Netflix's new series The Crown premieres on Friday and shows a young Queen Elizabeth become the British monarch after the death of her beloved father King George VI in 1952. But after watching Claire Foy as the on-screen queen ascend to the throne and wear the titular crown, you may want to watch videos of Queen Elizabeth's coronation in 1953 to compare it to the Netflix version in The Crown. Yup, there are videos available from the queen's fateful day from 63 years ago, thanks to the magic of the internet, YouTube, and color restoration.
At age 27, Princess Elizabeth was crowned as the Queen of the United Kingdom, leaving no time for a quarterlife crisis or any late twenties shenanigans. The coronation took place on June 2, 1953 at Westminster Abbey, allowing Queen Elizabeth to be the sixth queen to ever be crowned at the London landmark, according to the royal family's official website. Her coronation was a huge event for other reasons as well — not only the first crowning to be broadcast on live television, but one of the first international events to ever grace live TV, according to ITV.
Check out the videos below to see the real Queen Elizabeth take the throne and the actual crown.
"The Crowning"
No, that's not the name of a new horror flick, but the title of this over 4-minute coverage of the event from an unnamed source. The footage includes an NPR-esque narrator/reporter with a British accent providing the play-by-play.
Some Black & White Coronation
For the purists out there, black-and-white coverage of Queen Elizabeth's coronation also exists on the internet. The above 8-minute video includes B&W footage of Brits excited in the streets, but then it switches to color once it enters Westminster Abbey.
The Guardian Archive Video
This one is all B&W and was posted by the publication to commemorate the queen becoming Britian's longest reigning monarch ever as of last year.
New York Times Archive Video
Do you love newsreels and wish they would make a comeback? Then you'll love this vintage video, in which a classic newsreel-sounding reporter gives the play-by-play of the coronation like it's the 1950s all over again.
The footage itself, though, is crystal clear and remarkably close to the crowning action.
Judging by the above videos, Queen Elizabeth's coronation was a lavish event that looked like it was right out of Hollywood itself.
