The Coronation Maids of Honour

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The six maids of honour who flanked Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her Coronation on 2 June 1953 became notorious in their own right when their names were announced as the women selected to follow the princess down Westminster Abbey to be crowned the new Queen of England.

Now, 60 years on the ladies in waiting have spoken about the historic day, with five of the women reuniting to share their memories of the spectacular event.

Lady Rosemary Muir, Lady Anne Glenconner, Lady Moyra Campbell, Lady Mary Russell, Lady Jane Rayne and Baroness Willoughby de Eresby were intensely scrutinised by the young women and Press of the day.
Such was the attention lavished upon the women Lady Glenconner even claimed they were seen as the Spice Girls of their time.

The Queen's maids of honour (left-right): Lady Moyra Campbell, Lady Anne Glenconner, Lady Rayne, Lady Mary Russell, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby and Lady Rosemary Muir

The young women were responsible for carefully lifting and unfolding the princess's 21ft train and carrying it down the aisle during the Coronation on 2June 1953

Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Westminster Abbey in the magnificent Gold State Coach, where her maids of honour carefully unfolded her train, lifting it using specially sewn handles
 

Lady Anne, then aged 20, recalls the pressures upon the women on the day in the forthcoming radio programme The Reunion, presented by Sue McGregor and set to be broadcast this Sunday on Radio 4.
Lady Anne will be joined by all of her fellow maids of honour with the exception of Baroness Willoughby de Eresby.

Lady Anne also cheekily recalls, in the recess in the ceremony, which was attended by no fewer than 8,251 people, the Archbishop of Canterbury brought out a hip flask and asked if they wanted a sip of brandy.

Lady Glenconner divulges that the Queen, then 27, was assisted in getting dressed by Lord Cholmondeley who was the Lord Great Chamberlain at the time.
She recalls how she felt it was 'awful' for the Queen to have been dressed by the Marquess of Cholmondeley, with what she said were his 'heavy fingers going down her spine'.
The programme is full of fascinating memories by the women, the oldest of whom was only 23 when they undertook the mammoth responsibility of taking part in the Coronation.

The ceremony was attended by over 8,000 people and last 3 hours, prompting the maids of honour to be given smelling salts to hide in their gloves in case they felt faint

The Coronation is incredibly rich in ceremonial and historical significance and being part of it was a huge responsibility for the six young women, the youngest of whom was just 19, and the eldest only 23

All five recall how, just before they entered the Abbey for their slow process to the alter, the Queen, then aged 25, paused and, in recognition of the life changing event, simply asked them: ‘Ready girls?’

Lady Moyra Campbell tells how Prince Charles was extremely proud he had been allowed to use his father’s hair lotion - and asked the ladies to smell his hair.

The prince created history when, aged just four, he became the first child to witness his mother's coronation as Sovereign.

Lady Moyra Campbell

Name at the Coronation: Lady Moyra Hamilton
Age at the Coronation: 22
Who is she? Daughter of the 4th Duke of Abercorn
What has she been up too? Married Commander Peter Campbell in 1966 and has two sons. Now lives in Randalstown in County Antrim.

Lady Anne Glenconner

Name at the Coronation: Lady Anne Coke

Age at the Coronation: 20
Who is she? Daughter of Thomas Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester, and a close friend of the Queen's sister Margaret
What has she been up too? Married Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner in 1956. Lord Glenconner died in August 2010.

Lady Jane Rayne

Name at the Coronation: Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart
Age at the Coronation: 20
Who is she? Daughter of the 8th Marquess of Londonderry
What has she been up too? Married Lord Rayne in 1965 who died in 203. She re-married Robert Lacey in 2012.

Lady Mary Russell

Name at the Coronation: Lady Mary Ballie-Hamilton
Age at the Coronation: 19
Who is she? Daughter of the Earl of Haddington
What has she been up too? Married John Bailey in 1954. They divorced in 1965 and she then married David Russell.

All the women had a small vial of smelling salts concealed in their gloves in case they felt faint during the ceremony and Lady Jane Rayne, who was then Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 20, recalls how she was forced to use hers to prevent Lady Anne from keeling over.

Lady Rosemary Muir, who was 23 on the day, was not so lucky, revealing how when the Archbishop shook her hand to greet her, he accidently crushed the vial, releasing ‘the most terrible smell of ammonia’ from her hand.

Baroness Willoughby de Eresby

Name at the Coronation: Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby
Age at the Coronation: 19
Who is she? Inherited her title from her father in 1983 as well as 78,000 acres of land
What has she been up too? Now aged 78, she has never married and is the only maid of honour not taking part in the reunion

Lady Rosemary Muir

Name at the Coronation: Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill
Age at the Coronation: 23
Who is she? Daughter of the Duke of Marlborough
What has she been up too? Married Charles Muir just two weeks after the Coronation in 1953 and they have three children.

The youngest maid of honour was Lady Mary Russell who was 19 on 2 June 1953, she recalls: ‘It was an incredible moment, but all I could think about was how heavy the embroidery felt.’

The young women were responsible for carefully lifting and unfolding the princess's’ 21 foot train as she alighted from the magnificent Gold State Coach.
Following the tradition set by Queen Victoria, Elizabeth chose to have ladies in waiting rather than page boys to carry her train in the ceremony

Made of heavy embroidered velvet with a fur trim, the stunning train was by no means light, and had to be held using six specially designed silk handles discreetly sewn into the underside of the train.

Queen Elizabeth II leads the procession through Westminster Abbey's nave after her coronation. Her maids of honor follow behind, carrying the train

The Queen's Coronation: The Facts

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  The Queen succeeded her father King George VI on February 6th 1952

• The Queen succeeded her father King George VI on February 6th 1952, but the Coronation ceremony took months to plan.
• Queen Elizabeth II is the the 39th Sovereign to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, but only the 6th queen.
• The Queen's Coronation service began at 11.15am and lasted almost three hours, concluding at 2pm.An estimated 27 million people in Britain watched the ceremony on TV and 11 million listened on the radio.
• The St. Edward's Crown that was used, was made in 1661, weighs four pounds and 12 ounces and is made of solid gold.
• The Queen's Coronation dress was made by Mr Norman Hartnell from white satin embroidered with the emblems of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
• One hundred and twenty nine nations and territories were officially represented at the Coronation service.
• Coronation chicken was invented for the foreign guests who were to be entertained after the Coronation.