Kings and Queens have been crowned in ceremonies to formalise their position as Sovereign for centuries, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was crowned on 2 June, 1953 in Westminster Abbey. Thousands of people lined the Coronation procession route and many camped out for two days to ensure their spot. There were more than 2,000 journalists along the Coronation route, and among the many foreign journalists in London was a young reporter from the Washington Times-Herald who would later become First Lady of the United States, Jackie Kennedy. A total of 8,251 guests representing one hundred and twenty-nine nations and territories were in attendance at the Coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey while an estimated 27 million people in Britain watched the ceremony on TV and 11 million listened on the radio. The 1953 Coronation service was the first service to be televised, and for most people it was the first time they had ever watched an event on television. (www.royal.gov.uk)
Click here to watch video highlights of The Queen’s 1953 Coronation at Westminster Abbey