The royal family will have a private moment of remembrance in honor of the day Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne.
The eldest daughter of King George VI became queen on February 6, 1952 after her father was found dead in his bed at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England. She would not find out about her new title and the death of her father until hours later, however, as the future monarch was on vacation in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip at the time. 71 years later, to mark the first anniversary of that day since the queen’s passing, King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, and the rest of the royal family have no scheduled engagements on their official calendars and plan to spend the day in private.
Traditionally, Queen Elizabeth would also spend her accession day privately at Sandringham, the home where King George died and where the entire royal family still gathers every year to celebrate Christmas. While the occasion is, of course, a sad one for the sovereign as it marks the loss of a parent, there was usually still some sort of small ceremony involved with the event as it is also the day that changed her life forever.
To celebrate this royal transition, Westminster Abbey, where her coronation was held in 1953, would typically ring its bells and there would also be a 21-gun salute.
After the death of his mother in September 2022, King Charles has been preparing for his own coronation taking place at Westminster Abbey on May 6, launching a new website about the weekend filled with special events on Monday. Buckingham Palace said in a statement, “The Coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.” On May 6, the King’s procession will start at Buckingham Palace and head over to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony.
Following the coronation, Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will be joined by other members of the royal family for a larger coronation procession back to Buckingham Palace where they will then all appear together on the balcony.
On the Sunday of that weekend, the Coronation Concert will take place at Windsor Castle and, according to the website, it will involve iconic locations across the UK being lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays, and illuminations. And the following day has also been proclaimed a special bank holiday by the Prime Minister in honor of the coronation, as well as to give the country a chance to participate in acts of community service through the Big Help Out volunteering activities.
