CHARLES, on the age of 4, witnessed his mom Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. In a photograph taken at Westminster Abbey on June 2 of that yr, Charles seems alongside Princess Margaret and the Queen Mom, who seems as if she is giving grandmotherly recommendation. Quick ahead to the current day and Charles has been topped King. In 2023, his nine-year-old grandson, Prince George, acted as a Web page of Honor throughout Charles’s coronation. This text explores the variations between life as we speak and in 1953.
Again in 1953, the typical home value was £2,006 and a pint of beer price simply 10p. On the day of Elizabeth’s coronation, over 8,250 visitors attended the ceremony at Westminster Abbey. These days, in mild of the present cost-of-living disaster, Charles opted for a extra modest visitor listing.
Through the week of her coronation, Elizabeth’s horse Aureole got here near profitable Epsom Derby, in the end ending second. In distinction, Charles’s horses have been unsuccessful at Newmarket and Goodwood.
Upon the eve of Elizabeth’s coronation, she acquired phrase of Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing changing into the primary people to scale Everest. Flash ahead to 2023, the place Charles was toasted with whisky from the identical mountain by Hari Budha Magar, a double above-knee amputee veteran of the Afghan battle.
Whereas Elizabeth turned Queen close to the tip of the British Empire, together with her reign over greater than 540 million individuals, as we speak Charles reigns over 15 Commonwealth realms with a inhabitants of greater than 150 million. Uncertainty surrounds the way forward for the Commonwealth, with a current ballot indicating that just about half of its realms would vote to change into republics if given the choice.
In different adjustments, tv protection of the coronation has vastly elevated, from two million viewers in 1953 to round 300 million in 2023.
The article additionally discusses the impressiveness of the coronation ceremony itself, which was steeped in each custom and a few modernization. Charles made adjustments to the occasion, and there have been totally different religion roles, nevertheless it stays to be seen if these shall be sufficient to safe the way forward for the monarchy.
In conclusion, the article examines how life has modified between 1953 and 2023, whereas additionally waiting for potential future adjustments.
Writer