queen elizabeth
That is why her anointing was not shown on TV
© Dana Press
Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953 made history. For the first time, the royal ceremony was accompanied and broadcast by TV cameras. But one part was deliberately left out.
For eight hours on June 2, the BBC broadcast the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth, 96. Something unprecedented in 1953. The monarch supported her husband Prince Philip’s proposal, † 99, to let the population participate in their big day. But the prince consort and the newly reigning queen encountered strong opposition.
Queen Elizabeth: Winston Churchill was against TV broadcasting
The then incumbent Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, †90 provided the greatest resistance. He saw the coronation of the new monarch as a sacred act, the attendance of which was a privilege not everyone should be entitled to.
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But Prince Philip finally persuaded his young wife to get her way, ushering in a modern era of monarchy. However, the couple could not fully resist the PM’s objections. Churchill prevailed on the anointing.
The anointing is considered a sacred act
The then 79-year-old insisted Queen Elizabeth should be closed off from the public during the anointing with the holy oil. Even those present, seated in Westminster Abbey, were not to see the sacramental process.
A canopy protected the Queen from the eyes of those present. What people couldn’t see at the time: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, used the oil to draw a cross on Queen Elizabeth’s hands, chest and forehead.
Sources used: The Royal Collector’s Edition: “Queen Elizabeth II: The Magazine for Her Majesty’s 95th Birthday”