Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2nd 1953. Billed as the beginning of a new Elizabethan era, it was a groundbreaking coronation for a history making Queen. Shown on TV, it was the first time millions had been able to watch a queen regnant crowned.
Despite that modern twist, the tradition remained. Elizabeth II was the 39th Monarch to be crowned at Westminster Abbey and the ceremony used was essentially the same as one that had been performed for over 1,000 years. She was crowned with St. Edward's Crown, a replica made in 1661 after the original was lost during the Civil War and Commonwealth. And the image of a Queen was caught forever in portraits taken by Cecil Beaton.
In her coronation dress, designed by Norman Hartnell and covered in the symbols of her realms, holding the sceptre and orb and against a backdrop of splendour, Elizabeth II sits, crowned. Now the undisputed Monarch, it is a moment of history. No one could imagine just how historic her reign would become. But in 2020, the young woman who would go on to become the longest reigning Monarch in British history remains respected around the world.
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