Memories
Stepping back in time:
It was estimated that 100,000 people took to the streets of London to watch the recent royal nuptials.
The marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex certainly drew the crowds – but it didn’t match the number of folk who showed up for a certain royal occasion 180 years ago.
On June 28, 1838, Queen Victoria’s coronation took place.
It was estimated 400,000 of the 19-year-old’s subjects came out to see her crowned monarch.
The unprecedented crowds were a surprise, especially in comparison to her predecessor William IV’s rather low-key coronation.
But the new railway network, which had spread through the country during the early part of the 19th Century, meant ordinary Britons could travel relatively easily.
Thousands boarded primitive steam trains to make the journey from the once-distant regions to watch the pageantry.
The ceremony cost £80,000 – £5 million in today’s money. This was more than double William IV’s coronation costs.
However, compared to her uncle George IV’s coronation less than 20 years before – a staggering £15 million in today’s terms – perhaps the royal accountants thought the bill was relatively small.
But the ceremony has since been dubbed the “last of the botched coronations”, as a number of mistakes on the day led to the more rigid ceremony we would be likely to see today.
There was no rehearsal for the event, and onlookers in Westminster Abbey later reported that you could certainly tell this was the case.
Benjamin Disraeli, who would later be Prime Minister, said those with parts to play “were always in doubt as to what came next”.
Some confusion led to a small accident during the ceremony – where an elderly noble called Lord Rolle fell down some steps when approaching the throne.
The young Queen insisted on rising to meet the infirm lord herself so he needn’t risk the stairs again.
It was an act of nobility which delighted the onlookers, and her subjects.
Writing in her diary, Victoria, perhaps overestimating the crowds, wrote: “It was a fine day, and the crowds of people exceeded what I have ever seen.
“There were millions of my loyal subjects, assembled in every spot.
“Their good humour and excessive loyalty was everything.
“I really cannot say how proud I felt to be the Queen of such a nation.”
Her Majesty did well to keep her good humour – the whole coronation service lasted five hours and involved two changes of dress.