Queen on Songs of Praise for milestone
THE QUEEN was the special guest for a special Songs of Praise episode marking a Christian charity’s milestone.
The programme, aired yesterday, commemorates the 150 years of the Scripture Union. Wearing a fuchsia ensemble, the Queen joined a congregation of friends and supporters of the organisation to mark its work encouraging children and young people to explore their faith.
The pre-recorded event, hosted by singer Katherine Jenkins, featured readings by Baroness Floella Benjamin. The Queen, who has a strong faith which she often reflects upon in her annual Christmas address to the nation and Commonwealth, sat at the head of the congregation.
Meanwhile, the sacred oil used to anoint the Queen during her coronation is featured in a BBC documentary about the occasion.
The special oil was shown by Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster, during the programme called The
Coronation, which also chronicles the history of the crown jewels.
The Queen’s childhood memories of her father’s coronation were revealed in the hour-long documentary last night, with an 11-year-old Princess Elizabeth writing she thought the arches of Westminster Abbey were covered in “a sort of haze of wonder” when King George VI was crowned in 1937.
The Queen’s own account, written in a child’s exercise book, says: “I thought it all very very wonderful, and I expect the Abbey did too.”