I am starting this new category on my Viewfinder blog about the tea cups I have in my collection which I found on my "Turkish junking" adventures in the late fifties to the mid-seventies (link below).
I figure my Queen Elizabeth Coronation tea cup would be an excellent and regal beginning for it. There will be other entries to follow (link below).
The coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen
by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards. The coronation
was held more than one year later because of the tradition of allowing
an appropriate length of time to pass after a monarch dies. It also gave
the planning committees adequate time to make preparations for the
ceremony.
That included the manufacturing of a bazillion different types of mementos to celebrate it. This tea cup being one of them.
I watched the ceremony on television along with millions of other people around the globe. It was the first British coronation to be fully televised; television cameras were not allowed inside the abbey during her parents' coronation
in 1937. Elizabeth's was the fourth and final British coronation of the
20th century. It was estimated to have cost £1.57 million (c.
£53,571,428 in 2023).
Today, after a lifetime of service to country and crown, Elizabeth II
will commemorate her 65th anniversary as Queen of England. She will become the only
British monarch ever to celebrate her Sapphire Jubilee.
The course of Elizabeth's life was forever changed in 1936 when King Edward VIII, her uncle, abdicated to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson, a
twice-divorced U.S. commoner. His brother Albert became king, adopting
for the name George VI.
And Princess Elizabeth, who had spent the first
10 years of her life never expecting to become queen, suddenly found
herself first in line to the throne.
This Vinyl LP album is spoken word with music accompaniment chronicling the life of the Queen. It is narrated by David Niven with music composed and conducted by Bernard Green, who also composed music for films and TV.
My favorite piece of music on the album is All Through the Night, (Ar Hyd y Nos), a beautiful and gentle, 1784 Welshlullaby, that accompanies the speech by Princess Elizabeth to children all over the world (link to YouTube below).
The Second Queen Elizabeth Vinyl LP label, side 1 photo byStyrous®
When First I saw Your Face is used for the courtship of Prince Philip and Princess Elizabeth. It is an old English love song.
Brave Old Oak, a robust song if there ever was one, is used as background music for Winston Churchill, very fitting.
The Second Queen Elizabeth Vinyl LP label, side 2 photo byStyrous®
David Niven – The Second Elizabeth Label: Abbey – L.P. No 4 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album Country: USA Released: 1952 Genre: Non-Music, Stage & Screen Style: Political, Spoken Word, Score
Tracklist:
A The Second Elizabeth - Part 1 B The Second Elizabeth - Part 2
Companies, etc.
Record Company – Quality Records Limited
Credits:
Composed By, Conductor – Bernard Green Cover – Eric Henry A. Teran Directed By – Bob Cotton (2) Edited By, Engineer – Stephen F. Temmer Executive-Producer – Don Reid (5) Narrator – David Niven Producer – Don Reid (5), Peter Doraine Voice – Queen Elizabeth II Written-By – James Paul Terzian
Notes:
Made in Canada / Printed in U.S.A. Barcode and Other Identifiers
