoming Coronation. Although it rained intermittently on the crowd
of a million people which gathered along the route of the procession throughout
the coronation day of June 2, 1953, the elements failed to dull the parades
magnificence, a cavalcade that took 45 minutes to pass and included thousands
of troops from all over the Commonwealth who provided a richly uniformed
backcloth to the central players in their robes, coronets and ermine.
The dignified beauty of the Queen at the extraordinarily moving instant
of Coronation and her gaiety as she waved from her coach and from the
balcony of Buckingham Palace captured everyone.
The UN published six commemorative magazines to cover this event.
First was the eighth in the series of Record Numbers,
published early in May, 1953,
(Appendix List No. 147), with 16 coloured
plates and 594 portraits and illustrations in photogravure. This publication
sets the scene for the Coronation with the following detailed sections:
the Crown and the Commonwealth; the ritual and significance of the Coronation;
the royal ornaments and their meaning; the history of the Speaker’s
Coach and notes on the State Coach; a record of the life of H .M. Queen
Elizabeth II and a record of the life of the Queen’s Consort, H.R.H.
The Duke of Edinburgh. (A
link to an Order of service site by Simon Kershaw)
The cover, in blue leather effect, has a simple stylized pattern in gilt
with the words The Illustrated London News. EIIR. Coronation 1953. It
has 66 pages, measures 37 x 26 cm and was priced at ten shillings.