Colourised images show all the royal splendour from George VI’s coronation in 1937
When King Charles’s grandfather was crowned: Full color images show all the regal splendor of George VI’s coronation in 1937
- King George VI was crowned on May 12, 1937, after his brother Edward VIII had abdicated five months earlier
- He and his wife were crowned Queen Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother at Westminster Abbey
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It was the coronation with the unexpected king, the younger brother that occurred after the greatest crisis in the modern history of the monarchy.
King George VI and his wife Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother, were crowned at Westminster Abbey on 12 May 1937, five months after his brother Edward VIII abdicated to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Now, newly colorized images have brought the ceremony — attended by then-Princess Elizabeth at the age of 11 — back to life.
One image shows the new king and queen sitting on their thrones in their coronation robes holding their regalia, including the orb and scepter – seen in George’s hands.
Another photo shows the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the ceremony, with Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret – then six years old – waving to crowds.
A third image reveals the moment when Princess Elizabeth is welcomed to the abbey for the historic service, which took place on the same site 17 years before her own coronation.
Unlike the 1953 service, George’s coronation was not televised, although the procession was televised.
The 1937 event will now set the blueprint for the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla next month. At the coronation of the late Queen, Prince Philip – as male consort – had no right to be crowned.
Instead, he famously knelt down and vowed to be her “ruler of life and limb.”
It was the coronation with the unexpected king, the younger brother that occurred after the greatest crisis in the modern history of the monarchy. King George VI and his wife, the future Queen Mother, were crowned at Westminster Abbey on 12 May 1937, five months after his brother Edward VIII abdicated to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. Above: The new king and queen can be seen in their coronation robes holding their regalia as they sit on their thrones
Another photo shows the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the ceremony, with Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret – then six years old – waving to crowds
King George VI is depicted in his coronation robes in 1937. Unlike the 1953 service, George’s coronation itself was not televised, although the procession was televised.
Princess Elizabeth is welcomed to the Abbey for the historic service, which took place on the same site 17 years before her own coronation
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are seen at their coronation in Westminster Abbey on May 12, 1937
A blank invitation to the king’s coronation can be seen above. They were sent to all attendees of the historical service
Children enjoy feasting at a coronation tea party in Eltham, South London, on May 15, 1937
Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Gordon Lang departs after attending final rehearsal before coronation
Children enjoy a coronation tea at a school in Crayford, south London, in May 1937. They drank from souvenir cups they had been given
Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Gordon Lang is seen placing the St. Edward’s Crown on King George VI’s head