The Coronation – Queen shines in a surprisingly fun royal coup

But it was Elizabeth Garbo we’d come to see, and for once, a royal documentary didn’t cheat its punters by making an ounce of access fill a hogshead of primetime. She was there. She spoke. She let the mask slip by a reasonable degree. And it matters not where you stand on the republican-monarchist spectrum; it was fascinating to watch the public persona be briefly set aside.

I personally feel that my entire licence fee has been well spent just to secure the moment when she flicked the St Edward’s Crown (2kg of gold frame encrusted with 444 precious stones) with a casual finger to appraise its solidity.

“Yes, weighs a ton,” she remembered cheerfully (Queenie smiles! Four times in the hour, by my reckoning). She hasn’t seen or worn it since that day in 1953. She wears the Imperial State Crown to things like the state opening of parliament. It’s her everyday crown. When the dress code says “smart casual”, that’s the one she – as her father did before her – pops on.

“Fortunately,” she notes, “my father and I have the same sort of shaped head.” You can’t look down in it, though, she added. “Or your neck would break. And it would fall off.”

“Pearls,” she said, while joggling in her hand a quartet that once belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots, then Elizabeth I, and now dangle from the state crown, “are sort of living things. They need warming up and these have just been hanging here. Quite sad, really.”

In the BBC’s capable hands, this was a warming programme for a sovereign whose refusal to “engage” has dulled her lustre to modern eyes. But there was a melancholy at the heart of it. At 91, this will likely be the first and last time we glimpse the ‘real’ monarch.

If The Coronation was a fine display of living history, it was also, somewhere beneath its surface, a living elegy. She will become, sooner rather than later, one of the memories enshrined in the ancient regalia. And we will remember this warmth, and it will all be quite sad, really.

I adore here.

Her passing will be a rare moment when the entire world mourns.

Do you mean her death, r3? Or do you mean when she passes... what? A kidney stone? Gas?

She's a dull woman, but she really should do an interview with the BBC about her reign for posterity before she kicks off.

Surprisingly, I couldn't find an air date and time on BBC, but it is apparently being aired on the Smithsonian Channel of all places - January 15th at 2:15am and 9:00pm

I admire her so very greatly. I will be bereft when we lose he. She's been an figure of decency throughout my life.

You can watch it here.

I got about 16 minutes into it, and was bored to tears. The Queen just had a word here and there. I was thinking it would be a full-on conversation. Does it get any better towards the end, or is it more of the same. Although I've lived in London and love England, I'm not much of an anglophile or royal worshiper, so I don't hang on their every word.But, still; is it worth watching?

R8, Thanks! I watched the whole thing in one sitting. Her Majesty has a special feeling for some of the stones; the way she mentions how those pearls need human contact and when she points out that the diamonds she had pinned to her bosom are siblings of the other Cullinan diamonds. It was also touching (to me) to see this elderly lady, who knows so much, learn some things (like where the Crown Jewels were hidden) that were kept secret from her since WWII.

You've got to give her credit for stamina. Five hours of that ceremony would put anyone else in bed for a week.

Love that her wit is still there at almost 92.

The coronation was 5 hours long! Did they have Depends back then?

Watched this on Youtube last night and loved it. I wish there was more face time with The Queen but I suspect they were only granted like 30 mins to an hour of her time. The best part is when the host asks the Crown Jeweler to move the crown closer to the Queen and the Queen just grabs the damn thing and says with a big smile on her face "This is what I do when I wear it." It's interesting when she is watching clips of the Coronation, she seems uncomfortable/disinterested which makes me think she doesn't like talking about herself. When they talked about the crowns she was super animated.

Glad I watched this last night because the full documentary that had been on Youtube has now been blocked.

I liked the part where she turned the crown because she liked to look at the HUGE Ruby of the Black Prince.

You could, when they did a closeup of the ruby, see that a channel had been drilled though the ruby (!!!) and the historian and QEII told that the king wore it into battle with his plume stuck into the ruby!

QEII made some comment about how she guessed they didn't care so much back then (about drilling this exquisite stone).

There was also a bit about her father wanting to protect the Crown Jewels during WWII. The documentary showed where they were hidden beneath Windsor Castle - fascinating. In a cellar, they pull up a hidden floor panel to show a compartment under the floor. Open that floor to show a metal covering over an old opening to a sally port tunnel (an underground, secret passage allowing exit from the castle during olden times). Go down a ladder to the tunnel and follow to a room where the Crown Jewels were kept.

Apparently none of this was known until recently when some letters of the previous librarian were discovered.

Besides hiding the Crown Jewels, the librarian also pried out the major jewels from the pieces and hid them separately.

See the link below for the Queen's reaction to hearing this story for the first time.

R16 "He might have died in the middle [of the war]" great deadpan delivery on that joke.

I loved the part where the Queen twirls the coronation crown around and around. She spun it so much I thought it was going to fly off the table.

[quote] There was also a bit about her father wanting to protect the Crown Jewels during WWII. The documentary showed where they were hidden beneath Windsor Castle - fascinating. In a cellar, they pull up a hidden floor panel to show a compartment under the floor.

When I saw that I thought, how unwise to reveal the location of the cellar. Who knows what the history will bring in 500 years. That cellar may become handy again.

The queen and Philip have very deadpan senses of humor.

I liked the side-eye Her Majesty kept shooting at Alastair Bruce, like "you trifling sod!"

[quote]Glad I watched this last night because the full documentary that had been on Youtube has now been blocked.

Damn, now I’ll have to find it somewhere else. It’s hard because my husband would pitch a fit if he caught me watching it.

Do you spend an inordinate amount of money on entertainment r22?

Here's another link, you just have to wait a minute for it to start playing.

I saw a clip of her complaining how rough a ride the coronation carriage was. My heart bled for her, of course, and I felt an intense dislike towards her I never felt before. Perhaps she is kept a mystery for good reason.

Why would you even care r25? She was asked about the carriage, and she said exactly what it was like.

[quote]The queen and Philip have very deadpan senses of humor.

oh, my gosh, yes

R15. The Black Prince's Ruby isn't actually a ruby, but a spinel (a different mineral). But, at that time, any red-hued stone was called a ruby.

When the Queen was talking about the crown she was marvelous and charming. Then when she was looking at footage of the Coronation she seemed like she wanted to be anywhere but there, maybe she doesn't like watching herself?

R24: thank you for posting the link.

She does become more talkative toward the end.

The beginning is mostly history.

I loved watching it. I, too, will be bereft when she's gone. It's silly to say but I feel like she's been greatly humanized by that tv show. I know most of it is bollocks but there must be shreds of truth to it.

👸

If the Queen lives as long as her mother did, she has another decade to go. Hopefully she'll make it.

She swears by Corn Huskers lotion, MeMaw always had a bottle on top of the commode.

She's very sharp and on the ball for 91 years old.

The world will mourn when this woman dies.

She’s a jewel.

The program showed the Queen sitting with her legs crossed at the knees. Normally she's shown either with her legs together feet on the floor or legs crossed at the ankles.

I'm willing to bet she's healthier than Trump

R14: She may look uncomfortable because her death triggers the next coronation.

Have your fun, my dears. Because by this time next year, when Miss Meghan is front and center, all of you are going to be gnashing your teeth and wishing for one hour of light heartedness.

There was only about six minute with HM and the Mark Gattiss imitation. Did like how she OWNED the crowns. She also dissed George IV for commissioning the George IV diadem for himself when it has only been worn by women since. A bit too frou-frou for a real regent?

What I love is how nonchalant Her Majesty is handling the crowns. They're her tools, after all. The Imperial State Crown is the one she's been wearing for over 50 years. How many of us wear the same thing for 50 years? Really, think about it: how many of us are told what our job will be in our mid 20s, and told that it's a permanent job, that we can never leave? I get raked over the coals for admiring her, as an American, here on DL, but I have no apologies. I think she's an amazing person. I'm Catholic (she's the head of the Church of England) and American (she's head of the UK and the Commonwealth), but I'm a devoted subject.

The host seemed to be very reserved in speaking with the Queen. There were no little asides and quips that are part of a natural conversation to keep it flowing. Is that the proper protocol? Let Her Majesty run the conversation? Or, was he terrified of her (as I assume most Brits are)? Coming at it from an American perspective here.

r42, the only rule in the six minutes of revelation was that the Mark Gattiss imitation not ask a direct question. Got that. An interviewer was not allowed to ask a direct question. He kind of did on occasion, but he generally made an observation and HM commented on it. It was funny when he asked her what her children were doing on the day of her coronation and she looked at him INCREDULOUSLY as said she had no idea as she was occupied elsewhere. Now THAT was funny.

I always think of what Bette Midler said about the Queen, many years ago - "She is the whitest woman on the face of the earth! She makes all of us look like the third world. There can be no question that she is a Protestant."

Thanks for the answer, R43. I assumed that if all the protocols are observed (bowing/curtseying, no touching, no turning of back) that you could get on with it and have a regular interview. HM is really the last of the old guard. I can't see Prince Charles setting these kinds of parameters when and if he ascends the throne. Seems way more approachable than his mum.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Bumping for a recent viewer

Bumping for a not so recent viewer.

What's the best way to watch the programme now?

r50, my Blockbuster has it...

lol r51! Some people need to get with the times.

R50 if you can wait a bit, the Smithsonian channel will be re-airing it on Saturday, March 03 at 8:00pm and 11:00pm and Wednesday, March 14 at 3:00pm

JFC do I have to do everything around here?

You are a kind fuck r54.