On a misty, rainy day, an estimated 3 million people packed the sidewalks along the parade route lined with soldiers, sailors and airmen. airman stationed at RAF Brize Norton near Oxford at the time of the coronation.Īs Americans, Hancock and his buddies had no allegiance to the British monarch, but they knew the coronation would be a historic event so they made the 70-mile trip to London by bus and train, then joined the crowds hoping to see the queen pass by. Max Hancock, a 19-year-old from Sparks, Georgia, was a U.S. And I'm willing to celebrate it with my neighbors and friends." An airman's appreciaiton God bless you and do a good job.' Because that's the system we have until we can come up with something better, that's where we are. "All told, I am pleased to be able to say, 'Charles, you are king. And despite the country's problems, he plans to watch the coronation of King Charles III on May 6. WATCH: King Charles III coronation coins unveiledīut Toussaint blames Britain's elected government for the scandal, not the monarchy. The government was forced to apologize and pay compensation for what became known as the Windrush Scandal, named after the ship that brought the first Caribbean migrants to Britain in 1948. Thousands of people from the Caribbean were caught up in a government crackdown on immigration, with many losing jobs, housing and benefits if they were unable to produce documents proving their right to be in the country. government forced Toussaint and his wife to apply for British citizenship, dashing the illusions of the child who once sang about "our queen." It was only later, when he moved to Preston in northern England to work in the city's textile mills, that Toussaint learned about racism. We were brought up as British we were proud to be British." "People were talking about her and so on, and we always wished to see her. "This is what it was for the queen's coronation," he said. The Boy Scouts marched, and there were three-legged races. They played cricket and rounders, drank ginger beer and ate cake sweet with margarine and coconut, Toussaint said. MORE: How to watch King Charles III's coronation in the USįor Toussaint and his friends, it was a day of food, games and patriotic songs, just like on Empire Day, the annual holiday created at the turn of the last century to remind children in the United Kingdom's far-flung outposts that they were British. With Elizabeth's son, King Charles III, set to be crowned on May 6, people are recalling his mother's coronation 70 years ago, which was the last time the British public witnessed the ritual. Giant crowns were suspended from arches that soared over The Mall approaching Buckingham Palace, and shopkeepers filled their windows with colorful banners and coronation-themed products. The city was pockmarked with bomb damage, food supplies were tight and life was dull for children who had never eaten anything so exotic as a banana.īut the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II helped lift the gloom.Ĭentral London buzzed with activity as workers built temporary stands along the 5-mile route of the queen's procession. LONDON - In 1953, London was still recovering from World War II. Elizabeth II's coronation in June 1953 was the first to be televised live.
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