In the excerpt below, King George VI’s coronation day is detailed as the monarch prepares for one of the most important events of his life — alongside his wife.
The blare of loudspeakers being tested near Buckingham Palace jolted Bertie and Elizabeth out of bed at three a.m. on Coronation Day. Soon afterward, the sound of bands practicing prevented their return to sleep. The King was unable to eat breakfast and “had a sinking feeling inside.” But having prayed with the Archbishop of Canterbury three days earlier, they were both ready to embrace the most profound religious aspects of the thousand-year-old ceremony.
Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and King George VI on the balcony at Buckingham Palace May 12, 1937 after the coronation of King George VI.Getty Images
The King made an equally spectacular entrance, a slender figure with his own pair of bishops. Nine pages held his ermine-bordered train. “Vivat, Vivat Rex Georgius!” shouted the schoolboys on high. George VI looked strikingly young, almost boyish. He calmly took his place near his own Chair of Estate.
Coronation of King George Vi on May 12, 1937.Historia/Shutterstock
(The service lasted two and a half hours and the king’s most difficult moment came when he got to his public oath. )
Afterward he could be seen wiping his hands. Only later did he ruefully admit, “the ink got all over my fingers,” but he was glad nobody appeared to notice.
In a letter to [speech coach] Lionel Logue five days later, George VI recalled his intense anxiety and shared his relief that all went well: “Not a moment’s hesitation or mistake!” He thanked Logue for his “expert supervision & unfailing patience.”
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King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on the day of their coronation, May 12, 1937, with Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth.Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty
At nine o’clock, George VI and Elizabeth appeared again on the balcony, now floodlit. He had changed into evening dress with his blue ribbon of the Garter. She was wrapped in a white fur-trimmed cloak and wore a diamond tiara. It still rained lightly, but they remained in the blaze of illumination for several minutes, as he waved and she bowed. When they left, the crowd sang the national anthem. Yet the people demanded more. After continuous loud cheering, the royal couple came out again three more times, retiring for the night at eleven-thirty p.m.
“Bertie and E looked so well,” [his mother] Queen Mary wrote, “& did it all too beautifully. . . . We were all much moved.” She told her son that she felt “Papa’s spirit was near us in blessing you. . . . I could not help feel- ing that poor foolish David has relinquished for nothing!!! But it is better so & better for our beloved Country.”
source: people.com
