Fascinating photos capture how Liverpool celebrated the last coronation 70 years ago.
For many of us, the upcoming coronation of King Charles III will be the first we have seen in our lifetime. The new King will be crowned at Westminster Abbey on May 6 alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort - just four weeks shy of the 70th anniversary of his late mother's coronation
At the age of 27, Elizabeth II was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, 18 months after her father’s death. Becoming the 39th Sovereign to be crowned there and the 14th Queen, an estimated 27 million people watched the coronation on television, while 11 million listened on the radio.
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Britain’s second Queen Elizabeth, the coronation was a day which represented the true birth of television – a major national event brought into the country's living rooms. Many from Merseyside made their way to London on long-distance coaches to join the three million-strong crowd celebrating on the streets.
And back home, like many other cities across the UK, Liverpool celebrated with processions and street parties and watched from their own homes. The Liverpool corporation planned a series of events to mark Coronation Day, with the city streets decorated with giant flags and flower beds, complete with crown designs.
Some streets chose a fancy dress theme for their party, while others simply turned out in their Sunday best to make the most of great piles of homemade sandwiches and treats. Parents joined in too and donated a jumble of mismatched dining chairs, the ECHO previously reported.
We've since delved into the archives to rediscover these brilliant photos of Liverpool during the 1953 coronation. One images show young patients at The Royal Children's Hospital on Myrtle Street watching the coronation on TV.
Another image captures coronation decorations in Lord Street in the build up to the event. You can also see the removing of the coronation decorations in Liverpool on June 22, 1953.
On June 3, 1953, the ECHO reported how in cobbled, windswept streets, parents and children led Liverpool's Coronation celebrations. The article reads: "The most unpromising settings for the street parties provoked outbursts of vivid decorations.
"Every-thing was homemade. The organisers and helpers had been very industrious, and the fun was on a comparable scale.
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"Thousands of families gave their joyous greetings to the Queen without moving more than a few yards from their doorsteps. They ensured, incidently, that practically every doorstep was well scrubbed.
"Some pavement edges were in traditional colours. Dingle looked dazzling. Streets in Walton, Wavertree, and Scotland Road. rustling with great quantities of streamers and trimmings, made touring the unfashionable parts of Liverpool the pleasantest surprise of the Coronation. The Corporation decorations are bathed nightly in floodlights, so householders augmented gaslight and electric light illuminations last night with coloured bulbs. extra lamps and bonfires."
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