Status: 06/02/2022 04:14 a.m
When Elizabeth II was born in 1926, there was no telling that one day she would sit on the British throne. When King George VI died unexpectedly on February 6, 1952, Princess Elizabeth became queen overnight.
Princess Elizabeth was sitting in a tree house in the mountains of Kenya watching rhinos drinking in February 1952 when news of her father’s death reached her. George VI was only 56 years old. His then 25-year-old daughter immediately broke off her trip to Africa and returned to London as Queen Elizabeth II after the Council of the Throne had proclaimed her regent. The Queen later said of this crucial turning point in her life:
My father died far too young and very suddenly. It was about making the best of what I could and accepting the fact that this was my destiny now and that continuity is key.
Prince Philip took care of the details of the coronation ceremony. The celebration could only take place more than a year after the death of the father, on June 2, 1953. It became a world event of unprecedented proportions – also because television was there for the first time. Everyone wanted to see live how Elizabeth was crowned.
Almost no TV broadcast
Incidentally, the live broadcast almost never existed: the young queen found television vulgar, and the Archbishop of Canterbury called this “mass-produced form of entertainment one of the greatest dangers to the world”. However, the pressure from the population was too great, and so the court and church gave in in the end.
The coronation turned out to be a mixture of religious act and medieval pomp. The Archbishop of Canterbury anointed Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey not only as head of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, but also of the Anglican Church.
The whole country is now celebrating
As unexpected as the timing was, Elizabeth knew this moment would come eventually. Even as a princess, she had promised to serve her people for life – no matter how long this life might last.
In contrast to her father, Elizabeth II was given a long life. The whole country is now celebrating with pomp and glory the 70th jubilee of the 96-year-old Queen, who marked a second Elizabethan era.