75 years ago, the Queen, then an 11 year old Princess Elizabeth, witnessed her father King George VI leave Westminster Abbey following his Coronation in the Abbey on May 12, 1937.
The ceremony took place a mere five months after the abdication of King Edward VIII in December 1936.
Behind the scenes there was considerable drama, much of which would have escaped the young Princess at the time.
The Lord Chancellor’s Office considered the thorny question as to whether bankrupt peers should be summoned. The most notable was the Marquess of Winchester who, under normal circumstances would have done homage as representative Marquess.
He and other peers were not summoned. The 2nd Baron Sinha was not recognised as eligible to sit in the House of Lords – despite being the rightful heir of his father and a peer since 1928.
The 7th Marquess Townshend, born on May 13, 1916, a minor peer since 1921, did not come of age until midnight so he was not allowed to take his place among the peers.
For more behind-the-scenes details of that famously controversial Coronation read on at the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2143418/There-wonder-Papa-crowned.html#ixzz1ulGnfnTs
No comments:
Post a Comment