As a teenager, I was fortunate enough to be in the Royal Gallery to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s procession at the glorious State Opening of Parliament. It is the closest I’ll ever have to the feeling of what the Coronation might be like to watch up close.
The Queen was, at that stage, still wearing the Imperial State Crown, dressed in white court dress, her train carried by four page-boys in full scarlet coats and white court breeches. I have such a clear memory of the awe, the true wonder, of state ceremonial on full blast. No visit to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels could have matched seeing those stones ablaze on her head, under the full heat of television lights.
