Queen Elizabeth II 55 Not Out

Fifty-five years ago today, Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey. She was twenty-five years old at the time. The Queen is also the head of fifteen other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth ascended the throne after her father, King George VI died on 6th February, 1952. Why the long wait before the coronation? The weather was a factor in waiting until 2nd June before staging the procession and coronation ceremony. At the time, the date was statistically the sunniest of the year. Needless to say, it rained!

Nevertheless, more than 20 million people tuned in to watch the BBC’s coverage of the ceremony. Many Britons had their first taste of television that day. An estimated three million well wishers lined London’s streets in a bid to catch sight of the new Sovereign in the gold state coach.

The Queen is now 82 years old. She is held in high regard by many Britons from all walks of life. Her decorum, tact and knowledge of world affairs have proved useful for the eleven different British Prime Ministers who have served during her reign. The first British Prime Minister to serve during the Queen’s reign was Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill was voted Britain’s Greatest ever Briton in a BBC poll a few years ago. To hear an audio sample from the Palace Trail iPod travel guide featuring Churchill please click here.

The Palace Trail, London city guide is one of five Walk Talk Tours of the UK’s capital. All five mp3 guided tours are available in French, German and Spanish. Each tour comes complete with a downloadable map. For more information about all of the London podcast guided tours please click here.

Independent travelers in London can learn about Westminster Abbey’s rich history on the Palace Trail London travel guide. The Palace Trail mp3 guided tour follows the coronation procession in reverse: the trail begins at Westminster Abbey heads up Whitehall via Parliament Square and then under Admiralty Arch to Buckingham Palace. Unlike Elizabeth fifty-five years ago, Walk Talk Tourists have the opportunity to walk through St James’s Park along the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Way before reaching Buckingham Palace.

The image to the left shows the Changing of the Guard.The Queen’s Birthday Parade – more commonly known as Trooping the Colour – takes place this year on Saturday, 14th June at Horse Guards Parade. Unfortunately, the event is ticket only. However, visitors can obtain a good view of the parade from the Mall and St James’s Park.

On the 4th and 5th June, the Massed Bands of the Household Division Beat Retreat on Horse Guards Parade, before the Queen, who takes the salute, accompanied by other members of the royal family.

The Palace Trail downloadable travel guide’s Where & When pages provide information on the Changing of the Guard at Horse Guards and Buckingham Palace.