Global Courant 2023-04-30 16:39:48
Jamie Hill was four years old when his family walked over to a neighbor’s house in Kitchener, Ontario to attend the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The now 73-year-old doesn’t remember much of the ceremony that would become a social and cultural phenomenon, but a constant reminder of the day hangs in his home in St. Agatha, Ontario.
Hill’s grandmother attended the coronation in person and purchased a piece of tapestry made for the event. She later passed it on to Hill.
The lifelong member of the Monarchist League of Canada recently added a commemorative cup for the coronation of King Charles III to his collection of memorabilia, purchased on a recent trip to Scotland.
Hill plans to drink coffee out of it on May 6 as the world watches the King’s formal coronation.
“We have a few people visiting and we have scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam,” Hill said in a telephone interview from his home.
When it comes to the day of, Hill is most looking forward to taking in the splendor.
“They do so well with their pageants and occasions. The way they put everything together is extraordinary,” he said.
The day is sure to be a lavish affair, even if details released so far suggest the king’s coronation will be more muted than his mother’s 70 years ago.
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation took place on 2 June 1953. The three-hour service was the first fully televised coronation and is said to have led to a surge in television sales at the time. It was also one of the first major world events to be broadcast internationally.
“It was the moment when the monarchy suddenly got personal because you could see the royal family in your home,” said Justin Vovk, a royal commentator and doctoral student at McMaster University in Hamilton.
He said her coronation also ushered in a new era for members of the royal family, who saw the reverent distance kept for centuries eroding in the face of the media’s greater access to their personal lives and spaces.
More than 8,000 guests watched as Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne. People camping outside were able to catch a glimpse of the Queen as the procession wound along a 4.5-mile route that took the 16,000 participants two hours to complete.
While the country was still going through a period of severe austerity in the aftermath of World War II, the organizers’ mindset was to make the event as big and grand as possible, according to Vovk.
Jean Hess was 12 years old when she and some of her relatives slept on the floor outside Buckingham Palace the night before the Queen’s coronation.
“There wasn’t a single space left on the sidewalk,” Hess, now 82, recalled in a telephone interview from her home in Victoria.
As the Queen made her way to a balcony in the palace, Hess recalls being “crushed, shoved, and shoved” as the crowd gathered to glimpse the new monarch.
The guest list for the king’s coronation has been significantly reduced, with around 2,000 guests. Also, the procession is shortened to about a quarter of the queen’s length.
Carolyn Harris, a royal commentator based in Toronto, said there was a strong emphasis on bringing together the British aristocracy for the Queen’s ceremony. That seems to be less of a focus this time around, she added.
“We are seeing a smaller guest list, but efforts are being made to make this guest list as diverse as possible while reflecting the different causes that are important to King Charles,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to attend the event, just as then-Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent did in 1953. Members of St. Laurent’s cabinet and opposition leaders were also part of the Canadian delegation, but it is believed no First Nations representation was at the event.
The relationship between the Crown and First Nations peoples predates the creation of Canada, but Harris said there was no emphasis in 1953 on including indigenous groups.
“That doesn’t seem to have been the explicit focus at the time to make sure the various Commonwealth realms definitely send Indigenous representatives,” Harris said.
More details on the formal Canadian delegation are expected later this week.
Die-hard royal viewers are still expected to camp out for Saturday’s ceremony, while others will rely on their screens in all forms.
In another nod to modern technology, Buckingham Palace released a special crown emoji fashioned from St Edward’s crown for coronation celebrations.
More than 6,000 military personnel will take part in the king’s coronation, including hundreds of troops from Commonwealth countries.
Such troops numbered in the tens of thousands in 1953, including hundreds of Canadian soldiers.
George Bowman was one of 26 reserve pilots selected to participate.
“When the orders came, we marched and marched and marched,” the now 91-year-old said from his home near the Bruce Peninsula in southern Ontario. “It was an honor to be chosen and sent there.”
Bowman and his group were paraded behind Buckingham Palace, but he did not get too close to the Queen, he said.
The ceremony itself will likely remain the same as it was seven decades ago.
Vovk expects some things could be dropped, such as liturgical elements to reflect the monarchy’s understanding of social developments around the world.
“At a time when Britain is going through a financial crisis, there is war in Europe, there is great uncertainty. There are all these sensitivities that they need to be aware of,” he said.
Hess is optimistic that King Charles’s reign will usher in a new era for the monarchy, and while she won’t be at the forefront to witness the coronation this time, she’s happy to take it upon herself at home.
“I will have my Union Jack (flag) on my balcony and I will wear red, white and blue,” she said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 30, 2023.
