How the Star covered the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 - and the King got a mention
On the day that King Charles III is being crowned, we thought it'd be a good idea to delve into the archive and dig out our front page from the last time The Star covered a coronation.
Times have changed since the late Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in a ceremony on June 2, 1953, when His Majesty was just four-years-old.
But some traditions prevail, as King Charles is to be celebrated in an equally-grand service at Westminster Abbey today, presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Members of the British public and beyond have flocked to the capital this week to camp-out in readiness for His Majesty's coronation, just as they did for his mother in 1953.
The Express & Star is our sister paper and back before the Shropshire Star existed, the Express & Star had a Shropshire edition.
Here's how we covered the coronation at the time.
"In the presence of a vast and brilliant concourse from every part of the glove, Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second was at Westminster Abbey at 12.33pm today crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
"She had been presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the distinguished people assembled as 'your undoubted Queen,' and loudly acclaimed by them as trumpets thrilled a joyous descant, and there had followed the long, traditional ceremonial woven sound the brilliant and historic rite of the coronation.
"From the moment the glittering gold coach – seen off by Princes Charles and Princess Anne from a window – emerged from the Palace forecourt to the moment she reached the annexe of the ancient shrine, it had been one thunder of applause. The Queen, looking a little pale with the tension of it radiated happiness. So young, a Queen this, who was now greeted by her people.
"Besides her, the fair, tall Duke of Edinburgh in full dress uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, a confident, manly smile of his face, waved cheerily to the people.
"The music was stilled. Met by the Earl Marshal (the Duke of Norfolk), the Queen stepped inside as the music, which had flooded through the vaulted abbey before her arrival, was stilled and a hush fell on the gorgeously-arrayed congregation. Even in the dramatic moment of her entry, her regal dignity did not completely eclipse her personal charm, and she smiled at personal friends whom she saw.
"A joyous fanfare played by trumpeters from the Royal Military School of Music cast a magic spell which was to endure throughout this mystic ceremony of consecration and crowning.
"With a youthful majesty and grace, the 27-year-old Queen walked in State procession into the abbey theatre, the magnificent centrepiece of a spectacle unsurpassed in splendour.
"Despite the unkind weather – frequent showers and continuous cold, with little promise of an immediate improvement – thousands of people had waited cheerfully throughout the night along the processional route, and some through the previous one as well. At 3.30am, the great influx of spectators began, and in the next four hours locked the heart of the Commonwealth capital before the first of the nine colourful processions moved off."
