The coronation of George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, Emperor and Empress consort of India took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Wednesday 12 May 1937.

The ceremony began with the anointing of the King, symbolising his spiritual entry into kingship, and then his crowning and enthronement, representing his assumption of temporal powers and responsibilities.

The coronation was commemorated by the issuing of official medals, coinage and stamps, by military parades across the Empire, and by numerous unofficial celebrations, including street parties and the production of memorabilia.

As a preliminary to the coronation, guests from across the Empire and around the world assembled at Buckingham Palace and official receptions were held to welcome them; among those attending were Indian princes and, for the first time, native African royalty.

[1] In October 1936 Simpson filed for divorce (which, when final, would result in two previous spouses still living), and the King informed the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, that he intended to marry her.

While Edward VIII was away, cruising on the Nahlin with Wallis Simpson, his brother, Albert, Duke of York (the future George VI) sat in his place on the committees.

"[6] After the abdication, though, many of the traditional elements that Edward VIII cared less for were restored, with Queen Mary taking an interest in the design of furniture and insisting on a more traditional appearance; indeed, much of the service and the furnishings were to closely resemble those of the 1911 coronation of George V.[7] Although the Executive Committee was chaired by the Earl Marshal, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cosmo Lang, was also a driving force behind the preparations for the 1937 coronation; and many of the decisions about the order of service were made by or with him.

He tended to take a leading role in the planning process, becoming a key mediator when queries arose, and dealing with questions of how the service should be broadcast by the media.

In previous years, it had taken the form of an imitation Gothic entrance, but, as a remnant of Edward VIII's modernising attitude, it was now an art-deco design, adorned with stylised heraldic beasts and tapestries belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch.

The theatre (the area in the transept for the first part of the ceremony) and sacrarium (the space in front of the high altar) were at floor level for the first time since the Restoration, having traditionally been raised on a platform.

But, after the 1931 Statute of Westminster, which established legislative equality between the Dominions and the United Kingdom, the actual service and coronation rite needed to be updated to reflect this change in political power within the Empire, which itself was beginning to be known as the Commonwealth.

[13] The Coronation Committee altered the rite to reflect this change; the King now swore to maintain "the Protestant Reformed Religion only as established by law in the United Kingdom.

[14] Although 1937 saw an increase in the colonial contingents partaking in the procession and an official lunch in Westminster Hall was given to parliamentary representatives of Empire states for the first time, the service itself was barely altered to reflect the new status of the Dominions.

[4] The first to take part in the procession were lesser members and relatives of the Royal Family and the representatives of foreign royalty and heads of state; they departed Buckingham Palace by car between 08:40 and 08:45 and arrived at the abbey ten minutes later; British and Dominion prime ministers followed half an hour later, leaving at 09:15.

The King and Queen then travelled in the Gold State Coach from Buckingham Palace at 10:43; their procession was by far the longest and included numerous military contingents and delegates from Britain, the Dominions, and the colonies, as well as members of the War Office, the Army, Naval and Air Boards and the personal aides-de-camp.

[30] While the litany was sung, the Choir led the Dean and Prebendaries of Westminster down from the High Altar at 09:55; they were carrying the Crown Jewels and regalia, which they then deposited at the Vestibule.

The Choir sang Handel's Zadok the Priest and the Archbishop prayed, before the King was disrobed and sat in St Edward's Chair, with the Canopy borne by four knights of the Garter placed over him.

The Archbishop anointed her, placed on her fourth finger on her right hand the Queen Consort's Ring, and then crowned her, at which point the Princesses and peeresses donned their coronets.

As in the 1902 and 1911 events, the coronation was followed by a procession through London's streets from Westminster Abbey to the Royal residence, allowing the public to view the new king and queen.

Contingents taking part represented the following sections of the Empire: India, the dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Burma, Newfoundland and South Africa, and the Colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, Nyasaland, the Gambia, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Aden, Transjordan, Malta, the West Indies, British Guiana, Honduras, Ceylon, the Falklands and Hong Kong.

New work written for the occasion included Confortare (Be strong and play the Man) by Walford Davies and the Festival Te Deum in F Major by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

[50] It was the desire of Bullock and Davies that the programme should include music from 'Tudor times to the present day' and so new pieces were composed by Arnold Bax, Arthur Bliss and Granville Bantock, as well as Walton and Vaughan Williams.

[51] Choral works included the traditional plainsong Veni, Creator Spiritus, William Byrd's Creed and Sanctus, Christopher Tye's O Come ye Servants of the Lord, Henry Purcell's Hear My Prayer, Samuel Sebastian Wesley's Thou Wilt Keep Him in Perfect Peace, Sir George Dyson's O Praise God in His holiness, Sir Edward Bairstow's Let My Prayer Come Up into Thy Presence and Dr William Henry Harris's Offertorium.

There was no commentary, but the Reverend Frederic Iremonger, Director of Religion at the BBC and Honorary Chaplain to the King, read out the rubrics or written directions from the service book from a seat high in the triforium over Saint Edward's Chapel.

During the most sacred parts of the service, the consecration and the Holy Communion, the microphones were turned off and listeners heard hymns being sung by the choir in the Church of St Margaret, Westminster.

[60] The ability to project the service to citizens of the Empire allowed the Coronation to further Britain's imperial ambitions; as Range wrote, "with the twentieth century there also came a heightened awareness of ... the propagandistic qualities of the event".

The 1902 Coronation was the first to see such a programme implemented, but 1937 was nearly twice as long, and, building on similar developments in 1911, it was a very public spectacle; Sir Roy Strong argues that the month-long festivities were designed to "recapture the confidence of the nation" following the abdication crisis.

[73] In London and elsewhere across Britain,[74] the Coronation became a social occasion, with street parties taking place, in which inhabitants and communities closed off roads, decorated their streets with bunting and flags, and laid on a celebratory lunch; the Pearly Kings and Queens, a traditional part of working-class culture in London, turned out, joining in with festivities and theatrically mocking the Royal Family.

Along with his fellow peers, he is discomforted by the tedious hours of waiting, the lack of organised refreshments, the difficulty of finding toilets and, above all, the confusion on leaving the abbey when chauffeurs are directed to the wrong exits to meet their masters, with many of those attending having to walk home in the rain.

[85] That night, the assembled ships were illuminated by their own searchlights; the spectacle was famously described on BBC Radio by commentator Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Woodrooffe, who had enjoyed too much naval hospitality and was very drunk.