Ceremony & Celebration: Coronation Day 1953

by Christopher Lloyd, Hugh Roberts

Fifty years ago, on 2 June 1953, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. This spectacular royal occasion ushered in what was referred to at the time as the second Elizabethan age. The optimism and excitement of the time was symbolized by Sir Edmund Hillary's conquest of Mount Everest a few days before Coronation Day. Today we look back on that period with both nostalgia and a new historical interest. This was the first Coronation to be televised, with an enormous audience worldwide. It took place during a period of great innovation, yet stood for continuity, stability and tradition. This book celebrates both the Coronation itself and the changing spirit of the age. It provides a concise history of coronation ceremonies through the centuries and a detailed account of the events of 1953, including Sir Norman Hartnell's design of The Queen's Coronation Dress. It also commemorates a remarkable work of art - the extraordinary Coronation Frieze, by the Polish-born artists Feliks Topolski (1907-89). Privately commissioned by The Duke of Edinburgh, this series of fourteen panels, painted in Topolski's unmistakable style, normally hangs in Buckingham Palace and has never been exhibited before. It d

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2003

About the author

Christopher Lloyd CVO is a British art historian and was Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures (1988–2005). Lloyd worked in the Department of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for twenty years. In 1972, he was appointed to a fellowship at Harvard University's Center for Renaissance Studies, Villa I Tatti, in Florence, Italy. During 1980–81, he was a visiting research curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, concentrating on the art of early Italy.