1953 vs 2023: How the Coronations compare

How will the King’s Coronation Compare with Queen Elizabeth’s in 1953?

The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953 was an epic event, seen live by more than 20 million of the 37 million people living in the UK at the time. Millions more listened to the ceremony on radio.

Everything about the Queen’s coronation was larger than life. The complex ceremony lasted three hours, requiring extraordinary stamina on the part of the Queen.

And of the other participants. Members of the choir, for instance, were in Westminster Abbey for up to eight hours.

There were more than 8,200 guests in the Abbey, most seated in temporary stands constructed for the event. 

The Coronation of King Charles III will be smaller in scale and shorter, though not lacking in pomp and pageantry.

Around 2,000 guests are expected, which is the normal maximum capacity of the Abbey. 

The ceremony will likely last closer to two hours than three, with some elements – such as the lengthy paying of homage to the monarch after he is crowned – scaled down.

The King’s Procession on the way to the Abbey and the Coronation Procession on return to Buckingham Palace will also be significantly smaller than for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. In 1953 the Coronation Procession involved 16,000 participants and took up to an hour to pass any given point along the route.

However, the representation by Heads of State and Heads of Government of countries around the world, including from Commonwealth countries, is not expected to be significantly smaller than for the Queen’s coronation.

The Governor of Queensland, the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM, will attend on behalf of Queenslanders. The Governor-General of Australia, the Prime Minister, and Governors of other States will also attend. 

Foreign monarchs may be at the coronation, which would be a break with tradition. Previously they did not attend, sending a representative instead.  In 2023 there are not as many monarchs in the world as there were in 1953.

The then four-year-old Prince Charles watched some of the Queen’s coronation from the royal box in the Abbey, but on this occasion one of his grandsons, Prince George, will be part of the ceremony itself. So will three of Queen Camilla’s grandsons.    

The Abbey will no doubt be ablaze with colour with clerical robes, costumes of the great officers of state, military uniforms and the King and Queen’s robes of state.  

However, the King may choose not wear the traditional white knee breeches, hose (stockings) and ornate buckled shoes and instead wear a military uniform – possibly that of Admiral of the Fleet – under his robes.

The religious service at the core of the coronation ceremony has changed little in 1,000 years and is expected to correspond closely with the Queen’s coronation. The centuries-old tradition of the Archbishop of Canterbury presiding over the service will also be followed. 

As Consort of the King, Queen Camilla will be crowned alongside him in Westminster Abbey. This is consistent with precedent. However, there was no such ceremony for Prince Philip in 1953 because consorts of a Queen are not anointed and crowned.

While the music at the Queen’s coronation was drawn mostly from British composers of the past, the King has commissioned pieces from 12 living British composers active in a range of music genres including musical theatre and film.  

In 1953 the Queen, supported by Prince Philip, decided to allow the coronation to be televised – against official advice. The black-and-white broadcast was watched by well over half of the population of the UK at the time. Those without television sets watched in the homes of family members and friends, in pubs and in shop windows.  Millions more listened on radio.

King Charles’s coronation will be a landmark live media event for a world-wide audience who can now carry a ‘television’ in their pockets to watch the coronation live almost anywhere.

And use the first-ever official Coronation emoji!