The Duke of Kent described his role at the 1953 queen’s coronation as “daunting” and admitted in his later memoirs that “his greatest fear was that I forgot my rules”.
Her Majesty’s 86-year-old cousin, in his new book, A Royal Life, tells the story of his uncle, King VI, including the queen’s coronation. Telegram †
In her memoirs, which will be released later this month, she remembers how nervous she was about her message after being told she would be the star of the ceremony.
At the age of 17, the Duke was told that he would sit across from his colleagues as one of three royal dukes to pay tribute to his cousin Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and his uncle, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. .Bring the Queen after the Archbishop of Canterbury.
‘My biggest fear was that I forgot my message. I felt I had to memorize them, so I memorized them,” she recalls.
The royal family was photographed at Buckingham Palace after Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. The Duke of Kent is third in the back row
Queen Rows of peers in Westminster Abbey during Elizabeth’s coronation. In the foreground, left to right, the Duke of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent
The 82-year-old Duke of Kent attends the funeral for the Duke of Edinburgh. In her new book, she remembers being afraid to forget her rules during the queen’s coronation.
But when the time came, the Bishop of Durham showed him a note containing the words the Duke had to read.
“It was pretty scary,” the Duke admits, reminding that the moment will be watched on television by people from all over the world.
“The whole shoot was pretty long and it was absolutely stunning. It’s gotten to the point where people eat sandwiches from their crowns.’
In 1952, King George VI had gone to London airport to greet Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh while on a tour of the Commonwealth of Nations. However, they did not reach Kenya until news of his death quickly brought them home.
The Duke of Kent, who was 16 at the time, was at school in Le Rosey, Switzerland at the time, and remembers hearing the news early in the morning, before Coppins was sent back to RAF Northolt to return to his family’s home in Buckinghamshire.
Looking at the Duke 69 years ago, he says it was his first major experience in a royal ceremony.
Coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1953. Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Gloucester and Duke of Kent standing right in front of red seats, left to right
The king’s body was transported by train from Sandringham and carried in the procession to Westminster Hall.
The Duke remembers arriving with his mother, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, and following the Queen and other members of the royal family for the service led by the Archbishop of York.
The young royal says she joined the Dukes of Edinburgh, Gloucester and Windsor on the day of the funeral, who rushed to visit kings and presidents.
This was the Duke of Kent’s first encounter with his uncle, the Duke of Windsor. She says her mother never spoke of her in “polite terms”.
The Duke of Windsor did not know who Edward was and said ‘who is this boy?’ he asked.
Source: Daily Mail
