Ceremony

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, swears allegiance to his wife, the newly crowned queen

The Commonwealth realms Royal Family gathered at the coronation Preceding the Queen into Westminster Abbey was St. Edward's Crown, carried into the abbey by the Lord High Steward of England, then the Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, who was flanked by two other peers, while the Archbishops and Bishops Assistant of the Church of England, in their copes and mitres, waited outside the Great West Door for the arrival of the Queen. When this occurred at approximately 11:00 am,[4][10] Elizabeth found that the friction between her robes and the carpet caused her difficulty moving forward, and she said to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, "get me started!"[10] Once going, the procession, which included the various High Commissioners of the Commonwealth carrying banners bearing the shields of the coats of arms of their respective nations,[20] moved inside the abbey, up the central aisle and through the choir to the stage, as Psalms 122, 13, 6, and 7 were read and the choir sang out "Vivat Regina! Vivat Regina Elizabetha! Vivat! Vivat! Vivat!"[21] As Elizabeth prayed at and then sat herself on the Chair of Estate to the south of the altar, the Bishops carried in the religious paraphernalia the bible, paten, and chalice and the peers holding the coronation regalia handed it over to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who, in turn, passed them to the Dean of Westminster, Alan Campbell Don, to be placed on the altar.[22] After the Queen moved to stand before King Edward's Chair (Coronation Chair), she turned, following as Fisher, along with the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (the Viscount Simonds), Lord Great Chamberlain of England (the Earl of Ancaster), Lord High Constable of England (the Viscount Alanbrooke), and Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (the Duke of Norfolk), all led by the Garter Principal King of Arms (George Bellew), asked the audience in each direction of the compass separately: "Sirs, I here present unto you Queen Elizabeth, your undoubted Queen: wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same?" The crowd would reply "God save Queen Elizabeth," every time,[23] to each of which the Queen would curtsey in return.[20] Seated again on the Chair of Estate, Elizabeth then took the coronation Oath as administered by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the lengthy oath, the Queen swore to govern each of her countries according to their respective laws and customs, to mete out law and justice with mercy, to uphold Protestantism in the United Kingdom and protect the Church of England and preserve its bishops and clergy. She proceeded to the altar where she stated "The things which I have here promised, I

will perform, and keep. So help me God," before kissing the Bible and putting the royal signmanual to the oath as the Bible was returned to the Dean of Westminster.[24] From him the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, James Pitt-Watson, took the Bible and presented it to the Queen again, saying "to keep your Majesty ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God... we present you with this Book"; Elizabeth returned the book to Pitt-Watson, who placed it back with the Dean of Westminster.[25] The communion service was then conducted, involving prayers by both the clergy and Elizabeth, Fisher asking "O God... Grant unto this thy servant Elizabeth, our Queen, the spirit of wisdom and government, that being devoted unto thee with her whole heart, she may so wisely govern, that in her time thy Church may be in safety, and Christian devotion may continue in peace," before reading various excerpts from the First Epistle of Peter, Psalms, and the Gospel of Matthew.[26] Elizabeth was then anointed as the assembly sang "Zadok the Priest"; the Queen's jewelry and crimson cape was removed by the Earl of Ancaster and the Mistress of the Robes,[4] the Duchess of Devonshire, and, wearing only a simple, white linen dress also designed by Hartnell to completely cover the coronation gown, she moved to be seated in the Coronation Chair. There, Fisher, assisted by Don, made a cross on the Queen's forehead with holy oil made from the same base as that which had been used in the coronation of her father.[10] Because this segment of the ceremony was considered absolutely sacrosanct, it was concealed from the view of the television cameras by a silk canopy held above the Queen by four Knights of the Garter. When this part of the coronation was complete, and the canopy removed, Don and the Duchess of Devonshire placed on the monarch the Colobium Sindonis and Supertunica.[27] The Coronation Regalia used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II From the altar, the Dean of Westminster passed to the Lord Great Chamberlain the spurs, which were presented to the Queen and then placed back on the altar. The Sword of State was then handed to Elizabeth, who, after a prayer was uttered by Fisher, placed it herself on the altar, and the peer who had been previously holding it took it back again after paying a sum of 100 shillings.[28] The Queen was then invested with the Armills (bracelets), Stole Royal, Robe Royal, and the Sovereign's Orb, followed by the Queen's Ring, the Sceptre with the Cross, and the Sceptre with the Dove. With the first two items on and in her right hand and the latter in her left, Queen Elizabeth was crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the crowd shouting "God save the Queen!" at the exact moment St. Edward's Crown touched the monarch's head. The princes and peers gathered then put on their coronets and a 21-gun salute was fired from the Tower of London.[29] With the benediction read, Elizabeth moved to the throne and the Archbishop of Canterbury and all the Bishops offered to her their fealty, after which, as the choir sang, the peers of the United Kingdom led by the royal peers: the Queen's husband; Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester; and Prince Edward, Duke of Kent each proceeded, in order of precedence, to pay their personal homage and allegiance to Elizabeth. When the last baron had completed this task, the assembly shouted "God save Queen Elizabeth. Long live Queen Elizabeth. May the Queen live for ever!"[30] Having removed all her royal regalia, Elizabeth kneeled and took the communion, including a general confession and absolution, and, along with the audience, recited the Lord's Prayer.[31] Now wearing the Imperial State Crown and holding the Sceptre with the Cross and the Orb, and as the gathered guests sang "God Save the Queen", Elizabeth left Westminster Abbey through the nave and apse, out the Great West Door, followed by members of the Royal Family, the clergy, her prime ministers, etc. Then, transported back to Buckingham Palace in the Gold State Coach, with an escort of thousands of military personnel from around the Commonwealth, the Queen appeared on the balcony of the Centre Room before a gathered crowd as a flypast went overhead.