Prayers mark 67 years since Queen was crowned in war-weary Britain

PRAYERS WERE said for the Queen yesterday to mark the 67th anniversary of the day she was crowned.

Elizabeth II was just 27 years old and 16 months into her role as sovereign when the coronation took place, serving as a morale boost for a nation starved of pageantry following the Second World War.

The religious ceremony was staged on June 2, 1953 in the historic surrounds of Westminster Abbey and was celebrated with street parties across the country.

Bells at the Abbey in central London are usually rung to mark the anniversary, but this year will stay silent during the church’s closure amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Resident clergy said prayers for the Queen and the Royal family instead, the Abbey said.

The monarch, 94, was at Windsor Castle, where she has been staying during the outbreak.

The day of the coronation saw the nation host celebrations despite the hardship of post-war rationing, and even the atrocious, unseasonal weather on the day could not dampen the national festivities.

People began to bed down in the streets of London two days before the big event. Despite the pouring rain and driving wind, the evening before, half a million people were already lining the procession route.

The coronation was shared with a wider audience through the relatively new medium of television. Despite initial reservations, the Queen eventually agreed to allow TV cameras to be present inside the Abbey to capture the historic event.

An estimated 27 million people in Britain alone watched the coronation live on their, or their neighbours’, black and white televisions.

The uncrowned Queen Elizabeth II – she actually wore the George IV Diadem on her journey there – set out from Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach.

Some 65 years later in a BBC documentary about the day, the Queen recalled how the journey had been “horrible”.

“It’s only sprung on leather,” she said of the coach, adding: “Not very comfortable.”

The three-hour service took place in front of a congregation of more than 8,000 people.

The Queen is now the nation’s longest reigning monarch and has been seen as a source of stability during the coronavirus crisis.

PICTURES: PA WIRE CORONATION: The Queen riding with the Duke of Edinburgh in the State Coach; the Queen flanked by the Bishop of Durham (on her right) and the Bishop of Bath, with her six Maids-of-Honour; the Queen wearing the Imperial State Crown with the Duke of Edinburgh.