As Britain prepares to crown its new monarch, memories of the last coronation permeate the thoughts of those who can remember the historic day in 1953.
From policemen who stood guard during the day’s processions to those who attended the thousands of street parties held in Queen Elizabeth II’s honour, the crowning of the woman who would become Britain’s longest-reigning monarch was a day they will never forget.
Norman Allen, 86, was 16 and a boy scout at the time of the coronation. He volunteered to sell programmes on The Mall during the crowning and eventually became a painter and decorator, which took him to a few jobs inside Buckingham Palace.
"During my time working at the palace, I got to know one of the maintenance electricians, and one day he invited me to go in my lunch break to some of the rooms he had access to," he said. "Although I may have been wearing my white overalls, I did actually sit on the throne of England, in both the throne room and the ballroom, both of which were covered by dust sheets."
Yvonne Harewood, 83, is originally from Singapore. Her parents were very loyal to Queen Elizabeth II and gave her Elizabeth as her middle name in the queen's honour. She was 13 at the time of the coronation and watched the event on television with her sister and school friends.
"My thoughts at the time were that one day, I would love to come to England, it was something I really wanted to experience," she said from Peartree Care Home in London, where she lives.
Phillip Williams, 86, a retired Metropolitan Police officer, was 16 at the time of the coronation in 1953 and at 3am cycled from his home in Wanstead to London for a 15-hour shift as a young police cadet.
"I feel sorry for the younger generation of today," Williams said. "I think things are probably much harder now than they were in my day."
Fellow retired police officer Alan Francis, 93, spent 15 months preparing for the coronation. Aged 23, he was stationed outside Westminster Abbey on the day of the crowning and shared a laugh with the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.
Olive Goldsmith, 90, with her husband David Goldsmith, 88, didn’t know anyone who had a television so she attended a street party with her baby and two friends who weren’t British. "They were both very intrigued to see how the native English behaved," Goldsmith said.
Brenda Piper, 88, gathered with a group of friends in Piccadilly to watch the coronation procession. "This Elizabethan age, it really did begin that day," she said. "Next thing it was coffee bars, and then spaghetti bolognese, and then mini skirts. So it really was a beginning."
Muriel Tredinnick, 103, is originally from Scotland and was involved in the Second World War as part of the Women's Royal Naval Service. At the time of the coronation, she was 33 and visited a friend's house to watch the crowning on television, which was also the first time in her life she'd seen a TV.
Pamela Tawse, 88, attended the procession with a friend after working a night shift at St Bart's Hospital.
"It was drizzling, and we could occasionally hear band music, but could see nothing due to the density of the crowds. Suddenly there was an almighty roar and above the crowds we could see the top of the Coronation Coach pass by," she said. "We were there, participating in the coronation."
Reverend Milton Job, 90, who moved to the United Kingdom in 1961 from Nigeria, received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II. He was 20 at the time of the queen's coronation in 1953 and listened on the radio to the broadcast from her majesty to the Commonwealth countries ahead of the crowning.
"I expected the best, and to me, I wasn't distracted by anything that is negative, although you cannot just do away with some people who have not seen a black man before," he said. "We were here to study, we were here for a purpose."
