Traditional Commonwealth banquet cut from Coronation plans
WHEN a gala Commonwealth banquet was held to mark Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, it was hailed as a great success in fostering the “spirit of good fellowship” among her subjects.
The magnificent event featured food and drink from around the Commonwealth of Nations, including lamb sent from New Zealand, pineapples from Canada, wine and liqueurs from Australia and South Africa, coffee from Kenya and cigars from Jamaica.
Addressing 750 guests in Westminster
Hall, the late Queen said she was glad to be following the example of her father, George VI, who dined with Commonwealth leaders on the eve of his own coronation in 1937.
However, no such banquet will be held for the King’s Coronation, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), which organised the previous two coronation feasts, has confirmed it will not be putting on the event this year, explaining that “what was appropriate then will not necessarily be appropriate now”. The decision, likely to be seen by some as a snub to representatives of the 56 members states – the majority of which are former territories of the British Empire – was taken after it was felt that the Commonwealth has “changed hugely since 1953”.
The King will host a reception for Commonwealth representatives on Friday May 5, the day before the Coronation, The Telegraph understands. That evening, he will host a reception for world leaders at Buckingham Palace.
Royal sources stressed that the King was keen to find ways to demonstrate his commitment to the Commonwealth over the four-day celebration.
Tomorrow he will attend his first Commonwealth Day service as monarch, where he will break with tradition by delivering his message in person from the Great Pulpit at Westminster Abbey. Its theme is “forging a sustainable and peaceful common future”.
For the King, who was elected as his mother’s eventual successor as head of the Commonwealth in 2018, it will be a chance to set out his vision for its future.
From 1189 to 1821, Westminster Hall was the traditional venue for coronation banquets. William IV abandoned the coronation banquet in 1830 as it was considered too expensive.
However, the hall continued to be used by the CPA, which hosted a coronation luncheon for the late Queen in the days before she was crowned.
It featured State Trumpeters of the Life Guards, who saluted royal guests. The Queen sat at the High Table, which was decorated with “masses of hydrangeas, gladioli and roses”, according to an official account of the event.
A similar event took place in May 1937 ahead of George VI’s coronation, organised by what was then the UK branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association. In 1948 the organisation changed its name to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
A spokesman for the UK branch of the CPA said: “There are no plans as far as the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK is concerned for a banquet or anything of that kind.
“The Commonwealth, its members and its institutions have changed hugely since 1953, and what was appropriate then will not necessarily be appropriate now.”