The coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the present Queen's parents, which took place 80 years ago today, was a very special event in many different ways.
For a start it was the first coronation to be broadcast live on radio, as well as television – albeit for a relatively small number of viewers who actually owned a TV – and the first true outside broadcast from the fledgling BBC Television Service, which had only been established the previous November.
It was also the most extravagant coronation in British history. After the controversy over the shock abdication of Edward VIII in December 1936, who relinquished the throne to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, no expense was spared to show it was “business as usual” for the monarchy.
