Royal Relics

As souvenirs fill the shops ahead of the coronation of King Charles III, Susan Brewer looks back at previous commemorative memorabilia

- Susan Brewer

Souvenirs are filling the shops – bunting, badges, pens, masks, coasters, plates, and, of course, the ubiquitous coronation mugs. Soon, most of us will be glued to our television screens watching the pomp and pageantry as our new King and Queen are crowned at Westminster Abbey. For many people, this will be the first coronation they have known as the last one was in June 1953.

As a young child, I was one of the lucky ones who was able to watch the ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II on television. The television was a wonder, yet, with hindsight, it was potentially lethal. My uncle had built it, and though it worked reasonably well, there was no glass cover to the tube, while the back of the cabinet was open, exposing all the valves and wires.

Of course, we children were forbidden to touch it, and we crammed into the living room in Stockwell, south-west London. Together with relatives and friends we clustered around the tiny screen, which couldn’t have been much more than 10ins wide. The images flickered and had a strange pinkish tone, but that didn’t matter. We were awed as the Queen swept by in an ornate coach, then walked in a long procession down the aisle in the abbey.

The ceremony was long, about four hours but, fortified by biscuits and lemonade, we dutifully sat and watched until that glorious moment when the crown was placed on the Queen’s head. I remember smiling as an image of the young Prince Charles, then aged four, appeared on the screen. He looked so fed up. This time, I understand, the ceremony will be much shorter but still full of pageantry, and there will be two crowns, one for King Charles III and one for Queen Camilla.