The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

When King George VI died on Feb. 6, 1952, his oldest daughter, 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth, acceded to the throne. Within her first year as queen, she demonstrated a poise and command that belied her age. On June 2, 1953, the first-ever televised coronation of a British monarch would stir even more global fascination with the young regent. What was it about Queen Elizabeth II — the circumstances in which she came to power, her youth, her beauty, her marriage to a handsome prince, and her longevity — or just the fact that she had been an omnipresent media presence throughout her reign — that made her so enduring? And in what ways did the coronation of her son, King Charles III, on May 6, 2023, evoke her memory? The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II reflects on the day in which she became one of the world’s most admired figures, and looks back at the photos that made her coronation so memorable.