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Royal History: A close look at George VI’s Coronation Programme

By Sarah S Pipkin, on 5 May 2023

Colin Penman, Head of UCL Records, writes about a newly uncovered item in the UCL Records collection.

In the timely way that these things can happen, I recently came across an official souvenir programme for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in May 1937:

Red book which reads 'The Coronation of Their Majesties King George VI & Queen Elizabeth'

As this is the last time there was a coronation of a king and a queen consort –Charles III’s grandfather and grandmother – it has been interesting to compare the occasion with Saturday’s event. The procession and liturgy are very similar, these things changing little over time. There will be new music and prayers, and the much-publicised ‘Homage of the People’. But some elements of the ceremony date back to before the Norman Conquest, for example the Presentation, when the king is ‘presented’ to the four points of the compass.

The programme itself is quite a lovely thing, a lavish 36 page quarto  booklet with decorative embossed card covers, glassine protective sheets, and nice watered-silk end papers. It seems to be bound with cord rather than staples – you can see it here at the centre pages, which show the route of the procession:

George VI Cornoation Route

Interestingly, on the right hand side, just above the compass, is the ‘Site of New Waterloo Bridge’, not completed until the middle of the Second World War, largely with women’s labour. We can compare this route with a London Transport map which can be found in the Gaitskell papers in Special Collections, showing the route of Queen Elizabeth II’s procession in 1953:

TFL Map showing Elizabeth II coronation route

GAITSKELL/G/MISCELLANEOUS PAMPHLETS AND OTHER PAPERS

Not much between them. King Charles, on the other hand, will simply travel up Whitehall and down the Mall to get back to Buckingham Palace:

Charles III cornoation route

Image from gov.uk

 

The programme for George VI’s coronation includes a coloured, embossed title page:

Embossed title page with the royal coat of arms which reads 'The Coronation of their majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth'

and another showing the emblems of the king’s Dominions, which definitely wouldn’t look so crowded in today’s equivalent:

Page featuring coat of arms for each member of the British Empire and British Territories in 1937.

This is followed by a poem by the Poet Laureate, John Masefield, very much of its time: ‘Make wise the councils of the men who sway / The Britain here, the Britains far away’. There is also an interesting essay on the ceremony itself by the Garter King of Arms, the full order of service, and a genealogical table showing the king’s descent from William the Conqueror. The latter can’t compete for splendour with UCL’s own MS ANGL/3, a giant 15th century roll, 10 feet long, showing the supposed lineage of the kings of England all the way back to Adam – you can see a video about MS ANGL/3 online. However, the lineage in George VI’s programme is presumably more accurate.

I don’t know how or why we ended up with this item.  It was found in a box of uncatalogued College archive material, where it obviously doesn’t belong. It’s accompanied by a card from the Vicar of St Peter, Vere Street, and a copy of his sermon, so perhaps there’s a clue there:

A blue pamphlet with the title 'The Coronation of the King: Sermon preached by the REV. DR. Mions Devine in the Church of St. Peter with St. Thomas, Vere Street, W.1., on Sunday Morning May 9th, 1937.' Underneath the pamphlet is a card from Minos Devine, however his handwriting is very hard to read.

I have no information so far on Minos Devine, but hope to find a connection to one of our existing collections. If not, this will be an interesting addition to our London History collection.

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