Original ER II Limed Oak Coronation Chair 1953

• Original ER II Limed Oak Coronation Chair 1953
• Very rare and totally original.
• Covered with blue velvet which has now faded to a slate green grey bearing the monogram ER II beneath a crown.
• Stamped on the underside 'W.Hands & Sons Ltd 1953 and branded 'ER with Crown Coronation'.
• This is labeld as number 22.
• This measures: 33 ¼" Tall x 19 ¼" Max Width.
• The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2nd June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, London. Elizabeth ascended the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen 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 before holding such festivals. It also gave the planning committees adequate time to make preparation for the ceremony, with the first meeting of the Coronation Commission held in April 1952. In Bradford 4,000 yards of velvet was produced at Listers Mill to cover 2,000 chairs and 5,700 stools, made of oak and beech, for the congregation. Chairs for the peers and peeresses were made by B.North & Sons and W.Hands & Sons. The stools were made by B.North & sons, Thomas Glenister Ltd, Castle Bros. (all firms of High Wycombe) and Waring & Gillow. During the service, Elizabeth took an oath, was anointed with holy oil, invested with robes and regalia, and crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). It was the first British coronation to be televised and is estimated to have cost £1.57 million (c. £38,680,000 in 2016). After the ceremony, those who occupied the chairs and stools had the option to purchase them. Otherwise, the Ministry of Works, who were responsible for commissioning all new furnishings for the coronation, put them up for sale to regain some of the costs of staging the coronation.

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