Queen marks Coronation anniversary at Westminster Abbey

Queen marks Coronation anniversary at Westminster Abbey


The Queen has joined 2,000 guests for a service at Westminster Abbey to mark 60 years since her Coronation.

Some of those who took part in the 1953 service were among the congregation.

Archbishop of Canterbury the Most Rev Justin Welby said the event honoured "60 years of commitment".

The Queen was accompanied by more than 20 members of her family, including the Duke of Edinburgh, who pulled out of an engagement on Monday night because he was feeling unwell.

Several key items from the Coronation were placed in Westminster Abbey for the service.

They included the heavy, solid gold St Edward's Crown, displayed on the High Altar - the first time it has left the Tower of London since 1953.

Beside it was the Ampulla, the gold, eagle-shaped bottle from which the holy oil was poured for the Queen's anointing.

The Coronation Chair, one of the oldest pieces of English furniture still in use, was also on show.

'Utter self-sacrifice'
The Queen and Prince Philip entered Westminster Abbey to the same music that greeted her in 1953.

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Analysis
Peter Hunt
Royal correspondent
The crowds were smaller, the weather better and there were no carriages, bands or processions.

But there were plenty of reminders both of the Queen's Coronation, described by one participant as a "medieval pageant", and of what we may witness at the next one.

She entered and left the abbey with Prince Philip, who has been ill but who was determined to be by his wife's side, and with Prince Charles who has lived a life in waiting.

For many - other than those who seek an elected head of state - this was a moment of celebration.

For the Queen, it will have been an opportunity to reflect on a service, 60 years ago, which she regards as an act of consecration. A moment when God set her apart for his service.

On the evening of her Coronation she spoke to the crowds in the Mall of striving all her life "to be worthy of your trust".

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Back then, aged 27, she was the 38th sovereign to be crowned in an abbey that has been the scene of such ceremonies since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066.

The Archbishop of Canterbury told those gathered in the abbey that the Coronation had been "an ordination, a setting aside of a person for service".

Archbishop Welby said that during the ceremony the Queen knelt at the abbey's altar and prayed.

"We do not know what was prayed. Her Majesty knelt at the beginning of a path of demanding devotion and utter self-sacrifice, a path she did not choose, yet to which she was called by God.

"Today we celebrate 60 years since that moment, 60 years of commitment."

'Duty done'
At the time the Coronation was a major television spectacle, with an estimated 27 million Britons tuning in.

The weather was dull and wet, but warm sunshine greeted those gathering in London for the anniversary on Tuesday.

The Archbishop said the Coronation had been "the first time the whole nation had watched anything as it happened".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22762878

Queen arrives at Westminster Abbey for service celebrating her 60 years on the throne
The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, was welcomed to Westminster Abbey today for a special religious service to mark the 60th anniversary of her coronation.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10097761/Queen-arrives-at-Westminster-Abbey-for-service-celebrating-her-60-years-on-the-throne.html

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Trooping the Colour marks the Queen's official birthday


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BBC coverage of Trooping the Colour ceremony
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A spectacular Trooping the Colour ceremony in honour of the Queen's official birthday has taken place.

The Queen attended the annual parade but her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, missed the event as he remains in hospital recovering from surgery.
Thousands gathered to watch the pomp and pageantry, ahead of a 41-gun salute to officially mark the milestone.
The Duchess of Cambridge also attended, making her final public appearance before the birth of her first child.

Following the gun salute, fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park, the royals will gather on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch an RAF flypast, which will include Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster aircraft, and a display by the Red Arrows.
The military parade comes after the Queen's Birthday Honours list was published.


Earlier this month, the monarch and other members of the Royal Family attended a service at Westminster Abbey marking the 60th anniversary of her Coronation.
Glass coach


The Queen was cheered by the crowds as she travelled to Horse Guards Parade in a vintage carriage along The Mall, leaving Buckingham Palace shortly after 11:00.

The glass coach was built in 1881 as a town coach for the Lord Mayor of London and was purchased for King George V's coronation in 1911. It has been used in many royal weddings, including the Queen's marriage to Prince Philip in 1947 when she was still Princess Elizabeth.


Other senior royals arrived in carriages before the Queen made her entrance at Horse Guards Parade
In place of Prince Philip, the monarch invited her cousin, the Duke of Kent, to join her for the event.
The Queen took the royal salute as members of the Royal Family looked on, and more than 1,000 soldiers and horses took part in the traditional Trooping the Colour parade.


The Prince of Wales and the Princess Royal were on horseback for the parade
The Duke of Cambridge, Colonel of the Irish Guards, the Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, and the Princess Royal, Colonel of the Blues and Royals, took part on horseback.
The Duchess of Cambridge travelled along The Mall to the parade in a horse-drawn carriage with the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry.


Thousands of people lined the streets to watch the royals, including the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge, go by
They were followed by the Duke of York, with his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex, with their daughter Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor.
Thousands of people, including friends and family of the soldiers who took part, lined the streets for the celebrations.

Prince Harry travelled to the parade with the duchesses of Cambridge and Cornwall
Traditional preparations
The Trooping the Colour originated from traditional preparations for battle.
Colours were carried or "trooped" down the rank so that they could be seen and recognised by the soldiers.
In the 18th Century, guards from the royal palaces assembled daily on Horse Guards to "troop the colours" and in 1748 it was announced that the parade would also mark the sovereign's official birthday.


The Household Cavalry are among the members of the Armed Forces taking part
The Colour paraded on Horse Guards this year was that of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, who recently returned from service in Afghanistan.
The Coldstream Guards, who this week laid to rest one of its soldiers whose remains had lain buried beneath the sand dunes of a Dutch beach for more than 200 years, also took part.

The Queen's actual birthday was on 21 April, when she turned 87.

Prince Philip, 92, has been at a private clinic in London since 7 June when he had an exploratory operation on his abdomen.
He is expected to remain in hospital for a further week, followed by a period of convalescence of about two months.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22917152