(FANFARE)
NARRATOR: This royal throne of kings,
This sceptre'd Isle,
This earth of Majesty,
This seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this Earth,
this realm, this England.
This Earth, this realm,
no longer England only,
but all this land lying in the ring of the sea,
no longer only the castle in the water meadows,
but now also the castle on the rock.
ln a city beautiful, adamant and brave,
Edinburgh of the Scottish kings,
Scotland, of skirling mountains and lilting waters
flowing in the dales of the clans.
Here, built by a queen,
Balmoral Castle waits for its Queen again.
And in the west is Caernarfon, Castle of Wales.
Wales, where music is mined from the deep ground,
and Merlin prophesised and Arthur sleeps,
and the sun melts at evening on the sand.
This Earth, this realm,
three lands indivisible.
A union of loyalty in the bounds of a sea and yet unbounded,
overleaping waves and distance to the Ulsterman
and the Channel Islanders.
And so, by ocean waves around the world,
link by welded link,
the Commonwealth of nations,
the realms and territories of the Queen.
At all points of her realm, her crowning is proclaimed.
From St. James's Palace, the words are read.
"By the Queen, a proclamation,
"declaring Her Majesty's pleasure,
"touching her royal Coronation and the solemnity thereof,
"that all her realm shall know the Queen is to be crowned."
She comes to us in the sorrow of her father's passing.
Our sovereign Lord, King George VI,
who in a true and entire devotion,
lived through dangerous years in the lives of his people.
And now, in Scotland's capital, the words are read.
"As by ancient usage and custom of this realm,
"Elizabeth Regina,
"whereas we have resolved by the favour and blessing of Almighty God
"to celebrate the solemnity of our Royal Coronation at Westminster,
"upon Tuesday, the second day of June in the year of grace, 1953."
The words echo out of the history of the land.
A new day moves in strength
over the ancestral pattern of ceremony.
In the great cities and the towns of the country,
the trumpets are sounded.
(FANFARE)
The herald comes to Temple Bar at the bounds of the City
asking leave to enter,
and speaking and answering, the silver trumpets blow.
(FANFARE)
Who comes there?
Her Majesty's Officers of Arms
who demand entrance into the City of London,
in order to proclaim the Coronation
of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
OFFlCER: Open the barrier.
NARRATOR: On the day of the crowning, the gradual ceremony of daybreak
touches the royal coat of arms on the gates of Buckingham Palace,
and finds a people and a world in waiting.
(CROWD CHEERING)
A thousand voices weld into a welcome
which no single thought can compass
for Elizabeth, the Queen Mother,
a welcome of love and deep memory,
and for Princess Margaret beside her.
A welcome remembering also another Queen Mother,
Queen Mary, whom the people loved.
(CHEERING CONTINUES)
And now, like a great seventh wave,
the cheering grows to its climax!
(WILD CHEERING)
Into the forecourt of the palace and through the gates,
comes the gilded coach, two centuries old,
bearing the young queen to her crown.
Eight Windsor Greys in gold and crimson harness draw her.
A huge wave of cheering travels with her,
pouring along the Mall as though it would lift her and carry her on her way.
Under Admiralty Arch into Trafalgar Square,
the tumult of welcome and love surrounds her
from the packed pavements and the windows and the roofs above.
(CROWD CHEERING WILDLY)
The early summer Queen,
the Duke of Edinburgh beside her,
rides friendly and quiet on this dazzling journey.
Bearing by inheritance the simplicity which was her father's,
and her grandfather's also.
The Personal Aides-de-Camp to the Queen,
His Royal Highness, the Duke of Gloucester,
and on his left, Admiral the Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
(BELLS TOLLING)
In a welcome of bells, the Queen arrives at Westminster.
High up in the Henry VII Chapel,
hang the banners of chivalry.
The banners of the Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath,
gold and crimson, green, and gold and blue,
and the figures of heraldry.
The Golden Lion of England,
the Red Lion of Scotland within a double tressure flory counter-flory.
The Black Eagle with wings outstretched upon an onion field,
a Red Rose, barbed and seeded,
the sun in its golden splendour
out of the fan vaulting of the roof.
The five Swords of State,
three of which are carried in procession before the Queen.
The two Swords of Justice
and the Sword of Mercy with the blunted point.
And the window dedicated to The Few -
those 63 squadrons which fought the Battle of Britain.
Their badges all recorded here,
in the colours of the glass
against the sky they defended.
And on the lectern are inscribed these words:
"Attempt great things for God."
ln the knowledge of the mystery of human life,
this day's ceremony is performed.
Remembering that in each moment of time,
is the imprint of eternity.
In this wisdom, in times precedent,
a long line of kings and queens
have been anointed here at Westminster,
in a church built by Edward the Confessor,
saint and king,
and have been crowned with Saint Edward's crown,
in which the gemmed and golden arches carry the golden globe,
and the cross with drops of pearl,
over the purple velvet Cap of Maintenance.
(ORCHESTRA PLAYING)
(CHOIR SINGING)
(CHOIR SINGS) # Vivat Regina!
# Vivat Regina Elizabetha!
# Vivat! Vivat! Vivat!
# Vivat Regina!
# Vivat Regina Elizabetha!
# Vivat! Vivat! Vivat! Vivat! #
I was glad when they said unto me,
we will go.
We will go into the house of the Lord.
The Bible, Paten and Chalice
are brought by the Bishops and placed upon the altar.
First the Queen shall receive the recognition of all her people,
who in their loyalty surround her.
She goes to take her stand nearby King Edward's chair.
And there, the Archbishop of Canterbury
will present her for recognition.
And the Queen will turn to her people,
to the east and to the south
to the west and to the north,
and each time the people cry out their willingness and joy,
to do her service,
"God save Queen Elizabeth."
Sirs, I here present unto you,
Queen Elizabeth, your undoubted Queen,
wherefore all you who are come this day,
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
ALL: God save Queen Elizabeth.
(FANFARE)
Sirs, I here present unto you
Queen Elizabeth, your undoubted Queen,
wherefore all you who are come this day,
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
ALL: God save Queen Elizabeth.
(FANFARE)
Sirs, I here present unto you,
Queen Elizabeth, your undoubted Queen,
wherefore all you who are come this day,
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
ALL: God save Queen Elizabeth.
(FANFARE)
NARRATOR: The Queen now compacts with her people and before them
to govern according to the laws and customs of her realms.
Madam, is Your Majesty willing to take the oath?
QUEEN ELIZABETH: I am willing.
Will you solemnly promise and swear
to govern the people
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
Canada, Australia,
New Zealand, the Union of South Africa,
Pakistan and Ceylon,
and of your possession
and the other territories to any of them belonging or pertaining
according to their respective laws and customs?
I solemnly promise so to do.
Will you to your power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy
to be executed in all your judgements?
I will.
Will you, to the utmost of your power, maintain the laws of God
and the true profession of the Gospel?
Will you, to the utmost of your power,
maintain in the United Kingdom
the Protestant Reformed religion established by law?
Will you maintain and preserve inviolable
the settlement of the Church of England
and the doctrine, worship, discipline and government thereof
as by law established in England?
And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England
and to the churches there committed to their charge,
all such rights and privileges
as by law do
or shall appertain to them or any of them?
All this, I promise to do.
NARRATOR: She goes now to the altar to confirm before God
the promises which she has made.
"Things which I have here before promised,
"I will perform and keep."
The Queen kisses the Bible
and subscribes the oath.
The things which I have here before promised,
I will perform and keep, so help me God.
(CHOIR SINGS: HANDEL: ZADOK THE PRIEST)
NARRATOR: And now, for the first time in the many times of this ancient ceremony,
Scotland's church takes part.
A moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland
receives the Holy Bible from the Dean of Westminster
and brings and presents it to the Queen.
Our gracious Queen, to keep Your Majesty ever mindful
of the law and the gospel of God
as the rule for the whole life and government
of Christian princes,
we present you with this book,
the most valuable thing which the world afford.
Here is wisdom, this is the royal law
these are the lively oracles of God.
(CHOIR SINGS) # Oh the king shall rejoice
# Rejoice
# Rejoice #
NARRATOR: The Queen, risen from prayer,
is disrobed of her crimson robe.
She goes to King Edward's chair.
And Four Knights of the Garter
bring and hold over her a canopy of cloth of gold.
lt is the moment of the anointing,
the hallowing,
a moment so old,
history can scarcely go deep enough to contain it.
The hallowing, the sacring.
The spirit cleansed,
as in the east the body was anointed and made clean.
The Queen anointed, blessed,
and consecrated.
Then the Queen is clothed in white
and in cloth of gold with a golden girdle.
And, as poetry and music may speak great meanings and little sound,
so now thoughts of virtue and history
are lived in moments of short ceremony.
The Sword of State is changed for the Jewelled Sword.
And the Queen receives the Jewelled Sword
and takes it and offers it at the altar.
Receive this kingly Sword, brought now from the Altar of God
and delivered to you by the hands of us the Bishops and servants of God,
though unworthy.
With this Sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity,
protect the holy Church of God,
help and defend widows and orphans.
# God save the Queen
# God save the Queen #
NARRATOR: When the Sword has been redeemed for a hundred shillings
it is unsheathed
and so carried before Her Majesty to the end of the ceremony.
Then the Dean brings the bracelets of sincerity and wisdom,
the pledges of that bond
which unites the Queen with her peoples throughout the world,
whose gift they are.
And the Archbishop puts them upon her wrists.
Receive the bracelets of sincerity and wisdom
both as tokens of the Lord's protection
embracing you on every side
and as symbols and pledges
of the bond that unites you with your people
to the end that you may be strengthened in all your works
and defended against all enemies, bodily and ghostly,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
ALL: Amen.
NARRATOR: And she puts on the great golden mantle, the imperial robe.
Receive this Imperial Robe, and the Lord your God
endue you with knowledge and wisdom,
with majesty and with power from on high,
the Lord clothe you with the robe of righteousness
and with the garments of salvation.
ALL: Amen.
NARRATOR: And receives the Orb, the world under Christ's dominion.
And the ring of sapphire and ruby.
Receive this Orb set under the Cross
and remember that the whole world
is subject to the power
and empire of Christ our redeemer.
Receive the royal sceptre, the ensign
of kingly power and justice.
Receive the rod of equity and mercy.
Be so merciful that you be not too remiss,
so execute justice that you forget not mercy,
punish the wicked, protect and cherish the just.
ALL: God save the Queen.
God save the Queen.
(FANFARE)
God crown you with a crown of glory and righteousness,
that having a right faith and manifold fruit of good works,
you may obtain the crown of an everlasting kingdom by the gift of Him
whose kingdom endureth forever.
ALL: Amen.
NARRATOR: Prince Charles, the Duke of Cornwall,
has joined the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret
and has taken part in the splendid moment of his mother's crowning.
(CHOIR SINGING)
NARRATOR: Trumpets are sounded and the bells are rung.
A thunder of guns roars across Hyde Park
and far off eastward, by the river,
the guns of the Tower of London answer.
And so her people in the city and town of London hear and know
and salute this moment of crowning.
(CHOIR SINGING)
And the Queen goes in procession to be enthroned.
Be strong and of a good courage.
Stand firm, and hold fast from henceforth
the seat and state of royal and imperial dignity
which is this day delivered unto you
in the name and by the authority of Almighty God.
May wisdom and knowledge be the stability of your times
and the fear of the Lord your treasure... Amen.
And the Queen goes to the throne
and is lifted up into it by Lords Spiritual and Temporal.
As in their hearts she is lifted above them, into her state.
She has entered and taken possession of her kingdom.
And sits anointed, crowned and enthroned.
And now in turn, the princes and peers come to do her homage.
First, the Lord Spiritual.
The Archbishop vowing to be faithful and true.
And faith and truth to bear to the Queen and to her heir,
in the name of God.
...Queen of this Realm and Defender of the Faith,
and unto your heirs and successors according to law.
So help me God.
NARRATOR: First after them, her husband,
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Who, with his hands between the hands of the Queen,
becomes her liege man of life and limb
and of earthly worship in the name of God.
I, Philip, will become your liege man of life and limb
and of earthly worship, and faith and truth I will bear unto you...
NARRATOR: And so, rising,
touches the crown upon her head
and kisses her upon the left cheek.
The Queen's uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, pays his homage.
And next her cousin, the Duke of Kent.
(CHOIR SINGING)
And after them,
the Earl Marshal of England in his turn.
I, Bernard, Duke of Norfolk, will become your liege man of life and limb,
and of earthly worship,
and faith and truth I will bear unto you,
to live and to die against all manner of folks...
NARRATOR: God bless Queen Elizabeth.
God save Queen Elizabeth.
May the Queen live forever.
(TRIUMPHAL MUSIC)
Kneeling, and without her crown,
she offers up the bread and wine of the Communion,
and makes her oblation of an altar cloth and a wedge of gold.
The Duke takes her place.
And the Archbishop prays that God's blessing shall be upon him.
(CHOIR SINGING)
Then, at the faldstools before the altar,
the Queen and the Duke kneel together.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh,
at the still centre of the pageantry,
receive the bread and the wine of the Communion.
Before they go out to the people,
they are momentarily alone with God.
(CHOIR SINGING)
The service is at an end.
The Prime Ministers leave the Abbey.
The Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland,
of Southern Rhodesia,
of Ceylon, of Pakistan,
of lndia, of South Africa,
of New Zealand, of Australia,
and of Canada.
And the Right Honourable Sir Winston Churchill,
who has said of the Queen,
"The lady whom we respect because she is our Queen,
"and whom we love because she is herself."
(TRIUMPHAL MUSIC)
The Duke of Edinburgh leaves,
followed by his page, Midshipman Rees, RN,
and the members of His Royal Highness' suite.
(FANFARE)
(CHOIR SlNGS: GOD SAVE THE QUEEN)
And the Queen, the great ceremony over,
having withdrawn into the chapel of St Edward the Confessor,
returns to pass in procession through the choir and the nave.
And so out of the Abbey, into the London which waits to receive her.
(CHOIR SINGS) # Happy and glorious
# Long to reign over us
# God save the Queen
# Thy choicest gifts in store
# On her be pleased to pour
# Long may she reign
# May she defend our laws
# And ever give us cause
# To sing with heart and voice
# God save the Queen #
# Glory be
# O Lord most high
# And in earth, peace
# Good will towards men
# We praise Thee
# We bless Thee
# We worship Thee
# We glorify Thee
# We give thanks to Thee
# For Thy great glory
# O Lord God
# Heavenly King
# God the Father
# Almighty
# O Lord
# The only begotten Son
# Jesus Christ #
NARRATOR: When the Queen and her procession have left,
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother,
and after her, Princess Margaret,
make their slow procession away to the west door.
(SlNGlNG CONTlNUES)
Outside the Abbey, the pageantry begins again.
Here they come! The old cry which welcomes marching soldiers.
And here they come, Her Majesty's colonial troops
at the head of the great procession.
The men of the Commonwealth nations marching behind them.
(MARCHING BAND PLAYING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
ln a swing of tartan, pipers from Scotland and Ireland,
Gurkha pipers, pipers of Pakistan march together as one various band.
Now to the scene, the Royal Navy.
Still guardians of those ocean waves secured by Drake and Nelson.
(BAND PLAYS: THE BRlTlSH GRENADIERS)
Their Highnesses, the colonial rulers.
And Her Majesty the Queen of Tonga, of the Friendly Islands in the Pacific Ocean
so dares the English summer
that all the great crowd can see her smiling acknowledgement.
Following the glass coach of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret
comes Her Majesty's own procession.
Physicians, chaplains, aides-de-camp, Air Ministry, War Office, Admiralty,
the marshals and field marshals and admirals.
We are very near now to the Queen.
Marching as though out of the past, into the present and on into the future
come the Yeomen of the Guard,
and the Queen's Bargemaster and 1 2 Watermen.
(MARCHING BAND PLAYING)
(MARCHING BAND CONTINUES PLAYING)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(BAGPIPES PLAYING)
(UPBEAT BAND MARCH PLAYING)
(CHURCH BELLS TOLLING)
(CROWD CHEERING LOUDLY)
(CHURCH BELLS TOLLING)
The acclamation flows without pause from throat to throat
by Whitehall to Pall Mall,
along St James's Street and Piccadilly, up through the summer park.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(MARCHING BAND PLAYING)
The beat and music of the bands are half lost in the welcome.
At last, the procession turns again into the Mall,
where the Queen left for Westminster six great hours ago.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(BAND STOPS PLAYING)
(CROWD SINGS: LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY)
CROWD: (CHANTING) We want the Queen.
(FANFARE)
(INDISTINCT SHOUT FROM CROWD)
(RULE BRITANNIA PLAYS)
(CHEERING CONTINUES)
(PLANES HUMMING)
(CROWD CHEERING LOUDLY)
NARRATOR: And here, rising like a rock or island out of a sea of waving and cheers,
are those figures of symbol which surround Victoria's Memorial
as truth,
that deep centre of integrity, without which nothing can endure,
and justice, crowned with mercy.
For each man is God's trust to every man.
And here too, the labour and the fashioning. Manufacture, the work of hands.
And agriculture, man and earth together in their natural accord,
patient in preparation for the harvest.
And far-seeking progress,
whose reality can only be to all men, a fair life.
And a glowing vision of the needs of men and the meaning of mankind.
Then the spirit of peace.
The calm of goodwill which waits to rain over men's maturity.
And victory. Which at last, must be of good over evil.
Victory here attended by courage and constancy.
All these stand like a rock
among the thousands who now acclaim their sovereign.
Victoria's reign was long.
Long live the Queen.
God save Queen Elizabeth!
Long live Queen Elizabeth!
May the Queen live forever!
(LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY PLAYING)