The Coronation Book of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

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Royal Burials in the Chapel since 1805, Dean & Canons of Windsor, archived from the original on 27 September 2011 , retrieved 15 February 2010 Strong, Sir R. (2005). Coronation: a History of Kingship and the British Monarchy, Harper Collins ( ISBN 978-0007160549) See also: 1937 Coronation Honours and King George VI Coronation Medal Commemorative stamp, issued in New Zealand. Another stamp, issued by Swaziland. George IV’s coronation, in 1821, was by all accounts the most opulent and extravagant of all, and would be the last coronation banquet. George wanted to outdo Napoleon, whose ceremony a few years previously had been judged magnificent. But so many things went wrong.

Early life [ edit ] Four kings: Edward VII (far right); his son George, Prince of Wales, later George V (far left); and grandsons Edward, later Edward VIII (rear); and Albert, later George VI (foreground), c. 1908

In 1940, Winston Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister, though personally George would have preferred to appoint Lord Halifax. [82] After the King's initial dismay over Churchill's appointment of Lord Beaverbrook to the Cabinet, he and Churchill developed "the closest personal relationship in modern British history between a monarch and a Prime Minister". [83] Every Tuesday for four and a half years from September 1940, the two men met privately for lunch to discuss the war in secret and with frankness. [84] George related much of what the two discussed in his diary, which is the only extant first-hand account of these conversations. [85] Mourners visit Queen Mother's vault", BBC News, 10 April 2002, archived from the original on 7 December 2008 , retrieved 2 March 2018 No one could find the Sword of State, so they improvised, borrowing the Lord Mayor’s pearl sword. Everything ran late, and by the time the Archbishop came to deliver his sermon, it was drowned out by the clatter of cutlery and tinkling of glasses as hungry peers fell to eating mid-service, according to Lloyd. See also: Wedding of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon The Duke and Duchess of York (centre, reading programmes) at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane, Queensland, 1927

The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, Emperor and Empress consort of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937. George VI ascended the throne upon the abdication of his brother, Edward VIII, on 11 December 1936, three days before his 41st birthday. Edward's coronation had been planned for 12 May and it was decided to continue with his brother and sister-in-law's coronation on the same date. The Archbishop of Canterbury then began the Communion Service, while the Bishop of London read the Epistle and the Archbishop of York the Gospel; after the Service concluded, the King and Queen knelt while the choir sang " Veni, Creator Spiritus". This marked the beginning of the anointing of the monarch, when the Archbishop of Canterbury marks the monarch's head with oil to symbolise the introduction of the Holy Spirit. The Choir sang Handel's Zadok the Priest and the Archbishop prayed, before the King was disrobed and sat in St Edward's Chair, with the Canopy borne by four knights of the Garter placed over him. The Archbishop then anointed him with oil from the Ampulla, which had been poured onto the Anointing Spoon. See also: Cultural depictions of George VI Statue by William McMillan (1955) at Carlton House Terrace, Westminster Although 1937 saw an increase in the colonial contingents partaking in the procession and an official lunch in Westminster Hall was given to parliamentary representatives of Empire states for the first time, the service itself was barely altered to reflect the new status of the Dominions. [15] Guests [ edit ] King George VI and Queen Elizabeth coronation invitation Published by Authority (18 June 1948), "A proclamation by the King, 22 June 1948", Supplement to the Belfast Gazette - Official Public Record (1408): 153, archived from the original on 5 September 2021Petrocelli, William Walton and the Violin Concerto in England between the 1900 and 1940, 2007, p. 32 Lanctot, Gustave (1964), Royal Tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Canada and the United States of America 1939, Toronto: E.P. Taylor Foundation

Ziegler, Philip (1990). King Edward VIII: The Official Biography. London: Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-215741-4. a b c "Queen Mother's Coronation Gown". Royal School of Needlework. 26 May 2021 . Retrieved 2 April 2023.

Major (George) Raymond Seymour (1923–2010), grandson of Lord Ismay, and later an assistant private secretary and equerry to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Range, M. (2012). Music and Ceremonial at British Coronations: From James I to Elizabeth II, Cambridge University Press ( ISBN 978-1-107-02344-4) He was succeeded by his next younger brother, George VI. Before his accession, George had been known as Prince Albert, Duke of York; his regnal name was chosen in honour of his late father. In 1923, he had married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. The Coronation Committee had been delayed when it met for the first time on 24 June 1936: Ramsay MacDonald, the Lord President of the Council, met the Duke of Norfolk to discuss the proceedings; MacDonald would chair the Coronation Committee as a whole, and the Duke would chair the Executive Committee. While Edward VIII was away, cruising on the Nahlin with Wallis Simpson, his brother, Albert, Duke of York (the future George VI) sat in his place on the committees. [3] Edward VIII had initially been reluctant to have a coronation at all (asking the Archbishop of Canterbury whether it could be dispensed with), but conceded that a shorter service would be acceptable; his desire for a lower-key event led to the planned abandonment of the royal procession through London the following day, the thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral and the dinner with London dignitaries. [5]