The coronation of George V and his wife, Mary, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on Thursday 22 June 1911.

The overall planning of the coronation was theoretically the role of the earl marshal, a hereditary office held by the dukes of Norfolk for several centuries.

At the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1902, the driving force had been Viscount Esher in his capacity as Secretary to the Office of Works, a position which had since been filled by Sir Schomberg Kerr McDonnell.

This arrangement had proved highly unsatisfactory for Edward VII's state funeral, when the ceremonial directions were found to be full of errors and had to be rewritten by courtiers on the previous evening, the printed order of service was wrong, and the seating of guests was alleged to be "a mosaic of indecision and confusion".

[2] As with all the 20th-century British coronations, a temporary extension or annexe was built at the west front of Westminster Abbey to allow the forming up of the processions before their entry into the church.

As in the 1902 coronation, it was designed by the architect Alfred Young Nutt in the Gothic Revival style, matching the architecture of the abbey.

Inside the abbey, the traditional ceremonial areas known as the theatre and the sacrarium had to be constructed, along with the galleries and boxes to accommodate the congregation.

[4] The Festival of Empire opened on 12 May 1911 at the Crystal Palace in London, an exhibition of British and Imperial trade and culture to celebrate the upcoming coronation.

Queen Mary's coronation gown was made of cream coloured silk satin and incorporated the floral emblems and symbols of Great Britain and the British Empire, namely the Tudor rose, the Scottish thistle, the Irish shamrock, the lotus flower of India, the Star of India, and English oak leaves and acorns, all of which were embroidered by the Princess Louise Needlework School using gold thread.

[5] The order of service was prepared by Claude Jenkins, the Lambeth Palace librarian, an eccentric character who was an antiquarian and patristic scholar.

As at the previous event, Bridge aimed to produce a celebration of four hundred years of English music,[10] including work by Thomas Tallis, John Merbecke and George Frederick Handel.

Bridge himself wrote a new anthem, Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous, the tenor solo for which was performed by Edward Lloyd.

[17] Following the coronation service, the three processions returned to the palace in reverse order and by an extended route, passing through Pall Mall, St James's Street, Piccadilly and Constitution Hill.

[21] On the following day, the return procession was reconstituted for a further parade through the streets of the capital, this time passing along The Strand and into the City of London, past St Paul's Cathedral, across the River Thames by London Bridge, along Borough High Street, back over Westminster Bridge and finally returning up The Mall to Buckingham Palace.

Today was indeed a great & memorable day in our lives & one which we can never forget, but it brought back to me many sad memories of 9 years ago when the beloved Parents were crowned.

[20]On 24 June, the King and Queen attended the Coronation Review of the Fleet at Spithead between the naval base of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

[20] On 11 November 1911, the King and Queen left Portsmouth aboard RMS Medina bound for the Indian Empire.