For those readers who are interested in the nuts and bolts of the British Monarchy, there is an excellent article in today’s Daily Telegraph on the next Coronation, presumably of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in 1953

Read the article here : Thoughts on the next Coronation.

Back in 1953, when Britain was still under the rule of austerity after the war, the most sumptuous event in a century was staged in central London. It was the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Before the Crowning

It was also notable as the first Coronation ever to be televised. The BBC, under Head of Outside Broadcasts, Peter Dimmock, strove mightily to bring this extraordinary ceremony to a television audience watching on tiny monochrome sets all around the country. That it succeeded at all was a minor miracle, as Dimmock concedes.

Here are a few reminders of what people saw that day :

After the Crowning

A new Elizabethan Age begins

Back to the Palace

I suppose we’ll see another Coronation in London within the next decade or two. I wonder if it will match the 1953 occasion with its momentous sense of new beginning and expectation?

Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress now more famous for being bullied and abused by a group of grotesque so-called celebrities on the Big Brother TV show, is to meet the Queen at a service in Westminster Abbey today.

Shilpa had the last laugh by going on to win the show’s substantial cash prize and instantly became a huge celebrity across the UK. She met the Prime Minister in Parliament when she was invited to watch Prime Minister’s Questions, causing crowd problems outside the Palace of Westminster in the process.

She is already a favourite in her native India, mainly because of her looks and figure. Now she has gained real stardom for taking on “racist bullies” in England and winning the hearts of the people.

The service at Westminster Abbey celebrates Commonwealth Day around the world. The Commonwealth comprises a third of the world’s population, including India, and is the remnant of the old British Empire.

There’s virtually no information available at present about the upcoming Diamond Wedding Anniversary of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. At least they’ve got a logo for it (pictured left).

The official website of the British Monarchy is showing zero search results for the occasion, except for a visitor’s question about the £5 commemorative coin struck by the Royal Mint.

In fact, the coin is the only sign that anything is happening at all around this event. It seems certain, though, that a service will take place in Westminster Abbey during November — but no details yet.

It occurs to my investigatory mind that the Royal Household may just be aware of another big event scheduled to take place within this timeframe.

Now I wonder what that could be?