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Coronation 60th Anniversary Service

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04/06/2013

BBC Radio 4 - Coronation 60th Anniversary Service

Her Majesty the Queen attends a service to mark the 60th anniversary of her coronation.

Nicholas Witchell describes the scene in Westminster Abbey as Her Majesty the Queen and members of the royal family attend a service to mark the anniversary of her coronation.

Commentator Nicholas Witchell describes the scene in Westminster Abbey as Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and members of the Royal Family attend a service to mark the 60th anniversary of the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Preacher: The Archbishop of Canterbury
The Choir of Westminster Abbey
The Choir of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal
Conductor: James O'Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers, Westminster Abbey
Organist: Martin Ford, Assistant Organist, Westminster Abbey
Producer: Simon Vivian

Following HM The Queen's Accession to the throne in 1952, her Coronation took place, after months of planning, on Tuesday 2nd June 1953. Despite the wet weather, the route of the Golden State Coach carrying The Sovereign from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey was lined by packed crowds.

Pageantry and celebration gave way to a solemn ceremony conducted by Dr Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, in Westminster Abbey, which had been specially adapted for the service with galleries and staging to accommodate as many people as possible - a congregation, royal and political, representing the Nation, the Commonwealth, and many foreign states.

It was also the day when television came of age, as hundreds of thousands from the Commonwealth gathered around brand new television sets to share in the splendour and significance of the Coronation in a way never before possible.

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