Made for the home market and sold by British Pathe, this silent film “Elizabeth is Queen” (:10) depicts the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2nd of 1953. A longer, sound version was shown in theaters.
Elizabeth became Queen at the age of 25 after her father, King George VI’s death. This coronation was held over a year after his death as tradition dictates a sufficient amount of time between the death of a monarch and celebrations such as these. It was also the first British coronation to be fully televised. In this film Elizabeth will be anointed with holy oil, invested with robes and regalia and crowned Queen.
The lead up to the coronation opens the film (:23). The red and gold carriage bends around towards Westminster Abbey as pedestrians wave the soon to be new Queen on (:50). Prince William, her husband, is seen waving from inside the carriage (1:36). The interior of Westminster Abbey follows as she arrives (2:33). Choirs sing (3:13) and the crown soon to be placed upon her head is viewed sitting atop a cushion (3:27). She is then anointed sitting upon the throne (3:50) and crowned (4:26). The procession exits (5:46) into the streets of London in the rain. Troops of the UK, including the Royal Army (6:40). The now crowned Queen Elizabeth II is welcomed by civilians mobbing the streets (8:19). She is pictured with Prince William and the Royal Family (9:05). The Royal Air Force (9:19) flies overhead in formation just prior to the films end (9:28).
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
