When King Charles’ grandfather was crowned: Colourised images show all the royal splendour from 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 was crowned alongside his wife Queen Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother inside Westminster Abbey
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It was the Coronation that featured the unexpected King, the younger brother who stepped up after the biggest crisis in the monarchy’s modern history.
King George VI was crowned alongside his wife Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother, in Westminster Abbey on May 12, 1937, five months after his brother Edward VIII had abdicated to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson.
Now, newly colourised images have brought the ceremony – where the then Princess Elizabeth was present aged 11 – back to life.
One image shows the new King and Queen seated on their thrones in their Coronation robes whilst holding their regalia, including the Orb and Sceptre – seen in George’s hands.
Another photograph shows the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the ceremony, with Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret – then aged six – seen waving to crowds.
A third image reveals the moment Princess Elizabeth is welcomed at the Abbey for the historic service, which took place 17 years before her own crowning in the same place.
Unlike the 1953 service, George’s crowning was not televised, although the procession was shown on television.
The 1937 event will now provide the blueprint for next month’s Coronation of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla. At the late Queen’s Coronation, Prince Philip – as a male consort – was not entitled to be crowned.
Instead, he famously kneeled down and pledged to be her ‘liege man of life and limb’.
It was the Coronation that featured the unexpected King, the younger brother who stepped up after the biggest crisis in the monarchy’s modern history. King George VI was crowned alongside his wife, the future Queen Mother, in Westminster Abbey on May 12, 1937, five months after his brother Edward VIII had abdicated so he could marry divorcee Wallis Simpson. Above: The new King and Queen are seen in their Coronation robes holding their regalia as they sit on their thrones
Another photograph shows the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the ceremony, with Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret – then aged six – seen waving to crowds
King George VI is seen depicted in his Coronation robes in 1937. Unlike the 1953 service, George’s crowning itself was not televised, although the procession was shown on television
Princess Elizabeth is welcomed at the Abbey for the historic service, which took place 17 years before her own crowning in the same place
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are seen during their Coronation inside Westminster Abbey on May 12, 1937
A blank invitation to the King’s Coronation is seen above. They were sent out to all attendees to the historic service
Children are seen enjoying celebrations during a Coronation tea party in Eltham, south London, on May 15, 1937
Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Gordon Lang is seen leaving after attending the final rehearsal for the Coronation
Children are seen enjoying a Coronation tea at a school in Crayford, south London, in May 1937. They were drinking from souvenir mugs they had been given
Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Gordon Lang is seen placing St Edward’s Crown on the head of King George VI