It has been sixty-nine years since the last British coronation; however, it has been eighty-five years since the last British King’s coronation. Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles III’s coronation will be held on 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey. The last King- Charles’s grandfather, King George VI- held his coronation on 12 May 1937.
King George VI was never expected to be king. Born Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George in December of 1895, Bertie was the second son of the Duke and Duchess of York. His father inherited the throne as a second son in 1910, as his older brother, Albert Victor, had died of influenza in 1892.
Bertie’s elder brother, Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, inherited the throne in January 1936 upon the death of their father, King George V, and was known as King Edward VIII. However, he abdicated in December of that year, and the “untrained” Bertie took the throne as King George VI.
King George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, were crowned in a joint ceremony at Westminster Abbey on 12 May 1937. The date had already been chosen for Edward’s coronation and they chose to keep the same date.
The couple’s daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret attended the ceremony along with the peers of the realm and 8,000 other guests. Notably, the dowager Queen Mary attended the coronation, as well. By tradition, widowed Queens do not attend the subsequent coronation but she wanted to show support for her son.
This coronation ceremony followed the same traditions as those held for generations and generations, including the anointing of the monarch and paying homage. However, there were changes, with new music introduced. Given that the Statute of Westminster (1931) established that Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the other Dominions were separate monarchies, references to the Dominions were also included.
Although cameras were not allowed into the Abbey for the Coronation, the event was the first major television outside broadcast.
