It was the first British Royal commemorative medal to be awarded to people who were not in attendance at the coronation[1] and, as well of those involved in the ceremony, it was given to selected dignitaries, officials and members of the armed forces, both in Britain and across the Empire.

On 30 June 1911 a special ceremony was held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace for King George V to present medals to all members of the Colonial and Indian contingents who had represented the overseas troops in the Coronation procession.

The ceremony lasted two hours, medals being handed by the King to each of the 300 recipients present.

[2] For this and subsequent Coronation and Jubilee medals until 1977, the practice was that the United Kingdom authorities decided on a total number to be produced, then allocated a proportion to each of the colonies, the Crown dependencies and the Commonwealth countries.

[4] Ladies could wear the medal near their left shoulder with the ribbon tied in the form of a bow.