Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral takes place at Westminster Abbey, the historic church in central London that played a major role in her life.
– 1934: Princess Bridesmaid –
Making her first grand appearance at Westminster Abbey, eight-year-old Princess Elizabeth of York was a bridesmaid at the wedding of her uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark on November 29.
It was the first royal wedding to be broadcast on the radio.
– 1937: Father’s coronation –
King George VI was crowned on May 12, five months after his brother King Edward VIII abdicated.
“I thought it was all very, very wonderful,” said 11-year-old Princess Elizabeth in a handwritten account.
“In the end, the service got pretty boring because it was just prayer.”
Thereafter, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret helped themselves to “sandwiches, stuffed buns, orangeade, and lemonade.”
– 1947: Elizabeth marries Philip –
The November 20 wedding lifted some of the post-war gloom.
After renouncing his Greek and Danish titles, Philip was created Duke of Edinburgh.
The ceremony was broadcast by BBC radio to 200 million people around the world.
So soon after World War II, Philip’s three surviving sisters, who married German princes, were unable to attend.
Princess Elizabeth still needed ration coupons to buy the satin for her Norman Hartnell dress.
– 1953: The Coronation –
At the coronation on June 2, Queen Elizabeth took the sacred vows of lifelong service, which she kept throughout her reign.
It was the first TV coronation and for many it was the first time they watched TV.
About 27 million of Britain’s 36 million people did so. It was also filmed in color and experimental 3D.
The service lasted almost three hours. Some 8,251 guests attended, crammed into temporary ranks, while 129 nations and territories were officially represented.
In 2018, the sovereign described the Gold State Coach ride as “terrible.”
– 1960: Margaret marries –
Queen Elizabeth’s sister Princess Margaret was prevented from marrying Equerry Peter Townsend in 1953 as he was divorced.
She married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones on May 6 in the presence of her artistic friends.
After her father died in 1952, Prince Philip walked Margaret down the aisle.
The Earl and Countess of Snowdon grew apart in the early 1970s and divorced in 1978.
– 1973: Anne’s Wedding –
Princess Anne was the first of Queen Elizabeth’s children to marry. She married Army Lt. Mark Phillips on November 14 in a ceremony that was filmed in color and televised worldwide.
Unusually, Phillips, an Olympic gold medalist, did not claim a title. The couple divorced in 1992.
– 1986: Andrew and Fergie –
Following Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981, Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s second son, married fun-loving Sarah Ferguson, daughter of a major.
The July 23 event followed the large-scale template set five years earlier.
The couple have two children, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. They divorced in 1996 but remain close.
– 1997: Diana’s funeral –
Queen Elizabeth has been criticized for her seemingly dismissive reaction to Diana’s death in a car crash in Paris.
Nearly a million people lined the streets while an estimated 2.5 billion people watched the Sept. 6 service on television.
As the funeral procession passed Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth publicly bowed her head.
Diana’s brother Charles Spencer chided the royal family in his eulogy. The Windsors took note and gradually began modernizing.
– 2002: Funeral of the Queen Mother –
The funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on April 9 marked the end of an era. The 101-year-old royal matriarch was the last empress of India and a link to a bygone age.
More than 200,000 people reverently walked past her coffin.
Two months after Margaret’s death, after years of animosity over Diana’s death, the death sparked a wave of public mourning and sympathy for the monarch.
– 2011: William and Kate –
On April 29, the biggest royal wedding in a generation was watched by up to two billion people worldwide and helped breathe new life into the British monarchy after years of crisis.
Queen Elizabeth allowed William to tear up the stuffy original guest list and start over, bringing more friends of his own than dignitaries.
– 2013: Coronation Jubilee –
After jubilee events during her reign, the 4 June service was the last major personal anniversary attended by Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey.
The glittering crown of solid gold and the holy oil with which it was anointed took center stage.
The 60th anniversary service reflected her coronation and lifelong duty.
Queen Elizabeth smiled as she paused in the coronation chair she had sat in 60 years earlier.
