A Queen Is Crowned (1953) - full transcript
A lavish documentary film of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953.
[roar]
[bong]
[music playing]
NARRATOR: "This royal
throne of kings,
this sceptered isle, this earth
of majesty, this seat of Mars,
this other Eden, demi-paradise,
this fortress built by Nature
for herself against infection
and the hand of war,
this happy breed of
men, this little world,
this precious stone set in the
silver sea, which serves it
in the office of a wall or as
a moat defensive to a house,
against the envy of
less happier lands,
this blessed plot, this earth,
this realm, this England."
[SINGING] Walk upon
England's mountains green.
And was the holy Lamb
of God on Englands
pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance
Divine shine
forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
among these dark satanic mills?
[horses clopping]
[music playing]
NARRATOR: This Earth, this
realm, no longer England only,
but all this land lying
in the ring of the sea.
No longer only the castle in
the water meadows, but now
also the castle on the rock.
In a city beautiful,
adamant, and brave, Edinburgh
of the Scottish kings,
Scotland, of skirling
mountains and lilting
waters flowing
in the dales of the clans.
Here, built by a queen.
Balmoral Castle waits
for its Queen again.
[music playing]
And in the west is
Caernarvon, Castle of Wales.
[music playing]
Wales, where music is
mined from the deep ground,
and Merlin prophesies, and
Arthur sleeps, and the sun
melts at evening on the sand.
[music playing]
This Earth, this realm,
three lands indivisible.
A union of loyalty in the
bounds of the sea and yet
unbounded, overleaping waves
and distance to the Ulsterman
and the Channel Islanders.
And so, by ocean waves
around the world,
link by welded link, the
Commonwealth of Nations,
the realms and
territories of the Queen.
[music playing]
[cannon fire]
[music playing]
At all points of her realm,
her crowning is proclaimed.
From St. James's Palace,
the words are read.
"By the Queen, a proclamation
declaring her Majesty's
pleasure, touching her Royal
Coronation and the solemnity
thereof, that all her
realm shall know the Queen
is to be crowned.
She comes to us in the sorrow
of her father's passing.
Our sovereign Lord
King George VI,
who, in a true and
entire devotion,
lived through dangerous years
in the lives of his people."
[soldiers marching]
And now, in Scotland's
capital, the words are read.
"As by ancient usage and
custom of this realm,
Elizabeth Regina, whereas we
have resolved by the favor
and blessing of Almighty God
to celebrate the solemnity
of our Royal Coronation
at Westminster
upon Tuesday, the second day
of June, in the year of grace,
1953."
The words echo out of
the history of the land.
A new day moves in
strength over the ancestral
pattern of ceremony.
In the great cities and
the towns of the country,
the trumpets are sounded.
[trumpet sounding]
The herald comes to Temple
Bar at the bounds of the city,
asking leave to enter,
and speaking and answering
the silver trumpets blow.
[trumpet sounding]
Who comes there?
Her Majesty's Officers
of Arms who demand entrance
into the city of London
in order to proclaim
the coronation of Her Royal
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Open the barrier.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: On the
day of the crowning,
the gradual ceremony of daybreak
touches the royal coat of arms
on the gates of
Buckingham Palace
and finds a people and
a world in waiting.
[music playing]
A thousand voices
weld into a welcome
which no single thought
can compass for Elizabeth,
the Queen Mother, a welcome
of love and deep memory,
and for Princess
Margaret beside her.
A welcome remembering also
another Queen Mother, Queen
Mary, whom the people loved.
[cheering]
[music playing]
[cheering]
[music playing]
[music playing]
[music playing]
[music playing]
And now, like a
great seventh wave,
the cheering grows
to its climax.
Into the forecourt of the
palace and through the gates
comes the gilded coach,
two centuries old,
bearing the young
queen to her crown.
Eight Windsor greys and gold
and crimson harness draw her.
[music playing]
[cheering]
[music playing]
[cheering]
[cheering]
The huge wave of cheering
travels with her,
pouring along the Mall
as though it would lift
her and carry her on her way.
[cheering]
[music playing]
Under Admiralty Arch
into Trafalgar Square,
the tumult of welcome
and love surrounds
her from the packed pavements
and the windows and the roofs
above.
[cheering]
[music playing]
The early summer Queen, the
Duke of Edinburgh beside her,
rides friendly and quiet
on this dazzling journey,
bearing by inheritance
the simplicity
which was her father's and
her grandfather's also.
The Personal Aids-de-Camp
to the Queen,
His Royal Highness the Duke of
Gloucester, and on his left,
Admiral the Earl
Mountbatten of Burma.
[cheering]
[bells tolling]
In a welcome of bell, the
Queen arrives at Westminster.
[music playing]
[music playing]
High up in the Henry VII Chapel
hang the banners of chivalry.
The banners of the
Knights Grand Cross
of the Order of the
Bath, gold and crimson,
green, and gold and blue,
and the figures of heraldry.
The Golden Lion of England,
the Red Lion of Scotland
within the double tressure
flory-counter-flory.
The Black Eagle with wings
outstretched upon an onion
field, a red rose,
barbed and seeded,
the sun in its golden
splendor out of the fan
vaulting of the roof.
[music playing]
The five Swords of
State, three of which
are carried in procession
before the Queen.
The two Swords of
Justice and the Sword
of Mercy with the blunted point.
[music playing]
And the window
dedicated to The Few--
those 63 squadrons which
fought the Battle of Britain.
Their badges all recorded here
in the colors of the glass
against the sky they defended.
[music playing]
And on the lectern are
inscribed these words--
"attempts great things for God."
In the knowledge of the
mystery of human life,
this day's ceremony
was performed.
Remembering that in
each moment of time
is the imprint of eternity.
In this wisdom, in
times precedent,
the long line of
kings and queens
have been anointed
here at Westminster,
in a church built by Edward
the Confessor, saint and king,
and have been crowned with
Saint Edward's crown, in which
the gemmed and golden arches
carry the golden globe,
and the cross with drops of
pearl, over the purple velvet
Cap of Maintenance.
[music playing]
[music playing]
[music playing]
CHOIR: [SINGING] I was glad when
they said unto me, we will go.
We will go.
We will go.
We will go into the
house of the Lord.
[music playing]
CHOIR: [SINGING] Vivat Regina!
Vivat Regina Elizabetha!
Vivat!
Vivat!
Vivat!
Vivat [inaudible] Vivat
Regina Elizabetha!
Vivat!
Vivat!
Vivat!
Vivat!
NARRATOR: I was glad when
they said to me, we will go.
We will go into the
house of the Lord.
The Bible, Paten, and Chalice
are brought by the bishops
and placed upon the altar.
First, the Queen shall
receive the recognition
of all her people, who, in
their loyalty, surround her.
She goes to take her stand
nearby King Edward's chair.
And there, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
will present her
for recognition.
And the Queen will turn
to her people to the east
and to the south to the
west and to the north.
And each time,
the people cry out
their willingness and
joy to do her service,
"God save Queen Elizabeth."
Sirs, I here present
unto you, Queen Elizabeth,
your undoubted Queen.
Wherefore all you
who are come this day
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
[ALL] God save
Queen Elizabeth.
[music playing]
Sirs, I here present
unto you, Queen Elizabeth,
your undoubted Queen.
Wherefore all you
who are come this day
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
[ALL] God save
Queen Elizabeth.
[music playing]
Sirs, I here present
unto you, Queen Elizabeth,
your undoubted Queen.
Wherefore all you
who are come this day
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
[ALL] God save
Queen Elizabeth.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: The Queen now compacts
with her people and before them
to govern according to the
laws and customs of her realms.
Madam, is Your Majesty
willing to take the oath?
QUEEN ELIZABETH: I am willing.
Will you solemnly
promise and swear
to govern the people of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand,
the Union of South Africa,
Pakistan, and Ceylon,
and of your possession, and
the other territories to any
of them belonging or
pertaining according
to their respective
laws and customs?
I solemnly promise so to do.
Will you, to your power, cause
law and justice in mercy to be
executed in all your judgment?
I will.
Will you, to the
utmost of your power,
maintain the laws of God and the
true profession of the Gospel?
Will you, to the
utmost of your power,
maintain in the United Kingdom
the Protestant Reformed
religion established by law?
Will you maintain and preserve
inviolable the settlement
of the Church of England
and the doctrine, worship,
discipline, and government
thereof as by law
established in England?
And will you preserve
unto the Bishops
and Clergy of England and to
the churches there committed
to their charge all such
rights and privileges as by law
do or shall appertain
to them or any of them?
All this I promise to do.
NARRATOR: She goes
now to the altar
to confirm before God the
promises which she has made.
"Things which I have
here before promised,
I will perform and keep."
The Queen kisses the Bible
and subscribes the oath.
The things which I have
here before promise, I
will perform and keep.
So help me God.
CHOIR: [SINGING] Zadok the
priest and Nathan the prophet
anointed Solomon king.
NARRATOR: And now
for the first time
in the many times of
this ancient ceremony,
Scotland's church takes part.
A moderator of the General
Assembly of the Church
of Scotland receives
the Holy Bible
from the Dean of
Westminster and brings
and presents it to the Queen.
Our gracious Queen, to keep
Your Majesty ever mindful
of the law and the gospel of God
as the rule for the whole life
and government of
Christian princes,
we present you with this
book the most valuable
thing which the world afford.
Here is wisdom.
This is the royal law.
These are the lively
oracles of God.
CHOIR: [SINGING] Oh, the king
shall [inaudible] Rejoice!
Rejoice!
NARRATOR: The Queen,
risen from prayer,
is disrobed of her crimson robe.
She goes to King Edward's chair.
And Four Knights of the
Garter bring and hold over
her a canopy of cloth of gold.
It is the moment of the
anointing, the hallowing,
a moment so old,
history can scarcely
go deep enough to contain it.
The hallowing, the sacring.
The spirit cleansed.
As in the east, the body
was anointed and made clean.
The Queen anointed,
blessed, and consecrated.
Then the Queen is clothed
in white and in cloth
of gold with a golden girdle.
And as poetry and music
may speak great meanings
and little sound, so now
thoughts of virtue and history
are lived in moments
of short ceremony.
The Sword of State is changed
for the Jeweled Sword.
And the Queen receives
the Jeweled Sword
and takes it and
offers it at the altar.
Receive this kingly
sword brought now
from the Altar of God
and delivered to you
by the hands of us the
bishops and servants of God,
though unworthy.
With this sword, do justice,
stop the growth of iniquity,
protect the holy
Church of God, help
and defend widows and orphans.
CHOIR: [SINGING]
God save the Queen.
God save the Queen.
NARRATOR: The sword has
been redeemed for a hundred
shillings, it is unsheathed and
so carried before Her Majesty
to the end of the ceremony.
Then the Dean brings the
bracelets of sincerity
and wisdom, the pledges
of that bond which
unites the Queen
with her peoples
throughout the world,
whose gift they are.
And the Archbishop puts
them up on her wrists.
Receive the bracelet
of sincerity and wisdom
both as tokens of the Lord's
protection, embracing you
on every side, and as symbols
and pledges of the bond
that unites you with
your people to the end
that you may be strengthened
in all your works
and defended against all
enemies, bodily and ghostly,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[ALL] Amen.
NARRATOR: And she puts on
the great golden mantle,
the imperial robe.
Receive this imperial
robe, and the Lord your God
endue you with
knowledge and wisdom,
with majesty, and with
power from on high.
The Lord clothe you with
the robe of righteousness
and with the garments
of salvation.
[ALL] Amen.
NARRATOR: And receives
the Orb, the world
under Christ's dominion, and
the ring of sapphire and ruby.
Receive this Orb
set under the cross.
And remember that
the whole world
is subject to the power and
empire of Christ our redeemer.
Receive the royal
scepter, the ensign
of kingly power and justice.
Receive the rod of
equity and mercy.
Be so merciful that
you be not too remiss,
so execute justice that
you forget not mercy,
punish the wicked, protect
and cherish the just.
God save the Queen.
God save the Queen.
God save the Queen.
[music playing]
God crown you with a crown
of glory and righteousness.
That having a right faith and
manifold fruit of good works,
you may obtain the crown
of an everlasting kingdom
by the gift of him whose
kingdom endureth forever.
Amen.
NARRATOR: Prince Charles,
the Duke of Cornwall,
has joined the Queen Mother
and Princess Margaret
and has taken part in
the splendid moment
of his mother's crowning.
CHOIR: [SINGING] Oh, be
strong and of a good courage.
NARRATOR: The
trumpets are sounded,
and the bells are rung.
A thunder of guns
roars across Hyde Park.
And far off eastward, by the
river, the guns of the Tower
of London answer.
And so here people in the
city and town of London
hear and know and salute
this moment of crowning.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[SINGING] [inaudible]
NARRATOR: And the Queen goes
in procession to be enthroned.
Be strong and of a good courage.
Stand firm and hold
fast from henceforth
the seat and state of royal
and imperial dignity, which
is this day delivered
unto you in the name
and by the authority
of Almighty God.
May wisdom and knowledge be
the stability of your times
and the fear of the
Lord your treasure.
Amen.
And the Queen goes
to the throne and is
lifted up into it by Lords
Spiritual and Temporal.
As in their hearts,
she has lifted
above them into her state.
She has entered and taken
possession of her kingdom
and sits anointed,
crowned, and enthroned.
And now in turn, the princes
and peers come to do her homage.
First, the Lord Spiritual.
The Archbishop vowing
to be faithful and true.
And faith and truth
to bear to the Queen
and to her heir in
the name of God.
[inaudible] Queen of
this realm and defender
of the faith and unto
your heirs and successors
according to law.
So help me God.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[SINGING] [inaudible]
NARRATOR: First, after
them, her husband, Philip,
Duke of Edinburgh, who, with
his hands between the hands
of the Queen, becomes her
liege man of life and limb
and of earthly worship
in the name of God.
I, Philip, will become your
liege man of life and limb
and of earthly worship,
and faith and truth
I will bear unto
you to live and die
against all manners of folks.
So help me God.
NARRATOR: And so, rising,
touches the crown upon her head
and kisses her upon
the left cheek.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[SINGING] [inaudible]
The Queen's uncle, the Duke of
Gloucester, pays this homage.
[SINGING] [inaudible].
NARRATOR: And next, her
cousin, the Duke of Kent.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
And after them, the Earl
Marshal of England in his turn.
I, Bernard, Duke
of Norfolk, will
become your liege man of and
limb and of earthly worship.
And faith and truth
I will bear unto
you to live and to die
against all manner of folks.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[SINGING] [inaudible]
NARRATOR: God bless
Queen Elizabeth.
God save Queen Elizabeth.
May the Queen live forever.
[music playing]
Kneeling, and without
her crown, she
offers up the bread and
wine of the Communion
and makes her oblation
of an altar cloth
and a wedge of gold.
The Duke takes her place, and
the Archbishop prays that God's
blessing shall be upon him.
CHOIR: [SINGING] All people
that on earth do dwell.
Sing to the Lord
with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear,
his praise forth tell.
Come ye before him and rejoice.
The Lord, ye know,
is God indeed.
NARRATOR: Then at the faldstools
before the altar, the Queen
and the Duke kneel together.
The Queen and the
Duke of Edinburgh,
at the still center
of the pageantry,
receive the bread and the
wine of the Communion.
Before they go
out to the people,
they are momentarily
alone with God.
CHOIR: [SINGING] O enter
then his gates with praise.
Approach with joy
his courts unto.
Praise, laud, and
bless his name always,
for it is seemly so to do.
NARRATOR: The
service is at an end.
The prime ministers
leave the Abbey.
The prime ministers of Northern
Ireland, of Southern Rhodesia,
of Ceylon, of Pakistan,
of India, of South Africa,
of New Zealand, of
Australia, and of Canada.
And the Right Honorable
Sir Winston Churchill,
who has said of the
Queen, "the lady
whom we respect because
she is our Queen
and whom we love
because she is herself."
[SINGING] [inaudible]
The Duke of Edinburgh
leaves, followed
by his page, Midshipman
Rees, RN, and the members
of His Royal Highness' suite.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[music playing]
CHOIR: [SINGING] God
save our gracious Queen.
NARRATOR: And the Queen,
the great ceremony
over, having withdrawn into
the chapel of Saint Edward
the Confessor, returns
to pass in procession
through the choir and the nave.
And so out of the
Abbey, into the London
which waits to receive her.
CHOIR: [SINGING]
Happy and glorious,
long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.
Thy choicest gifts in store
on her be pleased to pour,
long may she reign.
May she defend our laws
and ever give us cause
May she defend our laws
and ever give us cause
to sing with heart and voice.
God save the Queen.
Glory be to God on high,
and in earth, peace,
Glory be to God on high,
and in earth, peace,
peace, goodwill towards men.
We praise Thee.
We bless Thee.
We worship Thee.
We glorify Thee.
We give thanks to Thee
for Thy great glory,
O, Lord God, heavenly King,
God the Father Almighty.
O, Lord God, heavenly King,
God the Father Almighty.
O, Lord, the only begotten
Son, Jesus Christ.
NARRATOR: When the Queen and
her procession have left,
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen
Mother, and after her,
Princess Margaret, make
their slow procession
away to the west door.
CHOIR: [SINGING] For
Thou only art the Lord.
Thou only art the Lord.
[inaudible] Thou only
Christ with the Holy Ghost,
art most high in the
glory of God the Father.
In the glory of God the Father.
Art most high.
[inaudible] Amen.
[inaudible] Amen.
NARRATOR: Outside the Abbey,
the pageantry begins again.
Here they come!
The old cry which welcomes
marching soldiers.
And here they
come, Her Majesty's
colonial troops at the head
of the great procession.
The men of the Commonwealth
nations marching behind them.
[military music]
[cheering]
In a swing of tartan, pipers
from Scotland and Ireland,
Gurkha pipers,
pipers of Pakistan
march together as
one various band.
[military music]
Now to the scene,
the Royal Navy,
still guardians of
those ocean waves
secured by Drake and Nelson.
[military music]
The Highnesses, the
colonial rulers.
[military music]
And Her Majesty the Queen of
Tonga, of the Friendly Islands
in the Pacific Ocean, so
dares the English summer
that all the great crowd can
see her smiling acknowledgement.
[military music]
Following the glass coach of
the Queen Mother and Princess
Margaret comes Her
Majesty's own procession--
physicians, chaplains,
aides-de-camp, Air Ministry,
War Office, Admiralty,
the marshals and field
marshals and admirals.
[music playing]
We are very near
now to the Queen.
Marching as though out of
the past into the present
and on into the future come
the Yeomen of the Guard
and the Queen's Bargemaster
and 12 Watermen.
[military music]
[cheering]
[bagpipes playing]
[military music]
[church bells tolling]
[crowd cheering loudly]
[church bells tolling]
[church bells tolling]
[church bells tolling]
[church bells tolling]
[church bells tolling]
The acclimation flows
without pause from throat
to throat by Whitehall
to Pall Mall,
along St. James's
street and Piccadilly,
up through the summer park.
[crowd cheering]
[military music]
The beat and music of the bands
are half lost in the welcome.
At last, the
procession turns again
into the Mall, of where the
Queen left for Westminster
six great hours ago.
[military music]
[crowd cheering]
[SINGING] Land of hope
and glory, [inaudible]
[ALL] We are free!
We are free!
We are free!
We are free!
We are free!
[music playing]
Hello, [inaudible].
[music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[inaudible]
[planes rumbling]
[crowd cheering]
NARRATOR: And here, rising like
a rock or island out of a sea
of waving and cheers are
those figures of symbol which
surround Victoria's Memorial,
as truth that deep center
of integrity, without
which nothing can endure
and justice, crowned with mercy.
For each man is God's
trust to every man.
And here, too, the labor
and the fashioning.
Manufacture, the work of hands.
And agriculture, man
and earth together
in their natural accord, patient
in preparation for the harvest.
And far-seeking
progress, whose reality
can only be to all
men, a fair life,
and a glowing vision
of the needs of men
and the meaning of mankind.
Then the spirit of peace, the
calm of goodwill, which waits
to reign over men's maturity.
And victory, which at last
must be of good over evil,
victory here attended by
courage and constancy.
All these stand like a rock
among the thousands who
now acclaim their sovereign.
Victoria's reign was long.
Long live the queen.
God save Queen Elizabeth!
Long live Queen Elizabeth!
May the Queen live forever!
[SINGING] Wider still and
wider shall thy bounds be set.
God, who made thee mighty,
make thee mightier yet.
God, who made thee mighty,
make thee mightier yet.
[bong]
[music playing]
NARRATOR: "This royal
throne of kings,
this sceptered isle, this earth
of majesty, this seat of Mars,
this other Eden, demi-paradise,
this fortress built by Nature
for herself against infection
and the hand of war,
this happy breed of
men, this little world,
this precious stone set in the
silver sea, which serves it
in the office of a wall or as
a moat defensive to a house,
against the envy of
less happier lands,
this blessed plot, this earth,
this realm, this England."
[SINGING] Walk upon
England's mountains green.
And was the holy Lamb
of God on Englands
pleasant pastures seen!
And did the Countenance
Divine shine
forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
among these dark satanic mills?
[horses clopping]
[music playing]
NARRATOR: This Earth, this
realm, no longer England only,
but all this land lying
in the ring of the sea.
No longer only the castle in
the water meadows, but now
also the castle on the rock.
In a city beautiful,
adamant, and brave, Edinburgh
of the Scottish kings,
Scotland, of skirling
mountains and lilting
waters flowing
in the dales of the clans.
Here, built by a queen.
Balmoral Castle waits
for its Queen again.
[music playing]
And in the west is
Caernarvon, Castle of Wales.
[music playing]
Wales, where music is
mined from the deep ground,
and Merlin prophesies, and
Arthur sleeps, and the sun
melts at evening on the sand.
[music playing]
This Earth, this realm,
three lands indivisible.
A union of loyalty in the
bounds of the sea and yet
unbounded, overleaping waves
and distance to the Ulsterman
and the Channel Islanders.
And so, by ocean waves
around the world,
link by welded link, the
Commonwealth of Nations,
the realms and
territories of the Queen.
[music playing]
[cannon fire]
[music playing]
At all points of her realm,
her crowning is proclaimed.
From St. James's Palace,
the words are read.
"By the Queen, a proclamation
declaring her Majesty's
pleasure, touching her Royal
Coronation and the solemnity
thereof, that all her
realm shall know the Queen
is to be crowned.
She comes to us in the sorrow
of her father's passing.
Our sovereign Lord
King George VI,
who, in a true and
entire devotion,
lived through dangerous years
in the lives of his people."
[soldiers marching]
And now, in Scotland's
capital, the words are read.
"As by ancient usage and
custom of this realm,
Elizabeth Regina, whereas we
have resolved by the favor
and blessing of Almighty God
to celebrate the solemnity
of our Royal Coronation
at Westminster
upon Tuesday, the second day
of June, in the year of grace,
1953."
The words echo out of
the history of the land.
A new day moves in
strength over the ancestral
pattern of ceremony.
In the great cities and
the towns of the country,
the trumpets are sounded.
[trumpet sounding]
The herald comes to Temple
Bar at the bounds of the city,
asking leave to enter,
and speaking and answering
the silver trumpets blow.
[trumpet sounding]
Who comes there?
Her Majesty's Officers
of Arms who demand entrance
into the city of London
in order to proclaim
the coronation of Her Royal
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Open the barrier.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: On the
day of the crowning,
the gradual ceremony of daybreak
touches the royal coat of arms
on the gates of
Buckingham Palace
and finds a people and
a world in waiting.
[music playing]
A thousand voices
weld into a welcome
which no single thought
can compass for Elizabeth,
the Queen Mother, a welcome
of love and deep memory,
and for Princess
Margaret beside her.
A welcome remembering also
another Queen Mother, Queen
Mary, whom the people loved.
[cheering]
[music playing]
[cheering]
[music playing]
[music playing]
[music playing]
[music playing]
And now, like a
great seventh wave,
the cheering grows
to its climax.
Into the forecourt of the
palace and through the gates
comes the gilded coach,
two centuries old,
bearing the young
queen to her crown.
Eight Windsor greys and gold
and crimson harness draw her.
[music playing]
[cheering]
[music playing]
[cheering]
[cheering]
The huge wave of cheering
travels with her,
pouring along the Mall
as though it would lift
her and carry her on her way.
[cheering]
[music playing]
Under Admiralty Arch
into Trafalgar Square,
the tumult of welcome
and love surrounds
her from the packed pavements
and the windows and the roofs
above.
[cheering]
[music playing]
The early summer Queen, the
Duke of Edinburgh beside her,
rides friendly and quiet
on this dazzling journey,
bearing by inheritance
the simplicity
which was her father's and
her grandfather's also.
The Personal Aids-de-Camp
to the Queen,
His Royal Highness the Duke of
Gloucester, and on his left,
Admiral the Earl
Mountbatten of Burma.
[cheering]
[bells tolling]
In a welcome of bell, the
Queen arrives at Westminster.
[music playing]
[music playing]
High up in the Henry VII Chapel
hang the banners of chivalry.
The banners of the
Knights Grand Cross
of the Order of the
Bath, gold and crimson,
green, and gold and blue,
and the figures of heraldry.
The Golden Lion of England,
the Red Lion of Scotland
within the double tressure
flory-counter-flory.
The Black Eagle with wings
outstretched upon an onion
field, a red rose,
barbed and seeded,
the sun in its golden
splendor out of the fan
vaulting of the roof.
[music playing]
The five Swords of
State, three of which
are carried in procession
before the Queen.
The two Swords of
Justice and the Sword
of Mercy with the blunted point.
[music playing]
And the window
dedicated to The Few--
those 63 squadrons which
fought the Battle of Britain.
Their badges all recorded here
in the colors of the glass
against the sky they defended.
[music playing]
And on the lectern are
inscribed these words--
"attempts great things for God."
In the knowledge of the
mystery of human life,
this day's ceremony
was performed.
Remembering that in
each moment of time
is the imprint of eternity.
In this wisdom, in
times precedent,
the long line of
kings and queens
have been anointed
here at Westminster,
in a church built by Edward
the Confessor, saint and king,
and have been crowned with
Saint Edward's crown, in which
the gemmed and golden arches
carry the golden globe,
and the cross with drops of
pearl, over the purple velvet
Cap of Maintenance.
[music playing]
[music playing]
[music playing]
CHOIR: [SINGING] I was glad when
they said unto me, we will go.
We will go.
We will go.
We will go into the
house of the Lord.
[music playing]
CHOIR: [SINGING] Vivat Regina!
Vivat Regina Elizabetha!
Vivat!
Vivat!
Vivat!
Vivat [inaudible] Vivat
Regina Elizabetha!
Vivat!
Vivat!
Vivat!
Vivat!
NARRATOR: I was glad when
they said to me, we will go.
We will go into the
house of the Lord.
The Bible, Paten, and Chalice
are brought by the bishops
and placed upon the altar.
First, the Queen shall
receive the recognition
of all her people, who, in
their loyalty, surround her.
She goes to take her stand
nearby King Edward's chair.
And there, the
Archbishop of Canterbury
will present her
for recognition.
And the Queen will turn
to her people to the east
and to the south to the
west and to the north.
And each time,
the people cry out
their willingness and
joy to do her service,
"God save Queen Elizabeth."
Sirs, I here present
unto you, Queen Elizabeth,
your undoubted Queen.
Wherefore all you
who are come this day
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
[ALL] God save
Queen Elizabeth.
[music playing]
Sirs, I here present
unto you, Queen Elizabeth,
your undoubted Queen.
Wherefore all you
who are come this day
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
[ALL] God save
Queen Elizabeth.
[music playing]
Sirs, I here present
unto you, Queen Elizabeth,
your undoubted Queen.
Wherefore all you
who are come this day
to do your homage and service,
are you willing to do the same?
[ALL] God save
Queen Elizabeth.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: The Queen now compacts
with her people and before them
to govern according to the
laws and customs of her realms.
Madam, is Your Majesty
willing to take the oath?
QUEEN ELIZABETH: I am willing.
Will you solemnly
promise and swear
to govern the people of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand,
the Union of South Africa,
Pakistan, and Ceylon,
and of your possession, and
the other territories to any
of them belonging or
pertaining according
to their respective
laws and customs?
I solemnly promise so to do.
Will you, to your power, cause
law and justice in mercy to be
executed in all your judgment?
I will.
Will you, to the
utmost of your power,
maintain the laws of God and the
true profession of the Gospel?
Will you, to the
utmost of your power,
maintain in the United Kingdom
the Protestant Reformed
religion established by law?
Will you maintain and preserve
inviolable the settlement
of the Church of England
and the doctrine, worship,
discipline, and government
thereof as by law
established in England?
And will you preserve
unto the Bishops
and Clergy of England and to
the churches there committed
to their charge all such
rights and privileges as by law
do or shall appertain
to them or any of them?
All this I promise to do.
NARRATOR: She goes
now to the altar
to confirm before God the
promises which she has made.
"Things which I have
here before promised,
I will perform and keep."
The Queen kisses the Bible
and subscribes the oath.
The things which I have
here before promise, I
will perform and keep.
So help me God.
CHOIR: [SINGING] Zadok the
priest and Nathan the prophet
anointed Solomon king.
NARRATOR: And now
for the first time
in the many times of
this ancient ceremony,
Scotland's church takes part.
A moderator of the General
Assembly of the Church
of Scotland receives
the Holy Bible
from the Dean of
Westminster and brings
and presents it to the Queen.
Our gracious Queen, to keep
Your Majesty ever mindful
of the law and the gospel of God
as the rule for the whole life
and government of
Christian princes,
we present you with this
book the most valuable
thing which the world afford.
Here is wisdom.
This is the royal law.
These are the lively
oracles of God.
CHOIR: [SINGING] Oh, the king
shall [inaudible] Rejoice!
Rejoice!
NARRATOR: The Queen,
risen from prayer,
is disrobed of her crimson robe.
She goes to King Edward's chair.
And Four Knights of the
Garter bring and hold over
her a canopy of cloth of gold.
It is the moment of the
anointing, the hallowing,
a moment so old,
history can scarcely
go deep enough to contain it.
The hallowing, the sacring.
The spirit cleansed.
As in the east, the body
was anointed and made clean.
The Queen anointed,
blessed, and consecrated.
Then the Queen is clothed
in white and in cloth
of gold with a golden girdle.
And as poetry and music
may speak great meanings
and little sound, so now
thoughts of virtue and history
are lived in moments
of short ceremony.
The Sword of State is changed
for the Jeweled Sword.
And the Queen receives
the Jeweled Sword
and takes it and
offers it at the altar.
Receive this kingly
sword brought now
from the Altar of God
and delivered to you
by the hands of us the
bishops and servants of God,
though unworthy.
With this sword, do justice,
stop the growth of iniquity,
protect the holy
Church of God, help
and defend widows and orphans.
CHOIR: [SINGING]
God save the Queen.
God save the Queen.
NARRATOR: The sword has
been redeemed for a hundred
shillings, it is unsheathed and
so carried before Her Majesty
to the end of the ceremony.
Then the Dean brings the
bracelets of sincerity
and wisdom, the pledges
of that bond which
unites the Queen
with her peoples
throughout the world,
whose gift they are.
And the Archbishop puts
them up on her wrists.
Receive the bracelet
of sincerity and wisdom
both as tokens of the Lord's
protection, embracing you
on every side, and as symbols
and pledges of the bond
that unites you with
your people to the end
that you may be strengthened
in all your works
and defended against all
enemies, bodily and ghostly,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[ALL] Amen.
NARRATOR: And she puts on
the great golden mantle,
the imperial robe.
Receive this imperial
robe, and the Lord your God
endue you with
knowledge and wisdom,
with majesty, and with
power from on high.
The Lord clothe you with
the robe of righteousness
and with the garments
of salvation.
[ALL] Amen.
NARRATOR: And receives
the Orb, the world
under Christ's dominion, and
the ring of sapphire and ruby.
Receive this Orb
set under the cross.
And remember that
the whole world
is subject to the power and
empire of Christ our redeemer.
Receive the royal
scepter, the ensign
of kingly power and justice.
Receive the rod of
equity and mercy.
Be so merciful that
you be not too remiss,
so execute justice that
you forget not mercy,
punish the wicked, protect
and cherish the just.
God save the Queen.
God save the Queen.
God save the Queen.
[music playing]
God crown you with a crown
of glory and righteousness.
That having a right faith and
manifold fruit of good works,
you may obtain the crown
of an everlasting kingdom
by the gift of him whose
kingdom endureth forever.
Amen.
NARRATOR: Prince Charles,
the Duke of Cornwall,
has joined the Queen Mother
and Princess Margaret
and has taken part in
the splendid moment
of his mother's crowning.
CHOIR: [SINGING] Oh, be
strong and of a good courage.
NARRATOR: The
trumpets are sounded,
and the bells are rung.
A thunder of guns
roars across Hyde Park.
And far off eastward, by the
river, the guns of the Tower
of London answer.
And so here people in the
city and town of London
hear and know and salute
this moment of crowning.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[SINGING] [inaudible]
NARRATOR: And the Queen goes
in procession to be enthroned.
Be strong and of a good courage.
Stand firm and hold
fast from henceforth
the seat and state of royal
and imperial dignity, which
is this day delivered
unto you in the name
and by the authority
of Almighty God.
May wisdom and knowledge be
the stability of your times
and the fear of the
Lord your treasure.
Amen.
And the Queen goes
to the throne and is
lifted up into it by Lords
Spiritual and Temporal.
As in their hearts,
she has lifted
above them into her state.
She has entered and taken
possession of her kingdom
and sits anointed,
crowned, and enthroned.
And now in turn, the princes
and peers come to do her homage.
First, the Lord Spiritual.
The Archbishop vowing
to be faithful and true.
And faith and truth
to bear to the Queen
and to her heir in
the name of God.
[inaudible] Queen of
this realm and defender
of the faith and unto
your heirs and successors
according to law.
So help me God.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[SINGING] [inaudible]
NARRATOR: First, after
them, her husband, Philip,
Duke of Edinburgh, who, with
his hands between the hands
of the Queen, becomes her
liege man of life and limb
and of earthly worship
in the name of God.
I, Philip, will become your
liege man of life and limb
and of earthly worship,
and faith and truth
I will bear unto
you to live and die
against all manners of folks.
So help me God.
NARRATOR: And so, rising,
touches the crown upon her head
and kisses her upon
the left cheek.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[SINGING] [inaudible]
The Queen's uncle, the Duke of
Gloucester, pays this homage.
[SINGING] [inaudible].
NARRATOR: And next, her
cousin, the Duke of Kent.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
And after them, the Earl
Marshal of England in his turn.
I, Bernard, Duke
of Norfolk, will
become your liege man of and
limb and of earthly worship.
And faith and truth
I will bear unto
you to live and to die
against all manner of folks.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[SINGING] [inaudible]
NARRATOR: God bless
Queen Elizabeth.
God save Queen Elizabeth.
May the Queen live forever.
[music playing]
Kneeling, and without
her crown, she
offers up the bread and
wine of the Communion
and makes her oblation
of an altar cloth
and a wedge of gold.
The Duke takes her place, and
the Archbishop prays that God's
blessing shall be upon him.
CHOIR: [SINGING] All people
that on earth do dwell.
Sing to the Lord
with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear,
his praise forth tell.
Come ye before him and rejoice.
The Lord, ye know,
is God indeed.
NARRATOR: Then at the faldstools
before the altar, the Queen
and the Duke kneel together.
The Queen and the
Duke of Edinburgh,
at the still center
of the pageantry,
receive the bread and the
wine of the Communion.
Before they go
out to the people,
they are momentarily
alone with God.
CHOIR: [SINGING] O enter
then his gates with praise.
Approach with joy
his courts unto.
Praise, laud, and
bless his name always,
for it is seemly so to do.
NARRATOR: The
service is at an end.
The prime ministers
leave the Abbey.
The prime ministers of Northern
Ireland, of Southern Rhodesia,
of Ceylon, of Pakistan,
of India, of South Africa,
of New Zealand, of
Australia, and of Canada.
And the Right Honorable
Sir Winston Churchill,
who has said of the
Queen, "the lady
whom we respect because
she is our Queen
and whom we love
because she is herself."
[SINGING] [inaudible]
The Duke of Edinburgh
leaves, followed
by his page, Midshipman
Rees, RN, and the members
of His Royal Highness' suite.
[SINGING] [inaudible]
[music playing]
CHOIR: [SINGING] God
save our gracious Queen.
NARRATOR: And the Queen,
the great ceremony
over, having withdrawn into
the chapel of Saint Edward
the Confessor, returns
to pass in procession
through the choir and the nave.
And so out of the
Abbey, into the London
which waits to receive her.
CHOIR: [SINGING]
Happy and glorious,
long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.
Thy choicest gifts in store
on her be pleased to pour,
long may she reign.
May she defend our laws
and ever give us cause
May she defend our laws
and ever give us cause
to sing with heart and voice.
God save the Queen.
Glory be to God on high,
and in earth, peace,
Glory be to God on high,
and in earth, peace,
peace, goodwill towards men.
We praise Thee.
We bless Thee.
We worship Thee.
We glorify Thee.
We give thanks to Thee
for Thy great glory,
O, Lord God, heavenly King,
God the Father Almighty.
O, Lord God, heavenly King,
God the Father Almighty.
O, Lord, the only begotten
Son, Jesus Christ.
NARRATOR: When the Queen and
her procession have left,
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen
Mother, and after her,
Princess Margaret, make
their slow procession
away to the west door.
CHOIR: [SINGING] For
Thou only art the Lord.
Thou only art the Lord.
[inaudible] Thou only
Christ with the Holy Ghost,
art most high in the
glory of God the Father.
In the glory of God the Father.
Art most high.
[inaudible] Amen.
[inaudible] Amen.
NARRATOR: Outside the Abbey,
the pageantry begins again.
Here they come!
The old cry which welcomes
marching soldiers.
And here they
come, Her Majesty's
colonial troops at the head
of the great procession.
The men of the Commonwealth
nations marching behind them.
[military music]
[cheering]
In a swing of tartan, pipers
from Scotland and Ireland,
Gurkha pipers,
pipers of Pakistan
march together as
one various band.
[military music]
Now to the scene,
the Royal Navy,
still guardians of
those ocean waves
secured by Drake and Nelson.
[military music]
The Highnesses, the
colonial rulers.
[military music]
And Her Majesty the Queen of
Tonga, of the Friendly Islands
in the Pacific Ocean, so
dares the English summer
that all the great crowd can
see her smiling acknowledgement.
[military music]
Following the glass coach of
the Queen Mother and Princess
Margaret comes Her
Majesty's own procession--
physicians, chaplains,
aides-de-camp, Air Ministry,
War Office, Admiralty,
the marshals and field
marshals and admirals.
[music playing]
We are very near
now to the Queen.
Marching as though out of
the past into the present
and on into the future come
the Yeomen of the Guard
and the Queen's Bargemaster
and 12 Watermen.
[military music]
[cheering]
[bagpipes playing]
[military music]
[church bells tolling]
[crowd cheering loudly]
[church bells tolling]
[church bells tolling]
[church bells tolling]
[church bells tolling]
[church bells tolling]
The acclimation flows
without pause from throat
to throat by Whitehall
to Pall Mall,
along St. James's
street and Piccadilly,
up through the summer park.
[crowd cheering]
[military music]
The beat and music of the bands
are half lost in the welcome.
At last, the
procession turns again
into the Mall, of where the
Queen left for Westminster
six great hours ago.
[military music]
[crowd cheering]
[SINGING] Land of hope
and glory, [inaudible]
[ALL] We are free!
We are free!
We are free!
We are free!
We are free!
[music playing]
Hello, [inaudible].
[music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[inaudible]
[planes rumbling]
[crowd cheering]
NARRATOR: And here, rising like
a rock or island out of a sea
of waving and cheers are
those figures of symbol which
surround Victoria's Memorial,
as truth that deep center
of integrity, without
which nothing can endure
and justice, crowned with mercy.
For each man is God's
trust to every man.
And here, too, the labor
and the fashioning.
Manufacture, the work of hands.
And agriculture, man
and earth together
in their natural accord, patient
in preparation for the harvest.
And far-seeking
progress, whose reality
can only be to all
men, a fair life,
and a glowing vision
of the needs of men
and the meaning of mankind.
Then the spirit of peace, the
calm of goodwill, which waits
to reign over men's maturity.
And victory, which at last
must be of good over evil,
victory here attended by
courage and constancy.
All these stand like a rock
among the thousands who
now acclaim their sovereign.
Victoria's reign was long.
Long live the queen.
God save Queen Elizabeth!
Long live Queen Elizabeth!
May the Queen live forever!
[SINGING] Wider still and
wider shall thy bounds be set.
God, who made thee mighty,
make thee mightier yet.
God, who made thee mighty,
make thee mightier yet.