Show GEORGE VI ELIZABETH CROWNED five million voices cry god save the king as guns boom glad tidings tiding rs from historic tower of london london england god save the king As the great guns of the tower of london boomed forth the news that the archbishop of canterbury had placed the weighty crown of st edward the crown of england upon the head of george VI the cry came forth in a mighty swell from five million throats as from the throat of one man this was the climax of the greatest show on earth a show for or which a generous share of the throng which lined the six and one half miles or of the processional route had waited without moving from their places through the dampness of a london spring night and indeed through part of the preceding day those of the kings subjects who had not been able to afford 2 to for a seat that would assure them a glimpse of their new monarch on his proudest day began marking off space along the curb on tho the afternoon of may 11 smart decks alecks who thought they could put oft off their vigil until sunrise of coronation day were opre doomed to stretch their necks an inch or two in twelve hours of straining to see over several rows of earlier arrivals A quiet n empire 11 it was a heavy day of work at the end of many backbreaking back breaking weeks of preparation for the gentlemen and ladles ladies of the peerage whose rank and purse entitled them to sit for on an entire day in 10 to 25 pounds of clothing per capita on a hard seat scat 19 inches wide without ever moving but it was a magnificent ent show the lord give you fruitful lands land s and healthful seasons said the arch archbishop bisho p in the benediction which followed the crowning of the king victorious fleets and armies and a quiet empire no one in britain could deny that in a time of worldwide world wide unrest a time of urgent necessity for imperial strength and unity the political expediency of a quiet empire prompted the government to make of this the most splendid coronation in all history the government expense in the crowning of george VI has been estimated to be double that in the coronation I 1 ot of his lather father 20 26 years ago its backing ot of the dazzling pageantry required expenditures of of public funds not counting an estimated spent by the royal household in entertaining royal and foreign guests in the vast coronation pageant the government hoped to lend new emphasis to that sentiment which is a the real bond holding the empire together and which ts Is symbolized by the crown and tho the man who wears it there is still an undercurrent of dissatisfaction over the abdication of edward VIII the new king and queen must be popularized to the fullest possible extent the coronation was an opportunity to accomplish this and the government could off oltorf ord to let none of 0 it slip lip past the show and the crowd lived up to all advance billing it was estimated that there were vis igors who had to cross the ocean all londona Lon dons hotel rooms were sold out souvenir manufacturers and vendors did the expected land office business the drink bill for toasting the now new king was guessed at queen goes first pomp and regal solemnity were byword of the day from the time the king and queen boarded the coronation coach at buckingham palace in midmorning mid morning eight magnificent ent cream colored horses drew the ancient fourton tour four ton vehicle down the streets it has traversed since 1761 when it was built tor for queen anne in its heavily ornate gold and jewels it carried the spectators back through the pages of history to those days before the american colonies had revolted and prevented the british empire from including the lions share of north america the ancient coach a tradition at coronations coro nations bore the royal couple down the mall to the abbey where the queens procession left the king to enter first so that she could stand and watt wait tor for him by the chairs of state or recognition chairs in front of the royal box where the other members of the royal family were seated peers and peeresses pee were in their places before the central figures of the coronation coron atlon drama arrived and before them the real martyrs had assumed their positions these were the eight newspaper photographers the government had permitted to be present Ab abhorring horing the thought of hash flash bulbs bulb marring the solemnity of such an occasion but still anxious that pictures be taken officials hit upon a solution they provided camouflaged quarters for camera men in false pillars and other positions which blended into the background of the abbey narrow slits silts in the walls of these refuges enabled the cameras to peer out at the spectacle but the poor they had to be I 1 set up tip before anyone en cn I 1 arp 5 1 IRIV 14 u 1 3 V I 1 V Z 3 P e r TN Q 0 k Z 4 t 7 ring king george VI TI and queen elizabeth officially crowned in one of his ils torys most spectacular and colorful coronations coro nations acred the abbey and maintain their cramped positions for eight or nine hours they were not permitted to withdraw until everyone else had hac left lef t His Ills torys greatest gem gein display DI splay A general color scheme of blue and gold with rich soft velvet hang ings made a brilliant background for the cast and for the spectators in their gorgeous uniforms and gowns peeresses Pee wore robes of crimson velvet trimmed in ermine unless they happened to be of royal blood in which event they were required to don the purple velvet of royalty the court gowns worn un berneath der neath were of white cream silver or gold fashion experts estimated that the most economical of them cost at least 1200 uniforms of the men started at about GOO and went up from there this did not of course include the jewelry or the coronets the cheapest coronet could hardly have been purchased tor for less than the total of all the rings bracelets necklaces etc worn by the present must have run into the millions and was probably the most costly and magnificent display of I 1 ja S 1 I 4 the crown of st edward or crown of england made for charles it in and worn because of its excessive weight for but a fleet I 1 ng moment by george VI during the coronation ceremony gerns gems ever worn in one place at one time in the worlds history rank of the members of the nobility was indicated by the amount of ermine on the robes of the women and the length of at their trains A duchess was marked by four rows of ermine on her robe and a train two yards long A marchioness was permitted three and one half rows of ermine and a one and three fourths yard train a countess half a row less of ermine half a yard less train rank was further graded down at half a row and half a yard per classification the head of the procession which had included a great list of dignitaries the he kings representatives and royal persons with their families from all over the world had been waiting at the west door of the abbey and as the royal coach approached billed in to awalt await their monarch following them came the chaplains deans and officers of westminster then the archbishops arch bishops with the queen consort and the ladies and gentlemen of the court noblemen close behind bore the start staff and the sceptre tre with the cross and the golden spurs and the three swords which signify mercy temporal justice and spiritual justice these were the trap trappings pings of st ed ward with which english kings are invested then came more dignitaries and the kings sceptre with the dove symbolic of mercy and equity the tha kings gold and diamond orb sur mounted by the christian cross the crown of st edward the patent and the chalice and the bible then entered george VI in the crimson robes of state to join his queen and march through the choir and up the stairs to tho the theatre passing the thrones they then kneeled at the fald stools before the recognition chairs to offer prayers dext they proceeded about the ceab abbey to all four sides before the view of the assemblage the king went to his chair and once more faced each side of the abbey as the archbishop in loud tones announced him after the regalia had been brought and placed by the dean of westminster upon the altar the archbishop asked the king according to ritual sire is your majesty willing to take the oath and the king r answered 1 I am willing he gave his oath to govern the peoples of the british isles and the empire according to their laws and customs to maintain maint aln the profession ot of the gospel and the church of england after he had kissed the bible and signed the oath the king repeated and subs subscribed bribed to the declaration lar la required by parliament and with the assemblage prepared tor for the communion service following this lengthy service the king having first removed the cap and robes of state ascended to the throns throne of st edward the ancient chair which contains beneath its seat the historic stone of scone upon which the kings of scotland sat as they were crowned a thousand years ago after a silken pall had been put over the king the archbishop anointed him upon the hands breast and face with the holy oil and he was ready to be presented with the spurs and the sword king receives ills ilis crown these given george VI removed the pall and was clothed for the first time in the royal robe of purple the orb and cross were brought from the altar by the dean of westminster and placed in the kings hands by the archbishop he was next invested with the ring and the sceptres tres then as the king bowed his head the dean of westminster brought the crown of st edward and the archbishop receiving it from him held it but momentarily upon the head of the king its weight is terrific this was the signal for the trumpets and the guns in the tower of 0 london tor for the peers and peeresses pee to cry ry god save the kingl king and for the millions who along the processional cess ional line outside had been waiting for that moment to toss their hats in the air and cry likewise god save the kingl the peers were now allowed to put pul on their coronets there followed more religious ceremonies of great length and solemnity and then the coronation of the queen following which the peer esses cried god save the queena and donned their coronets still moke more long hours of ceremony then in the early evening the kings coach at last passed once more down the processional route and the millions who had waited all day for the sight went home happy 0 western newspaper union |