Crowning GLORY

JUST before 11am on 2 June 1953, Britain came to a standstill. Family, neighbours and complete strangers crowded together in living rooms, town halls, churches and hospitals to get a front-row seat to the biggest event of the century.

Television hadn’t been around for that long but sales of sets went through the roof in anticipation of the coronation of the young Queen Elizabeth II.

The televising of the event was a subject of much-heated debate in the run-up to the big day.

Prime minister Winston Churchill was apparently appalled by the idea, thinking it demeaning for a royal to be beamed into the homes of millions of ordinary people.

But the queen, egged on by Prince Philip who was all for the monarchy appearing more approachable, was eager for her subjects to have a chance to witness the event.

And so the go-ahead was given for cameras to record the event within days of the ceremony. A staggering 27 million people tuned in that day –